#11 Duke Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1 ACC) vs. Pittsburgh (10-5, 1-3 ACC)

Overall Duke leads, 16-8
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 7-3
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 7-2
In Pittsburgh, PA Duke leads, 7-4
at Petersen Events Center Duke leads, 4-2
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 2-1
Last Meeting Duke 96, Pitt 69 (March 9, 2023)

TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Wes Durham
Analyst Cory Alexander
Analyst Jim Boeheim
Producer Alex Farmartino

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 119 or 193

The Pitt Panthers enter Tuesday night with a 10-5 record and are 1-3 in the ACC with losses to Syracuse, North Carolina and Clemson and with an ACC victory over Louisville. Pitt is 24th in the country in rebounding, 40th in offensive rebounding. The Panthers are also 20th in the country in three point attempts and 30th in makes.

Senior Blake Henson 19.1 points per game, freshman Carlton Carrington 14.6 points per game and 5 assists, junior Ishmael Legget 12.6 points per game and 6.3 rebounds to lead team. The Panthers boast 2 other double-figure scorers in Carlton Carrington (14.6 ppg) and Israel Leggett (12.6 ppg). Leggett leads Pitt in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game and Carrington is the high assist man for the Panthers at 5 per game. Carrington has been named ACC Freshman of the Week 4 times thus far this season.

The Blue Devils are currently on a 6-game winning streak and have moved their record to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC after notching their first road victory of the season against Notre Dame. Duke ranks eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.80) and ninth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.2).

Among ACC leaders, Kyle Filipowski ranks ninth in scoring (16.8 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (2.0 bpg). Filipowski leads the Blue Devils in both scoring and rebounding. Mark Mitchell (right) registered his first career double-double with 23 points and 14 boards – both career bests – during a 67-59 win at Notre Dame. He made 8-of-12 shots (66.7%) against the Fighting Irish, including both 3-point attempts and all five free throws. Mitchell currently sits at 12.8 points per game. Jared McCain has reached the 20-point mark in three of the last six games, averaging 18.0 points per contest during Duke’s current six-game win streak. McCain currently is 4th in scoring for the Blue Devils averaging 12.1 per game. In the past eight games, senior guard Jeremy Roach has distributed 30 assists with just seven turnovers, the Virginia native is currently second in scoring on the team at 14.8 points her game and tied for second in assists at 3.1 per game. Sophomore Tyrese Proctor is the assist leader for the Blue Devils at 4.3 per game.

G Jeremy Roach 6’2, 180lbs SR
G Jared McCain 6’3, 197lbs FR
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 197lbs FR
F Mark Mitchell  6’9, 232lbs SO
C Kyle Filipowski 7’0, 248lbs SO

G Ishmael Legget 6’3, 185lbs JR
G Carlton Carrington 6’5, 190lbs FR
F Zack Austin 6’7, 210lbs RJR
F Blake Hinson 6’8, 230lbs SR
C Federiko Federiko 6’11, 225lbs JR

The Blue Devils will once again need to stress the details of defending the 3-point line against the Panthers. Pitt is 20th in the country in three point attempts and 30th in makes. They are very willing to launch 30-50 3-point shots a game and the Blue Devils need to be mindful of that. Duke especially needs to be aware of Blake Hinson who is a 40% 3-point shooter as well as Guillermo Diaz Graham who shoots it at a 35% clip but is capable of getting hot. Diaz will likely be guarded by Kyle Filipowski so Flip will need to play him as if he’s a guard. That doesn’t mean Diaz Graham will not drive the ball, the 7ft forward has an extraordinary wingspan and is a fluid driver from outside the post. Duke has to pay extra special attention to corner 3’s off of penetration – Pitt can make a living there if the Blue Devil defense is slow or miscommunicates.

Carlton “Bub” Carrington has been named ACC Freshman of the week 4-times and is a tough shot maker. Carrington is not proficient at the 3 but is a very streaky shooter capable of railing off a few in a row. Limiting the freshman guard will be a tough assignment for the Blue Devils’ guard core.

Offensively for the Blue Devils, moving the basketball is always gospel, putting the Panthers in as many actions as possible will be key. On the interior it’s not uncommon for the Panthers to double the paint, if so both interior big to big passing as well as hitting the open perimeter player for good looks should be available. This could be a game where the Blue Devils can feast in the mid-range – Duke has 3 guards that are more than capable of taking and making mid-range jump shots and those should be available all night.

Lastly, the Blue Devils have to rebound the basketball – especially the guards and especially on the defensive end of the floor. The Panthers are 24th in the country in rebounding and 40th in offensive rebounding. Long rebounds off of 3-point attempts could be a factor, Duke’s scramble defense will be tested.