With its win against Baylor, Duke basketball did something Wednesday for the first time in 754 days.

For the first time since Coach K’s final season in 2021-22, the Blue Devils knocked off a top-10 team with their 78-70 victory against the Bears at Madison Square Garden.

The win against Michigan State may look better down the road, but Duke needed a victory like this to show the Blue Devils they were capable of getting over the hump in a tight game against a premier program.

“We just wanted to kind of prove to ourselves that we can do it,” said senior captain Jeremy Roach, who had 18 points and played all 40 minutes.

“Obviously, we had three tough losses early in the season and I felt like I didn't kind of set the tone. I wasn't leading the right way. I wasn't doing what I needed to do. Just forget the offense. Forget everything. Just me leading and my presence there, like (coach Jon Scheyer) said, has been a big thing.”

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No. 21 Duke (8-3) held the 10th-ranked Bears (9-2) to 70 points, more than 18 points below their scoring average. In breaking down Baylor, the Blue Devils earned their first win against a top-10 opponent since beating top-ranked Gonzaga in November 2021.

It was a welcome sight for Scheyer. After logging three losses before Christmas in consecutive seasons for the first time since the early 1980s, Duke was close to being pushed outside of the AP Top 25 poll.

“For us to be in some big-time games right away, and we didn't play our best in a couple of those … and we didn't finish,” the second-year coach said.

“But we went through some stuff together. Those games, I think, got brought to the light. I give these guys credit for just putting their heads down and working. I thought we were incredibly tough. I'm not saying Baylor wasn't. I thought we were more mentally tough down the stretch, which is what this program has been about.”

Here’s what else stood out in the Blue Devils’ biggest win of the season.

Duke basketball's Jeremy Roach proves worth

The freshman guards – Jared McCain and Caleb Foster – have received a lot of attention with sophomore captain Tyrese Proctor sidelined as he recovers from an ankle injury. But the steady hand of Roach has proved to be vital for Duke during this stretch. In the last four games, Roach is averaging 18.6 points – draining 56.2% of his shots – and 4.3 rebounds, with 19 assists and three turnovers.

Jared McCain brings it against Baylor

McCain was one of five Blue Devils to reach double figures against Baylor. That’s the first time Duke has done that this season. In his previous four games against Power Five opponents, the freshman guard averaged 5.0 points on 20.4% shooting. McCain blew by those marks against Baylor, knocking down 7 of 11 shots and all four of his free throws to match his career high with 21 points.

Ryan Young gives crucial boost off the bench

Ryan Young played perhaps his biggest three-minute stretch as a Blue Devil in the second half with the game hanging in the balance. As Kyle Filipowski dealt with foul trouble, Young’s number was called and he delivered. He made a layup with just under six minutes remaining to give Duke the lead for good and found McCain for a 3-pointer that helped the Devils widen the margin. Scheyer called it the “best sequence of the game.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jeremy Roach helps Duke basketball end top-10 drought vs. Baylor