Trailing by 31-34 at halftime and surrounded by booing of Michigan State fans, Duke found themselves in a tight situation. But thanks to tweaks made by Jon Scheyer at halftime, the Blue Devils managed to stay undefeated against the Spartans, closing the game at 66-60. However, Duke’s head coach had one player in mind following this close win: Cameron Boozer.

“Trying to put him [Cameron Boozer] in good situations where he does such a good job getting downhill, and the dynamic of scoring and passing… Second half, what he did was incredible. Look, Michigan State is tough as could be. Coming in here, I thought our guys were tested beyond anything we’ve seen so far. Just really proud of our guys for getting that win,” Jon Scheyer said following the 6-point win vs No. 7 Michigan State.

Cameron Boozer scored 18 points from 7 of 13 shooting vs Michigan State, most of which came in the second half. The Duke star also had 15 rebounds and 5 assists to his name, cementing his name strongly for the National Player of the Year with the double-double.

However, Boozer did not end the game on a good note. After collecting five personal fouls, the Duke star was sent to the bench with eleven seconds left in the game. This led to his brother, Cayden, filling in for his spot.

Apart from Boozer’s 18 points, Caleb Foster (12 points) and Nikolas Khamenia (10 points) kept the Duke scorecard moving. For Michigan State, Carson Cooper stood out with the double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds. However, with 21 of 55 shooting, Duke turned out to be the better offensive team.

Talking about this close win, Scheyer said, “It says a lot. We’re closing with different lineups. Nikolas Khamenia didn’t even practice for a couple of days. He sprained his ankle. I thought he was tough as it could be throughout the whole game… I mean, really, everyone who played gave us a lift.”

With a 10-0 run so far, Duke is cementing their position as the team to beat in March. But one thing that they are constantly suffering from is foul trouble. 

Cameron Boozer makes his feelings clear on Michigan State win after fouling out

The referee’s whistle is something every player hopes to avoid, and Duke has learned just how fickle that sound can be. In their 67–66 home win over No. 15 Florida, the calls flowed their way.

But on the road at Michigan State, that same whistle turned against them, sending their star player to the bench in the game’s final, deciding moments.

The Blue Devils collected a total of 18 personal fouls, with Cameron Boozer getting 5, Maliq Brown getting 4, and Patrick Ngongba II getting 3. While Michigan State also had 15 personal fouls, the team committed more free throw opportunities for the Blue Devils.

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Duke ended the game with 15 of 23 free throws on 65 percent shooting. On the other hand, the Spartans only had 10 of 14 free throws on a 71 percent shooting.

But Cameron Boozer did not forget to give Michigan State its flowers despite the close loss. “You’ve got to give props to Michigan State. They are a great team. Hard. Tough. They did a great job taking me out of the game in the first half, but second half, we got it going… My guys trusted me, they believe in me, and I believe in them, so it was a great win for us in a great environment,” said the Duke star after the narrow 6-point win.

The Duke Blue Devils will now face No. 19 Texas Tech before Christmas and No. 6 Louisville in January amid games with Lipscomb, Georgia Tech, and Florida State.