The 7-foot-2 Duke basketball starting center responded to his discouraging outing at Clemson with a productive display versus Cal.
Entering Wednesday night’s wire-to-wire 78-57 home win over the Cal Golden Bears (12-13, 5-9 ACC) — Jon Scheyer’s 75th victory as Duke basketball head coach — the No. 3-ranked Duke Blue Devils (21-3, 13-1 ACC) enjoyed nine double-doubles between rookies Khaman Maluach and Cooper Flagg.
But no Blue Devils had posted a double-double of any variety since the 7-foot-2, 250-pound Maluach recorded 12 points and 15 boards in Duke’s home win over Miami on Jan. 14.
Maluach ended his four-week drought with a statement rebound performance after fouling out with only three points in Saturday night’s 77-71 defeat to now-No. 23 Clemson, where he watched from the bench as the Blue Devils’ 16-game winning streak ended.
In 22 minutes of action against the Golden Bears, the South Sudan native had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Maluach’s feat marked his fourth double-double as a Blue Devil, trailing only Flagg’s total for the team lead. He went 4-for-8 from the field, with three assists and one block.
“Our guards need to help him,” Scheyer remarked in his postgame press conference, emphasizing Maluach’s production. “I need to help him. However, his impact will always extend beyond scoring. I felt his tenacity and the way he performed tonight were exactly what we needed from him.”
The predicted 2025 NBA Draft lottery pick even made his second three-pointer as a Blue Devil, going 1-for-2 from downtown against Cal to improve to 2-for-9 on the season.
“I felt confident,” Maluach noted in the locker room regarding his momentum-boosting splash from the wing in the first half, “just like every other shot I take all the time. I expect every shot to go in. I felt confident. And it felt fantastic too.”
Duke basketball, currently 45-3 in Cameron Indoor Stadium under Scheyer’s direction, next plays the Stanford Cardinal (16-9, 8-6 ACC) at 4 p.m. ET Saturday (ABC).
Late-season Duke Blue Devils ranked on SI report cards:
1. Cooper Flagg.
2. Kon Knueppel
3.Sion James
4. Tyrese Proctor
5. Maliq Brown
6. Khaman Maluach
7. Isaiah Evans
8. Mason Gillis
