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Duke basketball passed its toughest preseason test, taking down Kansas 90-84 at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday in its final exhibition before the 2026-27 season.
The Blue Devils overcame a two-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Jayhawks 47-39 in the second half, finishing the preseason 3-0 after wins over Belmont and Tennessee.
Here are five takeaways from Duke basketball's win vs. Kansas:
The Blue Devils and Jon Scheyer got the exact test they wanted in their trip to Lawrence, Kansas. The game featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties.
Duke jumped out to an early lead, but Kansas erased what was once a 12-point deficit with an 18-8 run to take a 45-43 halftime lead. The teams traded blows early in the second half before Duke used an 11-0 run to regain the lead for good.
The Blue Devils outscored the Jayhawks 47-39 in the second half and held Kansas to two made field goals over its final 11 attempts. Duke also dominated Kansas 24-11 on the glass in the second half and won 22-16 in the paint after trailing 22-12 in that category at halftime, but the Jayhawks did finish the day outscoring Duke, 38-34, in the paint
After entering the game with a career-high 17 points, Patrick Ngongba II surpassed that mark less than a minute into the second half.
Ngongba finished with 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. He also went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line. He played 33 minutes, one minute shy of his career-high 34.
John Blackwell added 23 points, his highest scoring output of the preseason. He shot 6-of-12 from the field, 4-of-7 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Dame Sarr was Duke's other double-digit scorer, finishing with 12 points, including eight from the free-throw line.
After missing the first two of Duke's preseason games, Caleb Foster made his return against the Jayhawks. He was among the first off the bench for the Blue Devils, checking in at the 16:03 mark of the first half.
Foster saw action for 16 minutes and finished with two points (1-of-6 FG), two steals and an assist.
Sebastian Wilkins continued an impressive preseason, finishing with seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting night, including back-to-back dunks in the second half. He added four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 21 minutes.
Wilkins was among the first players off the bench for Duke, as he has been throughout the preseason.
After scoring in double figures in Duke's first two preseason games, 17-year-old Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje faced a different challenge against Kansas. The ACC preseason Rookie of the Year finished with six points on 2-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, in 27 minutes.
Boumtje Boumtje grabbed nine rebounds and added three assists and two steals. He was one of four Blue Devils with three fouls alongside Foster, Ngongba and Sarr.