This Duke team has the potential to be the best team in college basketball this season. At some point.
Right now, it isn't even close. Duke looked closer to the 25th-best team than the first. The Blue Devils were properly exposed by Michigan State on Tuesday night in Chicago, falling 79-73 in a game that was never really in doubt. The Spartans led wire-to-wire, taking the fight to Duke from the opening tip and proving to be the tougher, better-connected team.
That's difficult for Jon Scheyer to accept.
He knows his team is better than what it displayed at the United Center. But the truth is, Duke hasn't looked like the preseason title favorite in two of the three games it has played so far. Early chinks in the armor were evident against Army in the season opener, and Michigan State took full advantage of them.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. Getting exposed early in the season is good if you learn from it and get better. That's something Scheyer vowed would happen after the game.
"For me, it was a little bit of an out-of-body experience," Scheyer said, via The Devils Den. "Our team, I thought we weren't completely connected. Just the bottom line, we weren't connected. We're going to fix it. I can promise you that much. Our fans deserve better. That was not a good performance tonight.
"That wasn't Duke basketball."
Jon Scheyer vows that Duke will get things fixed after poor performance vs. Michigan State
Duke's lack of connectiveness was the most jarring thing. The offense was stagnant, the ball wasn't moving, and the Blue Devils rarely threatened an elite Michigan State defense in the halfcourt.
John Blackwell was the only player for Duke in double figures. He scored 17 points, but it took him 16 shots to get there.
The rest of the backcourt was a struggle. Cayden Boozer was practically invisible. Caleb Foster couldn't hit a shot off the bench. Deron Rippey gave a spark, but he only logged 12 minutes and is still working to earn Scheyer's trust.
The good news is it's a long season. Scheyer set up a gauntlet in the non-conference because he wanted his team to be battle-tested before ACC play.
We know this Duke team is better than the way it played against Michigan State. We saw a much better version in exhibition wins over Tennessee and Kansas. We'll see that version again, and likely soon.
Scheyer's work with this group is just beginning. Duke doesn't have much time to work out the kinks before the next test comes. Duke faces SIUE on Friday at Cameron before welcoming Illinois to Durham next Tuesday.
The Illini are also coming off a painful loss already. They fell to Texas Tech on the road and will be hungry for a quality win next week.
If Duke plays as it did against Michigan State, it'll be in danger of dropping a second game already.
Chances are, given Scheyer's track record, the Blue Devils will look like a totally different team this time next week.
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