Michigan Vs Duke: Cameron Boozer, No. 3 Duke Knock Off No. 1 Michigan in Raucous D.C. Showcase
In a late-night neutral-site showdown billed as a possible Final Four preview, Cameron Boozer scored 18 points as No. 3 Duke handed a 68-63 defeat to the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines at Capital One Arena in Washington. Michigan Vs Duke mattered as both teams entered the matchup with long streaks and national implications; the result snapped Michigan’s recent unbeaten run in one account and updated season records in another.
Michigan Vs Duke: Final score, late shot and key contributors
Duke won 68-63. Cameron Boozer, with his father Carlos Boozer in attendance, buried a 3-pointer with 1: 55 remaining that pushed Duke to a 64-58 lead. Isaiah Evans added 14 points for the Blue Devils, Caleb Foster scored 12, and Patrick Ngongba II contributed 11. Yaxel Lendeborg led Michigan with 21 points.
Game flow and decisive moments
Defense controlled much of the first half in a spirited, physical affair where neither team led by more than five points. With 0. 8 seconds remaining before halftime, Patrick Ngongba II was fouled fighting for a rebound and converted both free throws to give Duke a 35-33 halftime lead. In the second half, Duke won the rebounding battle 41-28 and exploited soft spots in Michigan’s top-rated defense, while Michigan settled for numerous perimeter attempts, shooting 6-of-25 from three.
Season context, records and pregame notes
Pre-game materials listed Michigan at 25-1 and Duke at 24-3. The postgame recap listed both teams at 25-2. The Wolverines had been on an 11-game winning streak in one account and had replaced Arizona atop the Top 25 earlier in the week; that same account noted the now-fourth-ranked Wildcats won at No. 2 Houston earlier the same day, making it the first time since Feb. 8, 2025 that the teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 lost on the same day.
The matchup was part of the Edward Jones Capital Showcase at Capital One Arena. Tipoff had been set for 6: 30 p. m., and Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden were listed as the on-air crew. Both teams were featured on a national college basketball pregame show during the morning shootaround, and fans inside the arena echoed chants of "Let's go Duke!" and "Let's go Blue!" as tickets had traded at high prices in the hours before the game, with upper-level seats reaching approximately $600 and courtside seats fetching roughly $6, 000.
Historical series, milestones and program notes
This was the programs' first meeting in 12 years. One recap noted Duke improved to 23-8 all-time against Michigan and 7-0 on neutral courts, a series that includes the 1992 national title game. One account said Michigan had not beaten Duke since Dec. 6, 2009, in Ann Arbor; another historical note placed Michigan's last win over Duke on Dec. 6, 2008 and detailed earlier upsets and tournament runs. Michigan’s return to Washington was its first since 2021, when the program defeated Prairie View A&M 77-49 in a Coaches vs. Racism matchup, and was its first downtown D. C. appearance since a 2017 Big Ten Tournament title run at the arena that followed an incident in which the team plane slid off the runway en route to the capital.
Michigan roster performance and individual seasons
One pregame summary highlighted Michigan’s statistical depth: a so-called "Big Three" of Yaxel Lendeborg (listed at 14. 4 points, 7. 5 rebounds per game), Morez Johnson Jr. (13. 5 ppg, 7. 3 rpg) and Aday Mara (11. 2 ppg, 7. 1 rpg) accounting for more than 45 percent of scoring and over 55 percent of rebounding. That summary also listed Aday Mara with 71 blocks (2. 73 bpg), at least one block in every game, and 22 multi-block games, including a career-high six against Penn State; over his last four games he had added 16 assists (4. 0 apg), including a career-best seven at Northwestern. L. J. Cason was noted for recent scoring bursts — four double-figure games in five contests, a career-best 18 at Northwestern and a 58. 8 percent field-goal mark with a 9-for-27 three-point stretch over the span. Sixth-man Trey McKenney was listed with 18 double-figure games, a team-best 90. 5 percent free-throw mark with 15 consecutive makes, and 43 three-pointers on the season. A season summary attributed to pregame materials tallied Michigan with 21 wins by 10 or more points, 13 by 20+, 10 by 30+, seven by 40+ (a noted Big Ten record) and one by 50+.
Coaching takeaways and what’s next
Duke’s coach described the contest as feeling like a March or April game and praised Michigan while valuing the experience for a tournament-like environment; he said the event simulated conditions the team may face in postseason play. Michigan’s coach framed the outcome as a learning moment, noting the team now knows more about itself, will be better because of the game and singled out rebounding shortfalls and timely errors that Duke capitalized on. One postgame note mentioned Duke could return to Capital One Arena in just over a month for the East Regional of the NCAA tournament.
A wire service contributed to elements of the coverage. Separately, a related web page showed a "browser not supported" message and suggested downloading a modern browser for the best online experience; that page indicated the site had been built to use newer web technologies for a faster reader experience.
