Duke basketball observations from Blue Devils' exhibition win vs. UNC Pembroke

DURHAM – Next time it’ll be real.

Duke basketball wrapped up its preseason schedule with a 109-64 win against UNC Pembroke on Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Preseason favorites to win the ACC and the No. 2 team in the AP Top 25 poll, the Blue Devils return four of their top five scorers from a squad that won 27 games and the 2023 ACC Tournament.

Kyle Filipowski, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, scored a game-high 17 points as one of six Blue Devils in double figures. Tyrese Proctor and Jared McCain had 15 points each, Jeremy Roach added 13, Sean Stewart tallied 12 and Mark Mitchell contributed 11.

Duke opens the regular season Nov. 6 against Dartmouth. Here are some observations from Wednesday’s exhibition game.

Jared McCain joins Kyle Filipowski, returners in Duke basketball’s starting lineup

In its first public action against another team, Duke rolled with returning starters Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski in its starting lineup. Freshman guard Jared McCain was the fifth starter for the Blue Devils. Ryan Young and Caleb Foster were the first Blue Devils off the bench.

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Tyrese Proctor gets off to blistering start

Sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor didn’t waste any time getting going against UNCP. Proctor drained 4-of-5 three-pointers in the first three minutes, scoring 12 of Duke’s first 14 points. He finished the first half with 15 points as Duke carried a 59-24 lead into the locker room.

Blue Devils money from the free-throw line, 3-point range

Duke was in attack mode from start to finish. The Blue Devils' aggressive play paid off with a seemingly-endless stream of free throws as they knocked down 36-of-43 free throws. McCain led the way in that category, draining each of his nine shots from the charity stripe. Roach made 9-of-10 free throws and Mitchell knocked down 6-of-8 freebies. Duke also made nearly half of its 3-point attempts, finishing with 11 treys.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Tyrese Proctor, Jared McCain power Duke basketball in exhibition win