The Duke basketball program fell for the first time on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, as No. 19 Texas Tech put together a second half surge to take down the Blue Devils 82-81. It was a complete throw-away job by Duke, as it held a 46-36 lead at the halftime break and extended its lead to 17 points nearing the midway point of the second half. A lack of defensive intensity mixed with the inability to knock down free throws plagued Jon Scheyer's club, but losses are going to happen, and are necessary for the long-term success of elite teams.
Taking away the positives, freshman guard Cayden Boozer was likely the biggest bright spot for the Blue Devils down the stretch. The rookie played by far his best game against a high-major opponent so far this season and showed great signs as Duke's backup point guard for the rest of the campaign. Boozer has struggled to see a ton of time in the Blue Devils' marquee games, and the production wasn't regularly there when he was on the floor. But at MSG, Boozer showed the two-way talent he possesses.
Duke basketball freshman guard Cayden Boozer displays two-way talent despite loss to Texas Tech
Boozer was seldom a factor in any of Duke's matchups against power conference teams heading into the date with Texas Tech. In the Blue Devils' five high-major contests before Saturday night, Boozer averaged just 2.6 points and 1.8 assists on 33.3% shooting from the field while shooting a combined 1-of-4 (25%) from three. The 6'4" point guard averaged just 13.6 minutes a contest through those five.
However, Boozer finally had his coming-out party against the Red Raiders, tallying 13 points to go along with two assists on 5-of-8 (62.5%) shooting from the field and 2-of-5 (40%) shooting from three in 19 minutes. The freshman provided a huge spark in the second half as the Blue Devils tried to keep the Red Raiders at arm's length, and despite the team falling in the end, these were very promising signs for Boozer.
This was only the second high-major game for Duke where Boozer saw over 15 minutes of action, and he took full advantage of the time he was given. As the season progresses, establishing a consistent scoring guard duo of Boozer and Caleb Foster will be a huge development for Scheyer's team as the season progresses.