Duke basketball is 1-0 to start ACC play after taking down Georgia Tech, 85-79, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
The No. 5 Blue Devils (12-1) led for only 2:25 of the first period and entered the half trailing 43-39, shooting just 36.7% from the field. A pair of Nik Khamenia free throws at the 13:58 mark of the second period gave Duke its first lead since late in the first half as Cameron Boozer stretched it to a multi-possession game on Duke’s next possession with a layup and successful and-1 free throw attempt.
Georgia Tech remained within striking distance, never trailing by more than seven and getting within one, but was unable to regain the lead as it was outscored by Duke 46-36 in the second period.
Cameron Boozer led all scorers with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Evans (17), Cayden Boozer (13), Caleb Foster (12) and Patrick Ngongba II (11) were also in double figures for Duke. The Blue Devils finished the day 40.6% from the field and Georgia Tech 53.7%.
The Blue Devils now look ahead to their first ACC road trip of the season, heading to Tallahassee, Florida to take on Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 3.
The Fayetteville Observer brought you live updates, scores and highlights from Duke basketball vs. Georgia Tech. Check them out.
Duke basketball vs Georgia Tech live updates
In addition to live updates and highlights, there is a live scoreboard at the bottom of this section.
Duke starts ACC play 1-0, taking down Georgia Tech 85-79.
Georgia Tech Kowacie Reeves Jr. hit a 3 to make it a one possession game with 39 seconds remaining but Cameron Boozer was fouled on Duke’s next possession and his free throws put the Blue Devils up 83-78 with 28.7 to go.
Cayden Boozer, who is making his first start as a Blue Devil, hit a jumper from the free throw line with 1:22 to go, extending Duke’s lead to 80-75 and forcing a Georgia Tech timeout. Boozer is up to 13 points with his season-high being 14 vs. Western Carolina.
The Blue Devils remain ahead, 78-75, with 1:43 left in the contest. Georgia Tech has gotten within one and has never trailed by more than seven.
Duke holds the 76-73 edge with 3:17 to go. The Blue Devils have been held without a field goal for the last 2:29.
A Caleb Foster wing trey off a pass from Cameron Boozer put Duke ahead 70-63 with 8:10 left in the contest. It marks the Blue Devils’ largest lead of the game.
Duke held its biggest lead of the day, up 64-59, but Georgia Tech has closed in and trails just 64-63 with 9:22 to go.
A pair of free throws by Nik Khamenia give Duke its first lead since there was 2:45 to go in the first half, up 56-54 with 13:56 to go, and Cameron Indoor Stadium is rocking. It marked Khamenia’s first points of the day.
A Cameron Boozer layup and successful and-1 free throw put Duke ahead 59-54, its largest lead of the day and first multi-possession lead.
A Cayden Boozer layup followed by a made and-1 free throw attempt made it a one possession game, followed by a Georgia Tech miss and a Patrick Ngongba II layup on the other end to tie it 52-all with 15:52 to go. Duke is outscoring Georgia Tech 13-9 to start the period as the Yellow Jackets have missed their last four field goal attempts.
The Yellow Jackets take the 43-39 lead going into the break after going 19-of-28 (67.9%) from the field with 11 turnovers. Duke shot just 11-of-30 (36.7%). The Georgia Tech bench is outscoring that of Duke’s 17-0.
Halftime: Georgia Tech 43, Duke 39
Yellow Jackets have turned the ball over 11 times but finish the period 67.9% from the field while Duke is shooting 36.7%.
Split box at the break: pic.twitter.com/dI9KgF03HP
— Anna Snyder (@annaesnydr) December 31, 2025
Duke has made just one of its last nine field goal attempts, trailing Georgia Tech 39-37 with 1:32 remaining in the first half. Caleb Foster hit a trey to briefly give Duke the lead, but back-to-back buckets from the Yellow Jackets put them back ahead as Jon Scheyer called a timeout.
Despite turning the ball over nine times, Georgia Tech is shooting 68.2% from the floor, missing only seven baskets, and holds the 35-33 lead over Duke with 3:53 remaining in the first half. Duke is shooting 34.6% from the floor with 10 of its points coming from the free throw line. Georgia Tech has yet to shoot a free throw.
Isaiah Evans came up with a steal and made the fast break layup attempt but was fouled. Evans, who is up to 8 points, made the and-1 free throw to put Duke ahead 31-29 with 6:49 left in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets have made each of their last three field goal attempts to hold the lead 23-20 at the 10:40 mark of the first half. The first five of Duke’s field goals were from deep, with Caleb Foster’s floater at the 11:23 mark being Duke’s first 2-pointer of the day. Georgia Tech is off to a 69.2% start from the field and Duke 40%.
Its 9-9 at the under-16 timeout. All shots made have been from deep, with both teams combining for six treys early. Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II and Isaiah Evans have each scored from deep for Duke. Georgia Tech led 9-3 but Duke has used a 6-0 run across the last 1:04 to tie it heading into the media timeout.
Nikolas Khamenia, Maliq Brown and Dame Sarr entered for Duke after the break.
Jon Scheyer made some changes to his starting five. Cayden Boozer enters the lineup and will be making his first start against Cameron Boozer, Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster.
Duke basketball injury updates
Per the ACC injury report released on Tuesday, Dec. 30, Iffy Ufochukwu is the lone Blue Devil that will be unavailable vs. the Yellow Jackets. Dyllan Thompson is out for Georgia Tech.
What channel is Duke basketball vs Georgia Tech on today?
TV Channel: ACC Network
Stream: Fubo
The Duke vs. Georgia Tech game will air on ACC Network and can be streamed via Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Duke basketball vs Georgia Tech start time
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 31
Start time: 4 p.m. ET
The Duke basketball vs. Georgia Tech game tips off at 4 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
Duke basketball 2025-26 scheduleOct. 3: Countdown to Craziness Oct. 21: 96-71 win vs. UCF (Brotherhood Run Exhibition) Oct. 26: 83-76 win at Tennessee (Exhibition)Nov. 4: 75-60 win vs. Texas (Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte)Nov. 8: 95-54 win vs. Western CarolinaNov. 11: 114-59 win at Army West PointNov. 14: 100-62 win vs. Indiana StateNov. 18: 78-66 win vs. Kansas (State Farm Championship Classic at Madison Square Garden)Nov. 21: 100-42 win vs. Niagara (Brotherhood Run)Nov. 23: 93-56 win vs. Howard (Brotherhood Run)Nov. 27: 80-71 win vs. Arkansas (CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic)Dec. 2: 67-66 win vs. Florida (ACC/SEC Challenge) Dec. 6: 66-60 win at Michigan StateDec. 16: 97-73 win vs. LipscombDec. 20: 82-81 loss to Texas Tech (Madison Square Garden)Dec. 31: vs. Georgia TechJan. 3: at Florida StateJan. 6: at LouisvilleJan. 10: vs SMUJan. 14: at CaliforniaJan. 17: at StanfordJan. 24: vs. Wake ForestJan. 26: vs. LouisvilleJan. 31: at Virginia TechFeb. 3: vs. Boston CollegeFeb. 7: at North CarolinaFeb. 10: at PittsburghFeb. 14: vs. ClemsonFeb. 16: vs. SyracuseFeb. 21: vs. Michigan (Duel in the District, Washington D.C.)Feb. 24: at Notre DameFeb. 28: vs. VirginiaMarch 2: at NC StateMarch 7: vs. North CarolinaMarch 10-14: ACC Tournament (Charlotte)
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.