Duke coach Jon Scheyer misses No. 4 Blue Devils’ game at SMU due to illness

Duke coach Jon Scheyer did not travel with the No. 4 Blue Devils for their game at SMU on Saturday due to illness. The program revealed Scheyer’s status roughly 15 minutes before tipoff and announced associate head coach Chris Carrawell would serve as acting head coach for the game.

The game marks the first time Scheyer has missed a game in his three season after taking over as the successor to legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. He is expected to return for Duke’s Tuesday home game against Pitt. In the meantime, Carrawell made for an obvious candidate to serve as acting head coach as he’s been assistant with the program since 2018.

Being without Scheyer against the Mustangs was less than ideal as Duke jockeyed for position early in the ACC race. SMU entered at 11-2 (2-0 ACC) with double-digit victories against Virginia and Boston College to begin conference play. 

The Mustangs entered ranked No. 1 in the ACC in points per game at 87.2 and tops in the conference in shooting at 49.6% under first-year coach Andy Enfield. It was the first meeting between the teams since the 1988 NCAA Tournament. It was Duke’s first trip to SMU since 1977.