After a long road trip, No. 10 Duke is back in Durham and used a solid first half defensive effort to lead visiting Louisville at halftime on Wednesday night. With twenty minutes left, the Blue Devils are trying to hold onto their 36-23 advantage at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
After his postgame care for his injured right knee during Saturday’s court-storming altercation against Wake Forest, Kyle Filipowski’s injury status has received a lot of attention. Even though 7-foot sophomore Filipowski was not sure if he would play as late as Monday morning, head coach Jon Scheyer still had him in the starting lineup on Wednesday. For Filipowski to start his collegiate career, it means 63 games and 63 starts in a row—a very resilient run. Although Filipowski’s first half performance (five points, four turnovers) was by no means overpowering, he appeared to be at ease going up and down the court and even managed a highlight in transition by dishing it to a charging Mark Mitchell.
Conversely, the Blue Devils are without Caleb Foster, a vital player against the Cardinals. The younger guard was starting for the third time in a row on Saturday when he subtly left the second half due to a lower-leg ailment. Tyrese Proctor had entered the concussion protocol after the Demon Deacons game on February 12. Foster’s injury on Wednesday allowed Proctor to go back to the starting lineup in the backcourt, while rookie forwards Sean Stewart (five points in four minutes) and TJ Power (zero points in six minutes) came off the bench early.
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Twice, against North Carolina and the following week against Boston College, the Blue Devils went the entire first half without converting a free throw. For a brief period on Wednesday night, it appeared as though Louisville might follow suit. With 10:28 remaining, the Cardinals eventually made it to the charity line, but Tre White, a sophomore guard, missed two consecutive technical free throws, keeping the visitors scoreless in that area. Despite making significant strides at the conclusion of the half, Louisville was only able to hit four of nine free throws from the line. Duke, however, was unable to capitalize, hitting only six of eleven shots.
The Proctor Play
In their January meeting, Proctor produced what was maybe his best performance of the year. The Australian scored a season-high 24 points in 35 minutes off the bench as the Blue Devils defeated the 83-69 opposition despite senior guard Jeremy Roach’s early departure.
Proctor, who was back in the starting lineup on Wednesday, hasn’t caused any riots yet. The sophomore’s influence was primarily seen on defense, as Roach and rookie guard Jared McCain took the lead on offense. Skyy Clark, Louisville’s top scorer, finished with only two points. Proctor heads to the locker room with two points and a team-high four assists.
Returning home
Between Duke’s previous home game and this one, it seems like an eternity has gone by. After losing at Wake Forest on Saturday to end their three-game road trip, the Blue Devils had two successful visits to Florida (at Florida State and Miami). Now, they get to play three of their remaining four regular-season games, including the championship game on March 9.
The Cardinals, who are 1-9 on the road this season and have not triumphed away from the KFC Yum! Center since January 10, will benefit even more from home-court advantage. The box score reflected Louisville’s road disadvantage as they struggled from the field (9-of-31) and particularly from outside the arc (1-of-11). White’s first-possession 3-pointer gave the Cardinals their first and only lead of the half, but the remainder of the game was extremely frigid for head coach Kenny Payne’s team. In contrast, Duke made 4 out of 8 triples and shot an explosive 54.2%.
Jeremy Roach was the halftime player.
For the majority of the first half, the Blue Devils’ defense held strong, but they were unable to match it with offensive production. Duke’s advantage was barely 17–13 with eight minutes and change remaining before the switchover, so it looked like the defensive effort could have been in vain.
Enter Roach, who quickly made it 23-13 by making back-to-back 3-pointers. In a first half that saw little of it, he was the Blue Devils’ offensive motor, scoring eight points to share the team lead. McCain and Mitchell, who each scored eight goals, were standing next to their senior captain. After 20 minutes, it’s reasonable to state that each of the three of Roach, McCain and Proctor have given Duke enough strong backcourt play to account for Foster’s absence.
