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After Duke sampled some humble pie, the Blue Devils improved…………
When the Duke Blue Devils entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament, they weren’t exactly riding high. It was, in reality, the exact opposite.
At Cameron Indoor Stadium, No. 9 Duke fell short against No. 7 North Carolina, 84-79, in the regular-season finale. Following that, the Blue Devils lost their opening ACC Tournament game to NC State, 74-69.
To put it plainly, Jon Scheyer’s club appeared to be an easy bounce-out in March Madness and was out of sorts.
Now that the Blue Devils have defeated both No. 12 James Madison and No. 13 Vermont, how do they find themselves back in the Sweet 16?
Just two words. Be humble, dear pie.
“You know, our guys discuss it frequently. They discuss being humble. You can become humble with this game. Scheyer recently stated, “I don’t care if you’re a coach, if you’re a player,” according to On3. “The match in the ACC Tournament, our final regular-season match? It takes a lot of humility to realize what needs to be done better.
Scheyer claimed that his team returned to the gym and improved as a result of the additional time off. Whatever his players did, it was obviously effective. Duke shot 47.3 percent from the field and won by an average of 27.5 points over James Madison and Vermont.
“I believe a great deal of one-on-one interactions were the beginning. Sincere discussions among team members. Since you are aware, there is undoubtedly work that needs to be done on the court, Scheyer stated. “If you don’t know where your players’ minds are at, then none of that work matters. What it is they are experiencing, seeing, and receiving. Thus, many conversations began there.
Rough seas could be brewing again, so Duke will need to keep talking. Not that the Blue Devils can’t go on winning, but their next opponent in the Sweet 16 is Houston, who is ranked #1.