🚨 Cayden Boozer Takes Outfield in NCAAs With Breakthroughs!
Duke basketball may have found March Madness secret weapon in Cayden Boozer, who delivered back-to-back career-high performances in the ACC Tournament.
CHARLOTTE, N. C. — Coming off a career-high 16 points in Duke basketball 's semifinal win over Clemson, Cayden Boozer once again delivered for the Blue Devils .
The freshman matched his career high in top-seeded Duke 's (32-2) 74-70 win over No. 2 seed Virginia on Saturday, March 14, to claim back-to-back ACC regular-season and tournament titles. Fourteen of his points came in the first half, and his only points in the second half – a putback layup with two minutes remaining – gave Duke a lead it held on to for the remainder of the contest after 16 lead changes.
Boozer played all 40 minutes against the Cavaliers. "To play 40 minutes against Virginia when they're pressing you the whole game was just an incredible performance, man," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. "Incredible.
" The freshman jumped into a starting role after Caleb Foster fractured his foot in Duke's regular-season finale against UNC on March 7. He made just his fifth start in Duke's tournament opener against Florida State, going 1-of-5 from the field in the first half but finishing with nine points, including a key putback late. "To be able to have the adversity in the first half of that game and be able to just figure it out in that game, I think was just really important to be prepared for that because it might happen again in the tournament," Boozer said.