Duke Rolls Over Belmont By 40

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 8: Sebastian Wilkins #5 of the Duke Blue Devils controls the ball against Jack Smiley #2 of the Belmont Bruins in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 8, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Duke showed a lot in its 40-point win over Belmont, but we’re going to start with one thing we’re not sure we’ve ever seen before: In the +/- column, every Duke player was + and every Belmont player was -.

It was bumpy, like exhibitions tend to be, but there was a lot to be excited about. Let’s start with the starters.

Jon Scheyer opened with Pat Ngongba, JoJo Boumtje Boumtje, Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, and John Blackwell. As you probably know, Caleb Foster and Drew Scharnowski are out with injuries.

Ngongba picked up three fouls in the first half and wasn’t overwhelming, finishing with 5 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Obviously, the fouls limited him somewhat, and he had some back-and-forth with his opponents that got a bit intense.

He wasn’t overwhelming, but it didn’t really matter, because Duke just kept bringing talented players in.

Take Boumtje Boumtje.

He scored 19 points, shooting 7-11/2-5. He also had 7 rebounds. He was highly fluid for a guy who’s listed at 7-2, and he did reasonably well on defense, though that’s not his strength.

Sarr is a much more physical presence than he was last season. He drove on a couple of occasions and handled the contact well. He shot 4-7/2-3 and was a real challenge for Belmont, whether on the perimeter or in the lane. Different player, quite simply, as evidenced by going 9-10 from the foul line.

Last season, he shot just 53.2 percent from the line, so that’s highly encouraging.

Boozer finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Blackwell wrapped up with 17 points on 5-10/2-6. Perhaps his best play was getting the ball back after Boumtje Boumtje hit a three just before the halftime buzzer to send the Blue Devils to the locker room on a 10-point run.

Deron Rippey came off the bench, and while he started slow, he finished with 11 points on 4-6/1-1. He also got 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Sebastian Wilkins played very well, wrapping up with 8 points, 6 boards, and 2 steals.

Bryson Howard called it a night with 5 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.

Cameron Williams, who we learned after the game has been ill, came in a bit later than we expected, but was pretty explosive, starting off immediately with a block. He finished with 2 points and 2 assists.

Maxime Meyer showed a lot of potential, but is also still somewhat gawky. That’ll disappear with time. He finished with 4 points on a pair of dunks, including one on a nice assist from Rippey. It may take him some time to adjust to the speed of the college game as he had three turnovers, and at least two were because he signifcantly misgauged the pass. He’ll get better as time goes on.

Jacob Theodosiou got in for three minutes and got a rebound.

Now, let’s look at the big picture stuff. Duke had 16 assists on 34 baskets, which is respectable, but not what it could be. However, with Foster and Scharnowski, both solid to superior passers, out for this one, it’s a short-term issue at worst. It also contributed to Duke’s 16 turnovers, which will also come down later.

Duke held Belmont to 34.48 percent overall and 23.3 percent on threes. And here’s a key stat from Thursday’s game: Belmont took nearly 52 percent of its shots from behind the line.

That’s not a big surprise, and in fairness, Duke too nearly 40 percent of its shots from back there.

However, with Ngongba, Boumtje Boumtje, Williams, and Meyer available to shut down the lane, and Sarr, Blackwell, Rippey, Howard, and Wilkins to add a second layer of trouble, Belmont had little choice: they weren’t getting inside of that very much.

As Scheyer said, the lineup is not set in stone and is likely to change, perhaps often. When Foster and Scharnowski are good to go, things will change even more.

But here’s what won’t change: Duke’s size inside, and overall athleticism, are going to drive everyone else crazy.

Call it a hunch, but it won’t surprise us at all if this year we see the most three-pointers ever taken against a Duke team.

Notes – One of Ngongba’s underrated skills is his ability to piss people off and make them lose their composure, which we saw here, as a Belmont player shoved him in the second half…we didn’t see Foster, but he, Ngongba, and Sarr have all changed their bodies dramatically…it was a 40-point win, but Belmont is clearly a well-coached team that made some very smart plays…Duke completely dominated with two players out and another recovering from an illness…it’s not a polished team yet, but the potential is crazy…Ryan Kelly was in the crows nest for the first time to do commentary on the game…

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