NEW YORK – History repeats itself all the time, but this was really eerie.

Duke and Baylor had played only once before Wednesday’s tilt, and that was the 2010 Elite Eight game in Houston that Duke won, 78-71, to advance to the Final Four.

That game was tight throughout, and was tied 61-61 with 3:36 to go. The Blue Devils then went on an 11-1 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Nolan Smith and some guy named Jon Scheyer. The final was 78-71.

Wednesday at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, Duke and Baylor again played a close battle throughout, and again found the score tied at 61-61 with 6:30 to play.

And again, the Blue Devils went on an 11-1 run, and the final score was almost identical to the one 13 years earlier, 78-70.

“That game was probably the most important game of my playing career,” Scheyer said. “Because we went through 3.5 really tough, successful years, and it comes down to a moment, and either you’re going to a Final Four and it puts you in a position to win a national championship, or you’re not.

“It was pretty crazy the sequence of the game,” Scheyer said, alluding to the similarities. “And both times, we got it done against a great team.”

Scheyer gave an update on injured sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor, who hasn’t played since hurting his ankle in the opening minutes of the Georgia Tech game on Dec.2.

Scheyer said the Australian “really wanted” to play against Baylor, but wasn’t quite ready.

“He hasn’t practiced, hasn’t done any 5-on-5, he’s working to get back but we collectively made the decision it wasn’t going to happen tonight,” Scheyer said. “I feel optimistic when we get back for our next game … he’s working hard, progressing great.”

Jared McCain, whose default off-court demeanor seems to be smiling, was known before coming to Duke for having an enormous social media following.

But after a few early-season losses here in his freshman year sparked criticism, he admitted he’s off the Web for a while.

“It’s pretty tough. I got off social media,” McCain said. “I knew it was coming, so I deleted everything. Just getting off it and knowing I’ve got to stay close to the people I’m closest with, my team and my family, and talk to them about what I can do to get better.

“I knew it was going to come (the anger), so I was ready for it.”

McCain was giddy talking about putting on a great performance in his first game at MSG.

“There's really no words to describe it," McCain said. "I'm in New York at Christmastime. Going to see the Rockefeller tree (today). It's just a surreal moment. I visualize a lot of stuff. I visualized us coming into the locker room celebrating, and it happened. And there's just no words to describe it. It's amazing.”

Maybe the most encouraging thing about Duke’s win Wednesday was that they scored almost 80 points despite getting very little from Kyle Filipowski.

The sophomore star had a rough shooting night, going 5-for-14 from the floor and finishing with 13 points. He did have 10 rebounds and four assists, both team-highs, so it’s not like the sophomore 7-footer had a terrible night.

But given he’s a major part of Duke’s offense, it’s a bonus that they played so well on that end despite Filipowski’s tough game.

One common issue for Duke in its three losses this season has been foul trouble, and learning to play defense without fouling.

Wednesday night the Blue Devils did an excellent job of staying in front of Baylor and contesting shots without hearing a whistle.

Filipowski didn’t pick up his first foul until 16:10 left in the game, and Duke had only four fouls in the first half.

Scheyer has a long way to go to live up to Mike Krzyzewski, of course, but one way he seems to be copying the legendary coach this year is bench use.

Or lack thereof.

Again on Wednesday, Scheyer chose to play just eight players, and T.J. Power was only in the game for 2:55.

It will be interesting to see if Jaylen Blakes’ increased minutes in recent games will continue once Proctor returns to the lineup. He certainly brings energy on defense and an experienced ballhandler, but if Caleb Foster and McCain play like they did Wednesday, it will be hard to keep them off the floor.