Jon Scheyer Doesn't Believe Duke Played Up to Fans Standards Against Michigan State

We have to give a lot of credit for what Michigan State was able to do on both sides of the basketball against Duke, as it completely outplayed the Blue Devils team that many, including myself, consider the best team in America. 

Duke only lost this game by six points, but in the first half, it was clear that Michigan State was the better team on Tuesday night. Michigan State was able to get a lot going offensively, scoring 34 points in the first half and 45 in the second half. 

It was a very impressive showing from Coach Tom Izzo's team, and one that does lead to some questions for Duke. I'm not going to overreact to the third game of the year being a loss for Duke, as I even mentioned before the season that this schedule is so difficult that it wouldn't be surprising to see the Blue Devils drop a few games in the out-of-conference slate. 

Duke still has to play No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 UConn, No. 16 Texas Tech, and No. 1 Florida. This is by far the toughest out-of-conference schedule in all of college basketball, and as a result, there are likely going to be some losses throughout it. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Duke found a way to win all of those games, as I also said in the past, but the reality is that these are very difficult matchups for any team in America. Even Duke, who looks to be a legitimate national title contender, has to come out and play its best basketball to win these games.

While this loss was disappointing, I did find some of the comments from head coach Jon Scheyer relatively interesting after the game. Scheyer even went as far as to say that his team needs to do a better job to put on for this fan base and to give them what they deserve.

"Congrats to Michigan State," Scheyer said, per 930 WFMD. "They 100 percent deserved to win. I thought they outcompeted us. They played more together."

"For me, it was a little bit of an out-of-body experience," Scheyer continued. "Our team, I thought our team, we weren't connected. Just the bottom line, we weren't connected, and we're going to fix it. I promise you that much, and our fans deserve better. That was not a good performance tonight."

I find it interesting that Scheyer believes that his team didn't live up to expectations for this fan base, but it's not necessarily the wrong take, as unfortunate and crazy as that might sound. 

The reality is that every time Duke loses a game, it's going to be viewed as a major disappointment. The Blue Devils have one of the most expensive rosters in all of college basketball, an elite head coach, and top-tier players. This is also a fan base that expects the best each and every night, and as Scheyer somewhat touched on there, so he knows his guys need to be ready to go.