Duke Basketball’s Jon Scheyer reveals regrets in loss to Kansas

The No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks proved too much for Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils. On Tuesday, Duke Basketball suffered its second loss of the season, as the ACC powerhouse fell prey to Bill Self’s Jayhawks via a score of 75-72 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Blue Devils weren’t completely outclassed by Kansas. They even almost forced overtime, but Kon Knueppel’s desperate three-point attempt at the buzzer went in and out of the basket.

The loss hurts Duke, and that was expressed very well by Jon Scheyer’s words after the contest, with the Blue Devils head coach also lamenting a key reason behind his team’s loss to the Big 12 program.

“It’s heartbreaking – our team showed a lot of fight to get back in the game, but there were too many moments where we gave Kansas life,” Scheyer said (with the official X account of Duke men’s basketball). “No one wants to win more than the guys in this locker room, we will find a solution.

Nevertheless, Scheyer still has complete confidence in his team, which also could have walked away with a victory if the Blue Devils had done a better job with the giveaways. Duke shot just 13 of 18 from the free throw line, compared to Kansas’ 11 of 12 from the charity line.

“I want us to hold our heads high, I want us to keep going. I believe in this team more than I can say. I love the heart and tenacity we showed – we will continue to get better. I think the ceiling that we have to reach throughout the year is as high as possible and it’s my job to make sure that we get there, and we will.

Duke Basketball Suffers Second Loss in 2024-25 Season

Duke was led by Tyrese Proctor, who scored 15 points with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Cooper Flagg got off to a slow start, as Kansas held him to just two points in the first half, but the potential top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft finished the contest with 13 points, five rebounds and three dimes . Meanwhile, Knueppel had 11 points in addition to his eight assists.

Duke’s record is now 4-2, but both of the Blue Devils’ losses came against quality opponents. The Blue Devils’ first loss was against the number 1 at the time. 19 Kentucky Wildcats at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on November 12.

Duke can return to winning ways this Friday when the Blue Devils host a lightweight in the form of the Seattle Redhawks (No. 125 on KenPom) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and college football. He is a graduate of Communication Arts from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines.