No. 2 Duke extended their winning streak to 16 games on Wednesday, defeating Syracuse 83-54, despite missing a crucial reserve player. The 6-6 small forward who has been in every game for the Blue Devils this season but did not travel due to sickness. He is a transfer from Purdue who joined Duke last summer, averages 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds for the Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 ACC). This season, he averaged 14.4 minutes per game and hit 36.4% of his three-point attempts.
“Look, Mason’s as tough as it comes, as competitive as it gets,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, “so for him to be missing this trip, he’s really sick. Otherwise, he would be here.” According to Scheyer, Gillis urgently wanted to be in Syracuse with the team. “We told him no way,” Scheyer explained. Scheyer said he has “no idea” if Gillis will be able to travel for Duke’s next game, which is against Clemson on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. “We’ll see when we get back,” Scheyer replied. “Let’s see how he is tomorrow. But if he’s not here, it suggests he’s not feeling well.”
Duke competed without Gillis just as Scheyer’s whole roster returned for Saturday’s 87-70 victory over North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Maliq Brown, a 6-9 junior forward, played his first game after missing four games and all but one minute of another due to a sprained knee that kept him out for three weeks. Brown, Gillis, and starter forward Sion James were Duke’s three significant transfer portal signings last spring, when Scheyer rebuilt the roster in preparation for freshman sensation Cooper Flagg’s arrival. Flagg, a preseason all-American, is one of three rookies to start all 21 Duke games this season, joining 6-6 forward Kon Knueppel and 7-2 center Khaman Maluach.