The Duke basketball program improved to 9-0 on the season following a thrilling 67-66 victory over No. 15 Florida at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Isaiah Evans was the hero, knocking down a clutch three with under 20 seconds to go and the Blue Devils down by two, but it was once again Cam Boozer who led the way with another incredible performance. However, concerns are beginning to arise about the Blue Devils' reliance on Boozer, as this marks two matchups for Duke in a row against ranked opponents where Boozer was the only consistent bright spot offensively for the team.
Boozer went for a game-high 29 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists on 10-of-21 (47.6%) shooting from the field. Similar to Duke's 80-71 win over No. 25 Arkansas on Thanksgiving, the offense revolved around the star freshman for most of the second half. With Boozer's offensive dominance and the Blue Devils' elite defensive versatility, Duke's gotten away with it up to this point. However, issues could arise in the future if Jon Scheyer can't find consistent offense outside of Boozer.
Seth Davis says Cam Boozer's elite play is "not enough" for Duke basketball in the long term
After Duke's thrilling victory, Davis spoke on TNT and gave his honest insight into the long term outlook of the Blue Devils, given how reliant the team has been on Boozer to create in big games.
"As good as Cam Boozer is, it's not a formula for long term success...You can see the pieces are there for Duke..It's good to learn these things while you're winning, but I'm just telling you, as good as Cam Boozer is, and he may be the best player in the country, it's not enough," Davis said.
Boozer accounted for 40% of Duke's made field goals and 38% of the team's total shot attempts. Scheyer has yet to find a reliable second option outside his star rookie for offense. It has to be Isaiah Evans in the long term, but his struggles as of late have certainly hurt them.
In Duke's last two games against the Razorbacks and Gators, Evans averaged 11 points per game on 33.3% shooting from the field and just 23.5% shooting from three on 17 attempts. Additionally, the Blue Devils have totaled 14 bench points combined in those two ranked matchups.
Now, it's just December, and Duke will look vastly different in March compared to how it does right now. Boozer might be the best player in the entire country, but Scheyer will need much more consistency on the offensive end if the Blue Devils are going to compete for a national title.