The Duke basketball program squeaked out an 80-71 victory in its toughest test of the 2025-26 season so far, downing No. 22 Arkansas at the United Center in Chicago. Blue Devil freshman superstar Cameron Boozer has been dominant all year long, but he just showed the entire country he might be the most dominant player in all of college basketball. After getting out to a 13-point lead in the first half, the Razorbacks' elite freshmen guard duo of Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas carried the team all the way back into the contest. Duke found itself down by seven early in the second half, but Boozer almost single-handedly brought the Blue Devils back into it.
Boozer has dealt with his struggles at the rim against physical bigs at times, but he continues to get better with each game, and proved it tonight. The 6'9" forward continues to improve as a driver to the basket, using his feet and body so well to create contact and finish at the rim while getting to the free throw line regularly. The 5-star rookie was held scoreless through the first nine minutes of the game, but was the best player on the court for the remainder of the contest.
Cameron Boozer just showed the entire nation how elite he is
Boozer finished with a game-high 35 points to go along with nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals on 13-of-18 (72.2%) shooting from the field and 2-of-4 (50%) shooting from three. But it was the second half where he set himself apart and completely led the way for Duke offensively.
The Florida native tallied 15 first half points. Through the first 10 or so minutes of the second half, Boozer was practically the entire offense for the Blue Devils. He totaled 20 points in the second half. The rest of the Duke team combined scored 19 points in the second half. It was simple action a lot of the time, allowing Boozer to get his work done early in the low post, and let him operate based on what the help does.
Now, although the scoring numbers jump out, this game shows how many different ways Boozer can impact the game. Tonight, Duke needed him to score at a premium because the defense allowed it. Sometimes Boozer has to become more of a passer when a double comes, but he's also stellar at finding teammates in the middle of the floor and creating easy looks.
Something that Arkansas head coach Jon Calipari credited Boozer for was his elite offensive rebounding ability, especially off his own misses, and it showed tonight. Boozer grabbed two offensive boards, and Duke as a whole tallied 12.
This was the start of the most difficult part of the Blue Devils' non-conference slate, as they now gear up to take on No. 10 Florida at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.