Duke basketball’s Mason Gillis missed the second-ranked Blue Devils’ game at Syracuse on Wednesday night.
Gillis “did not travel with the team due to illness,” according to Duke, which means the Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 ACC) were without one of their top reserves against the Orange (9-13, 3-8).
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The Purdue transfer has played 153 games during his college career, which is more than anyone on Duke’s roster. Gillis is averaging 4.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 14.7 minutes through 21 games with the Blue Devils. He’s also one of Duke’s best 3-point shooters, making 36.4% of his attempts from long range.
A consistent vocal leader and veteran presence on the court, Gillis had 11 points and six rebounds in Duke’s comeback win against Wake Forest on Jan. 25.
Jon Scheyer gives update on Mason Gillis after Duke win at Syracuse
Following Duke’s 83-54 win at Syracuse, Blue Devil coach Jon Scheyer provided his thoughts on Mason Gillis.
“Look, Mason is as tough as it gets, as competitive as it gets,” Scheyer said. “For him not to be on this trip, he’s really sick. Otherwise, he’d be here. He was trying to get on the plane and we told him, ‘There’s no way.’ We’ll see when we get back. We’ll see how he is (Thursday). But if he’s not here, that means he’s really under the weather, not feeling well.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Mason Gillis out with illness for Duke basketball vs Syracuse
