With 90 seconds left and the score tied at 66, Cameron Boozer caught the ball near the elbow, faked a pass, stepped back, and drained a 17-footer like it was a layup. The Duke Blue Devils bench exploded. The Wintrust Arena crowd, packed with families still in Thanksgiving turkey-and-cranberry attire, fell silent—then roared. That shot, part of a 14-point burst in the final nine minutes, wasn’t just the dagger. It was the exclamation point on a performance that redefined what freshman dominance looks like in November. Duke beat Arkansas 80-71 on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025, in Chicago, turning what looked like a potential upset into a statement win.
Arkansas’s Fire, Duke’s Ice
The Razorbacks didn’t roll over. They came out smoking. Darius Acuff Jr. hit three straight threes in the first half, and Trevon Brazile dominated the paint with 14 points and 12 rebounds by halftime. Arkansas led by six with 14 minutes to go. Their ball movement was crisp, their defense aggressive. They’d won five straight, including a 20-point thrashing of a ranked West Coast team. This wasn’t a fluke. This was a team that believed they belonged on the same floor as the nation’s fourth-best program.
But then, something shifted.
Duke didn’t change their offense. They just stopped letting Arkansas have it.
Boozer’s Masterclass
Cameron Boozer didn’t just score. He orchestrated. He drove through contact. He blocked a shot that led to a fast-break dunk. He rebounded six offensive boards in the second half alone. His 35 points weren’t just volume—they were efficiency. 13-of-21 from the field. 9-of-10 from the line. And when Arkansas threw everything at him—double-teams, physicality, traps—he responded with a spin move into a fadeaway with 3:12 left that sent the Arkansas bench to their feet in disbelief.
"He wasn’t just the best player on the floor," said one veteran scout watching from the press row. "He was the only player who looked like he knew what was coming next."
And then there was Caleb Foster.
The Quiet Hero: Caleb Foster’s Defensive Masterpiece
Foster’s stat line—15 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds—looks like a solid all-around game. But the real story was what he didn’t do: let Darius Acuff Jr. breathe.
After halftime, Acuff had been unstoppable. He’d carved up Duke’s zone with crafty cuts and no-look passes. But in the final 10 minutes, Foster switched onto him full-time. No help. No traps. Just one-on-one, shoulder-to-shoulder defense. Acuff took six shots in those final minutes. He made one. He had three turnovers. His assists dropped to zero.
"That was the game," said a Duke Basketball Report forum user on November 27. "Cam got the headlines. But Foster took Acuff out of the game. That’s what won it."
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t highlight-reel material. But it was smarter than anything Arkansas had all night.
What This Means for Duke’s Title Hopes
Duke is now 7-0. No losses. No close calls. Just domination wrapped in poise. They’ve beaten five top-25 teams this season—this was the toughest. Their offense is balanced, their depth deep, their defense tightening. But the real takeaway? They’ve got a freshman who doesn’t flinch.
Boozer’s 35-point night was the most by a Duke freshman since Zion Williamson’s 36 in 2019. He’s averaging 24.7 points per game. He’s shooting 59% from the field. And he’s doing it against physical, veteran frontcourts—not just mid-major teams.
"This isn’t a fluke," said ACC Digital Network analyst Marcus Lacy in a postgame breakdown. "He’s got a veteran’s IQ and a kid’s explosiveness. That combo? It’s rare. And it’s terrifying for the rest of the country."
Arkansas’s Road Ahead
Arkansas is still 5-2. They’re not out of it. But this loss exposed a flaw: when the pressure rises, their offense stalls. Acuff is brilliant, but he’s not a closer. Brazile is a beast, but he can’t carry the team on his back. They need another scorer. They need a guy who can make a play when the defense collapses.
They’ll get that chance next week in the SEC. But for now, they’re left wondering: what if they’d just held on for one more possession?
What’s Next?
Duke heads into ACC play next week, with a home game against No. 15 Florida State looming. They’ve got a bye before that, but rest won’t be the focus. It’ll be film. On Boozer. On Foster. On how to close out games like this—because the real tests are coming.
Arkansas, meanwhile, returns home to face Missouri on December 4. Their coach, Eric Musselman, called this game "a wake-up call." He’s right. But it’s also a blueprint. They know what they need to fix. Now they just have to do it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Cameron Boozer’s performance compare to other top freshmen this season?
Boozer’s 35-point game against Arkansas was the highest-scoring performance by a freshman in Division I this season. Only three other freshmen have scored 30+ in a single game—none against a top-25 opponent. His 24.7-point average leads all true freshmen, and his 59% field goal rate is among the best in the country for players with over 100 attempts.
Why was Caleb Foster’s defense on Darius Acuff Jr. so crucial?
Acuff had been averaging 19.4 points per game and had scored 21 in this game before Foster locked onto him. In the final 10 minutes, Foster held Acuff to 1-of-6 shooting and forced three turnovers. Acuff’s assists dropped from 5 to 0 in that span. Foster didn’t just guard him—he disrupted Arkansas’s entire offensive rhythm, forcing them into isolation plays they couldn’t execute.
What’s the significance of this game being played at Wintrust Arena in Chicago?
The CBS Sports Thanksgiving Day Classic is designed to showcase top teams in major markets during the holiday. Chicago, with its large college basketball fanbase and neutral-site advantage, helps both teams gain national exposure. For Duke, playing in a neutral arena before ACC play tested their ability to perform under pressure without home-court advantage—something they’ll need in March.
Did Duke’s lack of outside shooting hurt them?
Yes. Duke shot just 27% from three (3-of-11), their worst of the season. Their bench struggled to find rhythm, and Isaiah Evans, their primary three-point threat, went 0-of-4. But Boozer’s interior dominance and Arkansas’s inability to capitalize on Duke’s cold shooting allowed Duke to win without relying on perimeter scoring—a sign of their growing versatility.
How does this win impact Duke’s NCAA Tournament seeding?
With seven wins over ranked teams (including three top-10 opponents), Duke has the strongest non-conference resume in the country. This win over Arkansas, a top-25 team in a marquee neutral-site game, solidifies their case as a No. 1 seed. Even if they lose one or two ACC games, their resume is now among the most impressive in recent memory.
What’s next for Arkansas after this loss?
Arkansas needs to develop a secondary scorer to complement Acuff and Brazile. Meleek Thomas, their sharpshooter, went 1-of-6 from three in this game. If he doesn’t start hitting consistently, Arkansas will struggle against elite defenses in SEC play. Their next two games—against Missouri and LSU—are winnable, but they’ll need to fix their late-game execution to avoid another collapse.
