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Duke held off a late rally from Michigan on Saturday to come out on top in the much-anticipated battle between top-three teams
No. 3 Duke has taken down No. 1 Michigan for its 11th all-time win vs. a top-ranked team in the AP Top 25 poll as the Blue Devils hun on for a 68-63 victory.
The Blue Devils let Michigan get within one point with just under 4 minutes remaining, only to slam the door shut down the stretch. Freshman forward Cameron Boozer saved his best for last, too, scoring seven of the team’s final 11 points as they closed it out.
Boozer finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He iced the game with just under 2 minutes to go with his first and only make from 3-point range on the evening.
Michigan, led by a 16-point first half from Yaxel Lendeborg, was able to keep it tight early and made a few runs in the second half. But it could not quite chase Duke down, however.
A big part of that was its inability to make shots — it finished 6 of 25 from 3 — as well as its inability to keep Aday Mara out of foul trouble. Duke relentlessly attacked Mara and got him in foul trouble early, forcing Michigan to roll out smaller lineups of which it could then take advantage.
In the victory, Duke improves to 25-2 on the season and likely (for now) positions itself the No. 1 overall seed with a head-to-head win over a Michigan team that earlier in the day was named as the current No. 1 overall seed.
Read on below for takeaways from Duke’s thrilling win over Michigan on Saturday night.
No. 3 Duke takes down No. 1 Michigan
FINAL: Duke 68, Michigan 63
No. 3 Duke has taken down No. 1 Michigan for its 11th all-time win vs. an AP-ranked No. 1 team.
The Blue Devils let Michigan get within one point with just under four minutes remaining — only to slam the door shut down the stretch. Freshman forward Cameron Boozer saved his best for last, too, scoring seven of the team’s final 11 points as they closed it out.
Boozer finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. He iced the game with just under two minutes to go with his first and only make from 3-point range on the evening.
Michigan, led by a 16-point first half from Yaxel Lendeborg, was able to keep it tight early and made a few runs in the second half. But it could not quite chase Duke down.
A big part of that was its inability to make shots (it finished 6 of 25 from 3) as well as its inability to keep Aday Mara out of foul trouble. Duke relentlessly attacked Mara and got him in foul trouble early, forcing Michigan to roll out smaller lineups it could then take advantage of.
Duke with the win improves to 25-2 on the season and likely (for now) positions itself the No. 1 overall seed with a head-to-head win over a Michigan team that earlier in the day was named as the current No. 1 overall seed.
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Cameron Boozer feeling it
Duke’s freshman sensation has scored all seven of Duke’s last points to help it take a lead into the final minute of play. That includes a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key and a pair of big makes around the basket.
Michigan, with backs against the wall, making a push
No. 1 Michigan is on a 7-0 run and has cut Duke’s lead from eight to one over the last two-plus minutes. It’s 57-56 advantage Blue Devils with 3:24 remaining in regulation.
- Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan): 21 points, seven rebounds
- Cameron Boozer (Duke): 11 points, eight rebounds, seven assists
- Caleb Foster (Duke): 12 points, three assists, four rebounds
- Morez Johnson Jr. (Michigan): 13 points, six rebounds
Michigan in the double bonus
Worth watching the rest of the way: Michigan, because of nine Duke team fouls, is in the double bonus the rest of the way. So the Wolverines will be shooting two free throws for every Duke foul to close the game. Very interesting twist given how physical this game has been. Michigan’s 155th in free throw shooting percentage as a team this season, which ranks 13th out of 18 in the Big Ten.
Momentum shifting back to Michigan
Duke 53, Michigan 48
Just as it seemed Duke was on the brink of blowing this second half wide open, Michigan has found a way to capture momentum and close in on the Blue Devils’ lead. Still, it’s a two-possession lead with just under eight minutes remaining, and Michigan has to find a way to make baskets.
Wolverines haven’t made a field goal in 3:53 and have missed seven of their last eight shots from the floor.
Michigan, Duke struggling to hit from deep
Michigan is 1 of 7 from 3-point range in the second half and 4 of 20 for the game, uncharacteristic for the Big Ten’s third-best 3-point shooting team.
Duke not much better: 5 of 18 for the game and 1 of 6 in the second half.
Duke threatening to blow game open
Duke 47, Michigan 42
Duke is one point shy of matching its biggest lead of the game and it seems to be gathering momentum as this second half develops from D.C. That’s a testament to just how good Cam Boozer has been, as he’s turned attention on him as an offensive weapon into playmaking. He has three second-half assists and seven for the game.
Duke is streaking into second half
Duke 38, Michigan 33
Duke — including its end to the first half and first burst into the second half — is on a 9-0 run and now has its largest lead of the game.
Duke on top at halftime
Duke 35, Michigan 33
The first half of the biggest game of the day is so far delivering from Washington, D.C., as No. 3 Duke leads No. 1 Michigan by a basket going into the half. Duke on top despite some early struggles to get its offense going — thanks to a big nine points and four assists from star Cam Boozer in 18 minutes.
Michigan has not played well either and probably feels a bit fortunate to be trailing by only two. That was only made possible thanks to Yaxel Lendeborg, who has 16 points, two assists, four rebounds and played 19 of the first 20 minutes. Lendeborg is 6 of 9 from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
Big storylines to follow in the second half will be the health of Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau, who injured his left arm, and the availability of Michigan center Aday Mara, who has three fouls.
Elliot Cadeau walks gingerly back to bench
Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau just walked gingerly to the bench in apparent pain and appeared to be favoring his left arm. A trainer is tending to him now, and he looks distressed. Cadeau has a game-high five assists and he’s been tremendous as Michigan’s assists leader.
Aday Mara in foul trouble
7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara, the fourth-leading shot-blocker in college basketball this season, just picked up his third personal foul ahead of the U8 media timeout. Mara checks out with two points and two boards in six minutes, notably doing so after serving as the primary anchor man helping (try!) and keep Cam Boozer in check.
Yaxel Lendeborg making his mark
U12 timeout: Duke 22, Michigan 21
Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg is stamping his name all over the box score early in this one. He has a game-high 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting so far to go with one assist.
Duke star Cam Boozer starting to get going on the other end: Four points and already four assists.
Michigan, Duke exchanging blows early
U16 timeout: Duke 12, Michigan 11
No. 3 Duke has the lead, 12-11, entering the game’s first media timeout at the U16 mark. There’s already been five lead changes and plenty of back-and-forth between these two. Difference so far has been two corner 3s from Duke’s Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr, both right in front of the Michigan bench.
Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg pulling his weight for the Wolverines early, though, as he has made all three of his field goal attempts and has a game-high seven points.
Cameron Boozer’s big stage
Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer is on pace to win National Player of the Year and has been the driving force behind Duke’s 24-2 start. He is:
- The first Duke freshman to score 35 or more points twice
- The first NCAA Division I or NBA player in last 30 seasons to have an eight-game span with more than 175 points, 75 rebounds, 25 assists, 10 or fewer turnovers and an undefeated record
- Leading the ACC in scoring (22.8 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg) while ranking seventh in the ACC in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (3.9 apg) and fourth in field goal percentage (58.2%)
- Has led all players in points, rebounds and assists in six games this season, breaking a tie with Tim Duncan (5, 1996-97) for the most by an ACC player in a season over the last 30 seasons
Duke vs. No. 1 teams
Duke has played 32 teams ranked No. 1 and won 10 times in those matchups.
It has also won two of its last three meetings vs. No. 1-ranked teams and six of its last 11 meetings vs. No. 1-ranked teams.
Michigan dominance this season
Michigan is 25-1 but it is not just winning, it is dominating. It leads the country in scoring margin (21.8) and it has 21 wins by 10+ points, 13 by 20+, 10 by 30+, seven (!!) by 40+ points and one by 50+ points.
Its seven wins of 40 or more points is a Big Ten record.
Michigan relying on Big Three
Forget the Fab Five, Michigan has a new bunch of leaders upon which they rely in their Big Three: Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara. And yes: the Big Three is a literal expression (Lendeborg and Johnson are 6-9, and Mara is 7-4).
The trio accounts for 45% of the team’s scoring and more than 55% of its rebounding on the season. Mara is also a shot-blocking specialist who has 71 on the season, which is tied for the fourth-most nationally.
A history of matchups vs. No. 1
This is the 31st time Michigan and Duke have met in the all-time series — and remarkably the ninth time (!!) they have met when one of the two is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll.
Of those nine meetings, the team ranked No. 1 in the matchup has lost just three times: Michigan to Duke in 1964; Michigan to Duke in 1992; and Duke to Michigan in 1997.
The last two matchups when one team was ranked No. 1 was when Duke was ranked No. 1 in 2000 and 2001 meetings — which resulted in Duke wins over Michigan by a final score of 104-61 and 104-83, respectively.
| Date | No. 1 team | Result |
| March 20, 1964 | Michigan | Duke 91, UM 80 |
| December 5, 1964 | Michigan | UM 86, Duke 79 |
| December 21, 1965 | Duke | Duke 100, UM 93 |
| Dec. 14, 1991 | Duke | Duke 88, UM 85 |
| April 6, 1992 | Duke | Duke 71, UM 51 |
| December 5, 1992 | Michigan | Duke 79, UM 68 |
| December 13, 1997 | Duke | UM 81, Duke 73 |
| December 9, 2000 | Duke | Duke 104, UM 61 |
| December 8, 2001 | Duke | Duke 104, UM 83 |
Duke leads all-time series vs. Michigan
Duke leads the all-time series vs. Michigan, 22-8, which includes a perfect 6-0 record for the Blue Devils in games played vs. the Wolverines on neutral sites.
This is the first time the two have met since Dec. 3, 2013, when Duke defeated Michigan 79-69 in a game played in Durham, North Carolina.
Duke has won three consecutive games in the series and 10 of the last 11 vs. Michigan.
Player of the Year frontrunner vs. stout Michigan D
Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer (-3000 to win the John Wooden Award for National Player of the Year) takes on a Michigan defense that rates No. 1 in adjusted efficiency margin at KenPom — led largely by a long and athletic frontcourt. The Wolverines can throw at Boozer 7-foot-4 center Aday Mara as well as 6-foot-9 forward Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson, who this season have helped the Wolverines to the No. 2 2-point defense by percentage and are No. 4 in block percentage.
Boozer is fourth in the sport in points per game (22.8) and 14th in rebounds per game (10.0) — and he leads Duke in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Tough test for one of the most versatile and complete players the sport has seen in years.
