Duke Dominates No. 8 Tennessee 103-64 in Cameron Exhibition as Rippey Scores 21

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke's second-ranked men's basketball team delivered an emphatic preseason statement Tuesday night, beating No. 8 Tennessee 103-64 in an exhibition at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils controlled the matchup from the opening minutes, built a 24-point halftime lead and finished with six players scoring in double figures.

Freshman Deron Rippey Jr. led all scorers with 21 points, adding three assists and three steals. John Blackwell scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including four made three-pointers. Dame Sarr contributed 15 points, Patrick Ngongba II scored 13, and Sebastian Wilkins and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje finished with 11 apiece.

The Blue Devils established their advantage immediately. Duke opened with a 17-2 lead while holding Tennessee without a field goal for nearly six minutes. A later 12-2 burst pushed the margin to 29-6 with 10:49 remaining before halftime. Duke led by as many as 28 in the first half and carried a 54-30 advantage into the locker room.

Tennessee could not mount a sustained response after the break. Blackwell scored seven consecutive Duke points during one second-half stretch, and Boumtje Boumtje hit a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 40 at 86-46. Rippey later scored seven straight points to reach 21, with Duke eventually cruising to the 39-point final margin.

The numbers illustrated Duke's control at both ends. The Blue Devils shot 54.5 percent from the floor, compared with 33.9 percent for Tennessee. Duke won the rebounding battle 44-29 and dominated points in the paint 46-16. The Volunteers connected on only four of 18 three-point attempts, while Duke made 36.4 percent of its shots from long range.

Cayden Boozer supplied six assists and five rebounds and posted a plus-24 rating in his time on the floor. Ngongba grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The spread of scoring across returning players and newcomers offered an early indication of Duke's offensive options under coach Jon Scheyer.

The result is an exhibition rather than a regular-season victory, so it does not change the teams' official win-loss records. Even so, the matchup between top-10 programs provided a significant test ahead of November. Duke next travels to No. 17 Kansas for another exhibition Sunday, October 25, at 1 p.m., before opening its regular season against Army on November 2.

Duke's performance gave its supporters a glimpse of the team's pace, interior presence and shooting depth, but the regular season will determine whether those early signs translate into sustained success.