01-17-2026, 09:36 AM
I attended both games of the Maples Miracle in 1975 - when Stanford beat #2 UCLA 64-60 on Friday, January 17, then took down #6 USC 67-66 on the very next night. Is there another miracle in store 51 years later?
Duke comes in rated #6 with a 16-1 record (5-0 in the ACC, 5-0 on the road. Their only loss was 82-81 vs. Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden. They are 7-1 in Quad 1 games. and 6-1 vs. opponents in the Top-25. The Blue Devils are favored by 10.5 & the over/under is 147.5 - making the implied score 79-68.5.
Here is an insightful (and respectful) preview from the Duke perspective: https://www.dukebasketballreport.com/mai...p-stanford
Duke's starting line-up vs. Cal was:
#17 Cameron Boozer (6'9/250 Fr F) Son of former Duke & NBA star Carlos Boozer. Gatorade national PoY, co-MVP of McDonald's All-American game. Pre-season ACC 1st team All-ACC & RoY (& 2nd in voting for PoY). Projected to be a top-5 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Leads team in: scoring (22.8ppg on 57.8% shooting - 2nd in ACC to Ebuka Okorie with 22.9), rebounding (9.7rpg, 4th in ACC), assists (4.1apg, 10th in ACC), and steals (1.7/game, 8th in ACC).
#3 Isaiah Evans (6'6/180 So G/F) McDonald's All-American & North Carolina Gatorade PoY. ACC pre-season 2nd team All-ACC. Projected to be a top-15 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. 14.6ppg, 2.7 3s/game (5th in ACC), 87.1% FT shooter (3rd in ACC), 1.1 blocks/game
#21 Patrick Ngongba II (6'11/250 So C) ESPN & 247 Sports PoY in Virginia. Leads team with 1.4 blocks/game (7th in ACC). Scores 10.2ppg on 63.7% shooting. Grabs 6.4rpg.
#1 Caleb Foster (6'5/205 Jr G) 9.5ppg. Played at Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks), California MaxPreps PoY, had an offer from Stanford.
#7 Dame Sarr (6'8/190 Fr G/F) From Italy, debuted with FC Barcelona of the Spanish ACB league 3 years ago at age 16.Made their first -team roster last season. Might be matched up defensively on Okorie.
Other key Blue Devils include:
#2 Cayden Boozer (6'4/205 Fr G) twin brother of Cameron, 3.2apg & 8th in the ACC with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio
#6 Maliq Brown (6'9/225 Sr F) Only transfer (2 yrs at Syracuse) at Duke to get significant playing time (There are 2 transfers from Rice & 1 from Princeton on the roster.) A "defensive menace" per Coach Jon Scheyer. Only scores 5.1ppg, but shoots 69.7%.
#14 Nikolas Khamenia (6'8/215 Fr G/F) McDonalds All-American from Harvard Westlake
I'm not certain about Chisom Okpara's injury status. I saw one report listing him as Questionable. It also continued to list Tallis Toure & Kristers Skrinda as Questionable - as they both have been for awhile now. It did not include any mention of Evan Stinson - not sure if that was an oversight or if he might now be available.
With or without Okpara, this game will be another challenge for Stanford's big men. Duke is 4th in the ACC in rebounds with 40.3/game (trailing UVa, Louisville, & UNC - all of whom gave Stanford fits on the boards). And the Devils lead the ACC in rebounding margin with +9.2/game. I loved the effort from Cammann & Rohosy banging with UNC. But I expect Duke to be not only big, but more athletic than the Tar Heels. I'm hoping that Agarwal can continue to provide some help under the basket (and continue the rhythm he had going on 3s!). And I think that Giltay, Young, and Grant will need to chip in if this is going to be a competitive game.
Stanford was obviously lights out from beyond the arc vs. UNC - 16-28, including 10-15 in the 2nd half. But with Duke's length and athleticism. I expect them to provide significantly more defensive pressure on the perimeter. Duke leads the ACC in scoring margin (+19.9ppg) and is 3rd in FG% at 49.5% - with strong transition and in-the-paint offense.
Stanford is 2-2 vs. Duke all-time. Last season in Durham, the Devils breezed to a 106-70 win. This is obviously the toughest game on the schedule. As Al Michaels once said, "Do you believe in miracles?".
Duke comes in rated #6 with a 16-1 record (5-0 in the ACC, 5-0 on the road. Their only loss was 82-81 vs. Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden. They are 7-1 in Quad 1 games. and 6-1 vs. opponents in the Top-25. The Blue Devils are favored by 10.5 & the over/under is 147.5 - making the implied score 79-68.5.
Here is an insightful (and respectful) preview from the Duke perspective: https://www.dukebasketballreport.com/mai...p-stanford
Duke's starting line-up vs. Cal was:
#17 Cameron Boozer (6'9/250 Fr F) Son of former Duke & NBA star Carlos Boozer. Gatorade national PoY, co-MVP of McDonald's All-American game. Pre-season ACC 1st team All-ACC & RoY (& 2nd in voting for PoY). Projected to be a top-5 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Leads team in: scoring (22.8ppg on 57.8% shooting - 2nd in ACC to Ebuka Okorie with 22.9), rebounding (9.7rpg, 4th in ACC), assists (4.1apg, 10th in ACC), and steals (1.7/game, 8th in ACC).
#3 Isaiah Evans (6'6/180 So G/F) McDonald's All-American & North Carolina Gatorade PoY. ACC pre-season 2nd team All-ACC. Projected to be a top-15 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. 14.6ppg, 2.7 3s/game (5th in ACC), 87.1% FT shooter (3rd in ACC), 1.1 blocks/game
#21 Patrick Ngongba II (6'11/250 So C) ESPN & 247 Sports PoY in Virginia. Leads team with 1.4 blocks/game (7th in ACC). Scores 10.2ppg on 63.7% shooting. Grabs 6.4rpg.
#1 Caleb Foster (6'5/205 Jr G) 9.5ppg. Played at Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks), California MaxPreps PoY, had an offer from Stanford.
#7 Dame Sarr (6'8/190 Fr G/F) From Italy, debuted with FC Barcelona of the Spanish ACB league 3 years ago at age 16.Made their first -team roster last season. Might be matched up defensively on Okorie.
Other key Blue Devils include:
#2 Cayden Boozer (6'4/205 Fr G) twin brother of Cameron, 3.2apg & 8th in the ACC with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio
#6 Maliq Brown (6'9/225 Sr F) Only transfer (2 yrs at Syracuse) at Duke to get significant playing time (There are 2 transfers from Rice & 1 from Princeton on the roster.) A "defensive menace" per Coach Jon Scheyer. Only scores 5.1ppg, but shoots 69.7%.
#14 Nikolas Khamenia (6'8/215 Fr G/F) McDonalds All-American from Harvard Westlake
I'm not certain about Chisom Okpara's injury status. I saw one report listing him as Questionable. It also continued to list Tallis Toure & Kristers Skrinda as Questionable - as they both have been for awhile now. It did not include any mention of Evan Stinson - not sure if that was an oversight or if he might now be available.
With or without Okpara, this game will be another challenge for Stanford's big men. Duke is 4th in the ACC in rebounds with 40.3/game (trailing UVa, Louisville, & UNC - all of whom gave Stanford fits on the boards). And the Devils lead the ACC in rebounding margin with +9.2/game. I loved the effort from Cammann & Rohosy banging with UNC. But I expect Duke to be not only big, but more athletic than the Tar Heels. I'm hoping that Agarwal can continue to provide some help under the basket (and continue the rhythm he had going on 3s!). And I think that Giltay, Young, and Grant will need to chip in if this is going to be a competitive game.
Stanford was obviously lights out from beyond the arc vs. UNC - 16-28, including 10-15 in the 2nd half. But with Duke's length and athleticism. I expect them to provide significantly more defensive pressure on the perimeter. Duke leads the ACC in scoring margin (+19.9ppg) and is 3rd in FG% at 49.5% - with strong transition and in-the-paint offense.
Stanford is 2-2 vs. Duke all-time. Last season in Durham, the Devils breezed to a 106-70 win. This is obviously the toughest game on the schedule. As Al Michaels once said, "Do you believe in miracles?".
