Louisville @ Duke preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2019 ) Duke 71, Louisville 69

Louisville coach Chris Mack praised his team's mental toughness after his Cardinals grinded out a win on the road Tuesday, even going so far as to say that he didn't think last year's team could have pulled it out. With the memory of his team's collapse against Duke likely fresh on his mind when making that comment, Mack will attempt to help No. 10 Louisville avenge the team's most painful defeat under his watch Saturday when it visits the third-ranked Blue Devils.

The Cardinals held a 23-point lead with just under 10 minutes remaining at home over a Duke squad led by future NBA lottery picks Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish before Duke closed the game on a 35-10 run to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in school history. Most of Louisville's main contributors from that contest are back in 2019-20 and showed more resolve in Tuesday's 73-68 overtime victory over Pittsburgh, pulling out a win despite trailing for more than 33 minutes. The Blue Devils were unable to overcome a similar situation Tuesday, allowing Clemson to hold the lead for more than 28 minutes en route to a shocking 79-72 road loss. "Our kids have to understand how hard it is to win and we’ve been winning, but when you’re in conference, people are hungry, and if you win a lot, sometimes you’re not as (hungry) as the other team," coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (14-3, 5-1 ACC): With their only two double-digit scorers, Jordan Nwora (ACC-high 20.4 points) and Steven Enoch (10.8), held below their season averages Tuesday, Dwayne Sutton and freshman David Johnson combined for 24 points and four 3-pointers to help pick up the slack. Sutton (9.2 points, 9.1 rebounds) finished with 13 points and nine boards in the win and has quietly emerged as a consistent force for the Cardinals, who is averaging 11 boards and 1.5 blocks over his last six outings. Johnson (3.7 points), who missed Louisville's first four games due to a summer shoulder injury, set season highs in points (11), assists (four) and minutes (20) while playing the "best game of his young career," according to Mack.

ABOUT DUKE (15-2, 5-1): Tre Jones (15.1 points), who averaged 19.5 points on 68.2 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds, six assists and four steals last week en route to earning ACC Co-Player of the Week honors, is the only player in the conference who ranks among the top five in assists (6.8; second), steals (2.2; second) and assist/turnover ratio (2.3; fourth). Freshman center Vernon Carey Jr., leads the league in field-goal percentage (60.5), is fourth in scoring (17.6), fifth in rebounding (8.5) and tied for fourth in blocks (1.9). The Blue Devils played without sophomore Joey Baker (6.5 points in 14.2 minutes) on Tuesday due to a sprained right ankle, but Duke should have the 6-7 forward available Saturday after Krzyzewski expressed some doubt about his status earlier in the week.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jones is one of just two players nationally averaging at least 15 points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and shooting at least 45 percent from the field (Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton is the other).

2. The Cardinals are 1-4 all-time at Cameron Indoor Stadium and have lost both of their games in Durham since joining the ACC in 2013-14. Their only victory at Duke came in 1983.

3. Carey has scored fewer than 10 points in each of his team's home conference games but reached double figures in every other contest.

PREDICTION: Duke 73, Louisville 63