The Duke basketball team will be shorthanded against SMU on Saturday afternoon as the program announced that head coach Jon Scheyer did not travel with the team to Texas due to an illness.
“Coach Scheyer did not travel with the team to Dallas due to illness and will miss today’s game,” the Blue Devils announced on social media.
“Associate Head Coach Chris Carrawell will serve as acting head coach. Coach Scheyer is expected to return for Tuesday’s game vs. Pitt.”
NEWS: Coach Scheyer did not travel with the team to Dallas due to illness and will miss today’s game. Associate Head Coach Chris Carrawell will serve as acting head coach.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 4, 2025
Coach Scheyer is expected to return for Tuesday’s game vs. Pitt.
It will be the first game that Jon Scheyer misses since he has been named head coach of Duke, who has amassed a 65-20 record in his two and a half years since taking over for Mike Krzyzewski, including a 32-11 mark during conference games.
Saturday marks the first time that Duke and SMU have met as conference foes as well as the first game that Chris Carrawell will serve as head coach in any capacity.
The Blue Devils have won seven consecutive games, including three conference games and its premier non-conference matchup with No. 2 Auburn inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It will also be Duke’s first game away from home since an 82-56 victory over Georgia Tech on December 21.
SMU enters the game looking for its eight straight win and a signature victory to try and jumpstart its NCAA Tournament resume. The Mustangs defeated Virginia, 63-51, in its first home ACC matchup as well as a throttling of Boston College, 103-77, on the road.
Andy Enfield will take his team to Chapel Hill on Tuesday to face North Carolina.
Duke returns on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh and head coach Jeff Capel, who will be trying to challenge the Blue Devils at the top of the conference’s regular season standings.
Tipoff between the Blue Devils and Mustangs is slated for 2:15 p.m. ET (The CW Network).