For the first time since he took over as Duke basketball’s head coach, Jon Scheyer was not on the bench for a Blue Devils game on Saturday.

It's no surprise Chris Carrawell came out of the gates highly talkative and active in his debut as acting head coach at SMU on Saturday afternoon. After all, that's exactly how the 2000 ACC Player of the Year played while taking part in four Duke basketball regular season conference titles in as many seasons as a Blue Devil under Mike Krzyzewski.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer didn’t travel with the team to Dallas due to illness. Associate head coach Chris Carrawell took Scheyer’s spot on the bench as acting head coach at Moody Coliseum.

The SMU game is the first game Scheyer, who is in his third season as Duke’s head coach, missed since taking over the program following Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement in 2022. He never missed a game during his Duke playing career from 2006-10, when he appeared in 144 games.

Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer didn't make the trip to Dallas for the Blue Devils' ACC road game at SMU. Here's what we know.

"We have a great succession plan," Coach K had said as he bid adieu to his legendary career with the Blue Nation. The post Rival ACC Coach has 1 Request to Duke Fans for Jon Scheyer appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Now, one could argue that Saturday's win in Dallas, with Scheyer back home in Durham recovering from an illness at the time, kicked the Blue Devils' dominance up yet another notch. Apparently, the team's brilliant effort without Scheyer came as no surprise to the third-year head coach due to the confidence he has in his primary assistants: associate head coach Chris Carrawell,

Duke basketball continued its ACC dominance with a 76-47 win over Pitt, fueled by Cooper Flagg's 19 points and his viral highlight dunk. Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer addressed Flagg's 14-point explosion in the second half after the win.