The Duke Blue Devils may be racking up wins, but there’s one part of their game that continues to lag behind: free throw shooting. Heading into mid-January, Duke is hitting just 70.8% from the line - that’s 226th in the nation out of 365 Division I teams. In other words, when Duke has a good night at the stripe, it’s the exception, not the rule.
Wednesday night’s 71-56 win over Cal was another reminder. The Blue Devils went just 8-for-17 from the free throw line, a stat that stood out even more in a game they otherwise controlled. Afterward, freshman Isaiah Evans didn’t shy away from the issue when asked about the team’s struggles.
“The evolution ball is not my favorite,” Evans said during a postgame TV interview. “I wouldn’t lie to you.
I wouldn’t make no excuses. We love that Nike ball, but you know, obviously, we just have to play through it.”
Evans’ comments point to a subtle - but real - challenge college teams face on the road. At Cameron Indoor, Duke plays with a Nike-issued basketball.
But on the road, they’re at the mercy of the home team’s sponsor. Against Cal, that meant using a Wilson Evolution ball, which can feel noticeably different in terms of grip, weight, and bounce - especially to players who’ve grown accustomed to one brand.
Still, it’s hard to pin Duke’s free throw issues entirely on the ball. The splits tell a more nuanced story.
At home, the Blue Devils are shooting 72.0% from the line. On the road, that number dips slightly to 69.7%.
Not exactly a dramatic drop. Meanwhile, their field goal percentage actually holds up well in both environments - 50.7% at home, 48.3% on the road - and their three-point shooting is nearly identical: 34.8% at home, 34.4% away.
So while the ball might be a factor, it’s probably not the main culprit. It’s more likely that Duke’s free throw issues are about rhythm and focus - two things that can be tough to maintain with a young roster in hostile environments.
Evans, for his part, had a solid night overall, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting. He knocked down four threes but went just 1-for-3 from the line, mirroring the team’s broader struggles.
Duke shot 45% from the field and only 22% from deep against Cal, so it wasn’t exactly a lights-out performance. But they defended well, controlled the tempo, and did enough to win comfortably.
The bigger picture? Duke has managed to overcome its inconsistencies at the stripe thanks to strong overall shooting and a defense that travels.
And now, they have a chance to do something no other ACC team has done this season: sweep the California road trip. A win over Stanford on Saturday would do just that.
The free throws are still a concern, no question. But if Duke keeps finding ways to win while ironing out the kinks, that’s a sign of a team learning how to grow - even when the ball doesn’t bounce quite the way they like.