CHICAGO – It took Cameron Boozer some time, but the Duke basketball freshman quickly figured it out.
Much like the rest of his team, Boozer needed a few minutes to settle into Duke’s Thanksgiving Day matchup with No. 21 Arkansas. The Blue Devils opened a combined 1-of-9 from the field, with Boozer starting 0-for-2 with a pair of early turnovers. His first basket didn’t come until a layup at the 10:06 mark.
But the flip switched.
From there, Boozer made five of his final six shots to close the half, scoring 15 points in the final 10 minutes. He fueled a 10-0 Duke run in the closing stretch, scoring three times and assisting the others as No. 4 Duke erased a sluggish offensive start and built its first double-digit lead.
Boozer finished with 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting, tying a career-high he set vs. Indiana State on Nov. 14. He powered the Blue Devils past the Hogs, 80-71, at United Center.
Duke is off to its first 8-0 start since 2017-18.
‘He just put us on his back,’ coach Jon Scheyer said. ‘Thirty-five points, nine assists, seven fouls drawn, just passing, doing everything, defending.’
Twenty of Boozer’s points came in the second half, which Duke did not take control of until late. Arkansas held a seven-point lead with 10 minutes remaining, and much as he did in the first half, Boozer scored 14 of his points across those final minutes as Duke outscored Arkansas 27-11 and pulled away to win.
‘I thought that was a key moment for our team, just to learn how to win some games like that,’ Scheyer said. ‘That was the first time being put in that situation.’
Boozer used his size, bullying his way to the paint and drawing a game-high seven fouls, four more than any teammate. He went 7-of-11 from the charity stripe and helped Duke dominate the paint, 42-28.
‘We realized that they weren’t helping from the other big, that they didn’t really have an answer for me,’ Boozer said postgame. ‘Coach was telling me, get down the hill, get to the rim, they can’t stop you, and I did a lot of that in the second half for sure.’
Arkansas tried different matchups and defenses against Boozer, but he always seemed to have an answer.
‘Cameron, he was a beast,’ Razorbacks coach John Calipari said. ‘We were trying different things and trying to get guys just to stay in front and make it a tough thing.
‘As soon as he figured out I can put my shoulder into this guy’s chest and move him, then that’s all he did.’
It marked Boozer’s first time playing, but not being, in United Center. His father, Carlos, played four out of his 13 NBA seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Carlos was in attendance to watch the game.
‘I have a lot of memories here, being in the family room, dunking on the mini hoop, I had more bounce back then,’ Cameron said. ‘When you walk into the arena, it’s huge. It’s a great vibe, a lot of aura. I’m just thankful to be in this city.’
Duke next hosts Florida at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 2. The Blue Devils are in the middle of a three-game stretch against ranked opponents, with a road trip to Michigan State also on the docket Dec. 6.
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.