Durham: No. 2 Duke falls to No. 5 Michigan State 79-73

In Durham, the No. 2 Duke men's basketball team lost to No. 5 Michigan State 79-73 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.

The game was the Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago. Duke's recap, the official box, Michigan State's recap and NCAA.com all list 79-73. The halves were 34 and 45 for the Spartans, and 25 and 48 for Duke. Duke is 2-1 and 0-0 in the ACC. Michigan State is 3-0 and 0-0 in the Big Ten. Both school pages list a 7 p.m. tip in Chicago. NCAA.com calls the night the State Farm Champions Classic.

This is a separate result from the 113-52 win over Coastal Carolina and the 84-50 opening win over Army.

How the lead held

Michigan State's recap says the Spartans led from the opening stretch through the final horn. Duke's box lists zero lead changes and one tie. Halftime was 34-25. Before the break Duke hit 7 of 27 shots, 25.9 percent. Michigan State's key stats print that same 7-of-27 line.

The largest margin both write-ups name is 14 points, 50-36, with 13:37 left. Michigan State credits Jeremy Fears Jr. with the three-point play that made it 50-36. Duke's recap says the Blue Devils trailed by as many as 14 in the second half and times that 50-36 score at 13:37. The Spartans later led 64-51, a 13-point margin. Duke's recap puts 64-51 at the under-eight timeout. Michigan State's recap times a Coen Carr put-back at 8:22 for that score.

Duke got within five points, 73-68. The Michigan State account puts that score at 2:03. Duke's recap lists 73-68 as the closest the Blue Devils came and does not print a clock for it. The Spartans' recap then has Jordan Scott's layup at 1:50 for 75-68, Fears making 3 of 4 free throws on the next two trips to make it 78-68, a five-point game again with 13 seconds left, and Fears making 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left. The final on every sheet used here is 79-73.

Who scored for Duke

The individual Duke lines are the official box.

John Blackwell led Duke with 17 points, on 6 of 16 shooting and 4 of 11 from three. Patrick Ngongba II scored 11, with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks. He made 2 of 7 from the field and 7 of 13 at the line. Caleb Foster had 9 points on 2 of 10, including 2 of 7 from three. Sebastian Wilkins also had 9, making 2 of 4 shots and all 4 of his free throws. Drew Scharnowski had 8. Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr had 6 each. Duke's recap names Blackwell at 17 and Ngongba at 11, with those seven boards, six assists and four blocks. Those figures match the sheet.

Michigan State

Fears finished with 18 points and 11 assists. The box lists 3 of 9 from the field, 12 of 17 at the line, and 7 rebounds. NCAA.com also lists the 18, the 11 assists and the 12 made free throws. Michigan State's recap says five rebounds. The figure in this story is the box's seven. Cameron Ward, whom the Spartans' recap calls Cam Ward, scored 14 and grabbed 6 rebounds, on 5 of 7 shooting and 4 of 4 at the line. Jasiah Jervis scored 10. Jordan Scott had 5 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocks.

Duke shot 20 of 60. The box prints 33.33 percent, which NCAA.com rounds to 33.3. From three, Duke connected on 7 of 29. The sheet prints 24.14 percent, and the NCAA.com story uses 24.1. Duke made 26 of 37 free throws. The sheet lists 18 offensive rebounds and 40 rebounds in all, plus 18 assists, 13 turnovers, 6 blocks and 5 steals. NCAA.com reports those same 18 offensive rebounds.

Michigan State shot 25 of 56, 44.6 percent, made 7 of 20 threes, and made 22 of 28 free throws. The box prints 78.57 percent at the line. The Spartans had 38 rebounds, 13 assists, 13 turnovers, 8 blocks and 7 steals. Their recap prints 22 of 27 free throws and 78.6 percent. Twenty-two of 28 is 78.6 percent, so the attempt total here is the one on the box.

Duke's recap says this was the third loss to the Spartans in the last 14 meetings, and that Duke is now 9-7 in the Champions Classic. Michigan State's recap says Duke still leads the all-time series 16-5, and that Tuesday ended a three-game Michigan State skid in that series.

Friday at Cameron

Duke's recap sends the team home Friday, Nov. 13, against SIU Edwardsville. The note lists the Cougars at 2-2. Tip is 8 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on The CW.

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Triangle Local is not Duke, Michigan State, or either conference.

Related coverage

• Duke beats Coastal Carolina 113-52
• Duke beats Army 84-50
• Duke women beat Florida Atlantic 78-56

Photos

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