WASHINGTON — Cameron Boozer scored 18 points and handed No. 3 Duke another neutral-site loss to fellow Michigan State, knocking off the top-ranked Wolverines 68-63 on Saturday night in a potentially raucous preview of the Final Four in the nation’s capital.
The Wolverines have won 11 straight games and replaced Arizona atop the AP Top 25 poll this week. The now fourth-seeded Wildcats beat No. 2 Houston earlier Saturday, making it the first time since Feb. 8, 2025, that the teams ranked No. 1 and 2 in the poll lost on the same day.
With his father, former Duke and NBA star Carlos Boozer in attendance, Cameron Boozer hit a 3-pointer with 1:55 left to give the Blue Devils a 64-58 lead. Isaiah Evans added 14 points for the Blue Devils (25-2), who could return to Capital One Arena in just over a month to participate in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
“That was a game I didn’t feel was played in February,” Duke coach John Scheer said. “It felt like a game in March or April. We obviously have a great deal of respect for Michigan and the staff and how good they are. And I thought it was just a great game where our guys were ready to compete at a high level.”
In the program’s first meeting in 12 years, Duke improved to 23-8 against Michigan and 7-0 on neutral courts, a series that includes the 1992 national title game. Michigan has not beaten Duke since Dec. 6, 2009, in Ann Arbor.
Jaxel Lindeborg scored 21 points for the Wolverines (25-2), who have not lost since a three-point home loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 10.
Although second-year coach Dusty May’s Michigan team was praised for its unselfishness, Scheer’s Blue Devils showed more versatility on offense. Caleb Foster scored 12 points and Patrick Njongba II added 11 as Duke found weaknesses in the Wolverines’ top-rated defense.
Meanwhile, Duke won the rebounding battle 41-28 as Michigan settled for too many one-on-one perimeter shots, going 6 of 25 from 3-point range.
“When you schedule a game like this, you don’t know what it’s going to look like after the fact, or even the preparations leading up to it,” May said. “We know more about our team now. We will be better because of this game and in general.” “We didn’t rebound the way we needed to, we made some timely mistakes, and when you play a guy like Duke, they make you pay for every mistake. And they did that tonight.”
The fans exchanged chants of “Let’s go, Duke!” and “Let’s go blue!” For the rare must-see game in a city starved for meaningful basketball. ESPN’s “College GameDay” was broadcast from inside the arena during the team’s morning photo session, and tickets for upper-level seating sold in the $600 range in the hours leading up to the game, with in-court seats going for more than $6,000.
The defense had the upper hand in an enthusiastic and physical first half in which neither team advanced by more than five points. Njongba was fouled while fighting for a rebound with 0.8 seconds left and made two free throws to give the Blue Devils a 35-33 lead into halftime.
Surprisingly, Duke never trailed again.
“This match helped us understand the nature of the tournament environment,” Scheer said. “I’m grateful for this, just for this whole event, because I think it really emulates what it would be like. Whether we have a chance to play in Washington or not, this has helped us a lot.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
