Duke Blue Devils Guard Tyrese Proctor has made history in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games. He is the first Blue Devils player to make five or more three-pointers in back-to-back tournament games since 2010. The last Duke player to accomplish the feat was Jon Scheyer in 2010. That is poetic as Scheyer has been Proctor’s head coach for all three seasons of his collegiate career.
Proctor scored 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three in Duke’s 1st round win over Mount Saint Mary’s He continued his stellar play with a career-high 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting from deep against the Baylor Bears. Will the star guard be able to keep up his historic shooting pace as the Blue Devils eye a deep tournament run?
Duke Dominated the First 2 Rounds
The Blue Devils are the No. 1 seed in the East Region and have played like it in their opening two games. They defeated Mount Saint Mary’s by 44 and Baylor by 23 on Sunday. The team has done seemingly everything right in the NCAA Tournament thus far. Both their offense and defense are firing on all cylinders through two games.
It should also give Duke confidence that John R. Wooden Award finalist Cooper Flagg has yet to find his footing in the NCAA Tournament. He suffered an ankle sprain in the ACC Tournament. Flagg has looked healthy but is averaging 16 points per game. The Blue Devils have not needed the star player to be at his best in the opening two rounds. Flagg will need to be more involved for Duke to reach its full potential.
Final Thoughts
Proctor and the Duke Blue Devils return to the court next week against the winner of Arizona-Baylor. Regardless of which team prevails, it will be a far stiffer than Duke has faced in their first two games. Proctor may not have to be historic, but will need to play well for the Blue Devils to advance.
