Deron Rippey Jr. Unleashed and What Duke Did To Tennessee Has Everyone Saying ‘What’

Duke didn’t just beat Tennessee. They absolutely annihilated them, dropping 103 points to Tennessee’s 64 in an exhibition game, a scoreline so wild it had CBS’s Matt Norlander tweeting a single, bewildered word during the second half: “What.” Forget what anyone expected from a preseason Top 10 team, because the Blue Devils delivered something truly shocking, and it only got worse for the Volunteers as the game went on. This wasn’t just a win; it was a full-blown statement.

The Vols Got Swallowed Whole

Let’s get this straight: Tennessee was in trouble from the jump, and it was rough to watch. The Vols saw Terrence Hill, who absolutely torched UNC last spring, go out with an injury after only 4:37, and then Troy Henderson followed him. That’s a huge hit to any team. But here’s the kicker: Duke was already up 12-2 when Hill left. He was the *only* player who had even scored for Tennessee at that point, and those were from the free throw line. They didn’t even get a basket until former Demon Deacon Juke Harris finally sank one with 14:30 left in the first half. Duke just overwhelmed them, rolling out to a 17-2 lead, then pushing it to a ridiculous 36-12. The Vols never recovered, and they didn’t even attempt a three until about 9 1/2 minutes into the first half. Dame Sarr set the tone for Duke’s offense with an opening power move to the basket, and the scoring came with relative ease, all while Duke was missing Caleb Foster and Drew Scharnowski due to their own injuries. Talk about dominance.

Rippey Ran Wild and Duke’s Depth Shined

While it was a team effort, this game was undeniably the Deron Rippey show. The guy was electric, finishing with a team-leading 21 points on incredibly efficient 9-12 from the floor and 3-6 from beyond the arc. He’s been compared to Jason Williams, but Rippey’s built more like a muscular Johnny Dawkins, and he spent the whole game slicing up the Tennessee defense with a positive arrogance that told you he knew he couldn’t be stopped. After maybe being a little tentative against Belmont, Rippey was fully unleashed here.

But he wasn’t alone. John Blackwell had a quieter game but still dropped 18 points, and Dame Sarr added 15. We saw real flashes of brilliance from JoJo Boumtje Boumtje, who ended with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a beautiful assist to Sarr for the second basket of the game. Pat Ngongba was solid too, racking up 13 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks. Cayden Boozer only had 2 points, but his 5 rebounds and 6 assists showed off the fantastic court awareness we saw from him at the end of last season. Sebastian Wilkins built on his strong outing against Belmont, contributing 11 points and 5 rebounds. Bryson Howard made a pair of free throws but shot 0-6 from the floor, and Maxime Meyer chipped in 2 points.

This wasn’t just an exhibition win; it was a stark revelation. Duke, even with key players sidelined, showed an absolutely terrifying level of dominance against a preseason Top 10 opponent. If Deron Rippey Jr. keeps this kind of positive arrogance and the entire squad continues to play with this kind of energy and depth, college basketball better be ready for what’s coming.

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Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.