Anytime your team wins a game at the buzzer, the whole arena loses its mind. But when that win comes against the defending champions — and your best player is responsible for it — the energy in the building goes to another level. That’s exactly what the fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium lived through tonight, as Cameron Boozer’s heroics lifted Duke to a dramatic victory against Todd Golden’s Florida Gators.

Florida trailed by as many as 15 points but clawed all the way back, eventually taking the lead with just 32 seconds left on the clock. With Duke trailing 66–64 in the final seconds, everyone inside Cameron Indoor Stadium knew the ball would end up with projected lottery pick Cameron Boozer. Duke ran a simple middle two-man action with Boozer and Isaiah Evans, putting the freshman star in control as the ball handler.

Florida sent both defenders at Boozer, and instead of forcing a hero shot, he made the right basketball play by making a simple pass out to Evans, who buried the game-winning three. Duke fans might’ve had flashbacks of last season, when Flagg and Kon ran this same play to perfection. Simple, but incredibly effective from Jon Scheyer.

This win pushed Duke to a 9-0 start, and Cameron Boozer looks every bit like the type of prospect NBA teams dream about. He dropped 29 points, six rebounds, and two assists on 10-of-21 shooting, continuing his remarkable early-season form. In his last three games, Boozer has dropped 26 against Howard, 35 against Arkansas, and now 29 more against Florida.

His 90 points over the last three games mark a Duke freshman record for a three-game stretch, according to ESPN, and it shows just how special he’s been for the Blue Devils. Who would have thought Jon Scheyer would find a Cooper Flagg replacement this quickly?

Boozer has been leading Duke from the front, averaging a team-high 22.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. And if he keeps playing at this level, maybe…just maybe…he could be the one to finally bring a long-awaited national championship back to Duke, something the program hasn’t done since Coach K lifted the trophy in 2015.

Even Florida head coach Todd Golden had high praise for Cameron Boozer.

Todd Golden praises Cameron Boozer

A season ago, Duke fans dreamed of doing exactly what Todd Golden’s team pulled off — winning the big dance. With Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and the rest of that loaded group, the Blue Devils were the clear favorites to cut down the nets, only to fall short in the Final Four after Houston’s late rally.

Fast-forward to this season, and even though Duke lost most of that core, the vibe around the program somehow still feels the same. A big reason for that is Cameron Boozer. His performances of late have brought back those championship aspirations in Durham, and even Todd Golden acknowledged it before tip-off.

“Cam’s a different beast,” Golden said before the tip-off. “He’s a sure-fire top-three pick in my estimation. I’d probably take him No. 1 if I was a GM.”

Golden got a front-row look at just how devastating Cam Boozer can be, and it’s clear the Duke freshman is well on his way to becoming a lottery pick. Whether he goes ahead of names like AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson is anyone’s guess. This year’s draft class is stacked with talent, but doesn’t have a clear-cut number 1. Only time will tell how the order shakes out.