I was curious as to which Louisville team would show up in Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night. The team that has played well this season despite the turmoil surrounding them or a team with a chip on their collective shoulders fresh off of an NCAA banner stripping. In the end it would only matter which Duke team showed up. Duke handed the Cardinals their 10th loss of the season 82 – 56.
Duke, not settled into their identity as a primarily zone team, did what they have been doing for 4 games straight now – putting forth much better efforts on the defensive side of the ball. Duke has held their last 3 opponents to under 60 points and for a team that struggled mightily on that side of the basketball it’s a marked improvement. There were questions coming in as to how Duke would handle the frontline of the Cardinals, who are an excellent shot-blocking team. And while the Cardinals did block 5 shots in the game, the Devils for the most part had no trouble getting what they wanted offensively. Grayson Allen led the way for Duke and found his zone, so to speak, early the game. Allen, who has scored at a much higher clip since the injury to Marvin Bagley III, scored a game high 28 points in the game shooting 6-15 from beyond the arc and 10-20 overall. Allens ability to stretch the floor aided freshmen Wendell Carter who had a monster game with 18 points, 9 rebounds. Carter was also Duke’s high assist man with 6.
Louisville seemed to struggle with interior passing against the Duke zone, which put them in more decision-making opportunities and also gave them looks that perhaps they were not used to on the offensive end. They struggled mightily from the 3 point line, only shooting 5 – 20 and were held to 36% shooting overall for the game. Duke controlled the boards with a 44 to 30 advantage although second chance points were even at 15.
The Good:
- Holding the Cards to under 40% shooting and under 60 points
- Allen continuing his hot streak scoring 28 points
- Duke shooting 15 – 16 from the free throw line
- 10 steals for Duke in this game
The Bad:
- 15 turnovers
