Duke @ Louisville preview
Greensboro Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Feb 27, 2021 ) Louisville 80, Duke 73
Duke cleared the first hurdle Tuesday in its last-ditch effort to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
Tenth-seeded Duke, which likely needs to win the ACC tournament this week in Greensboro, N.C., to advance to the NCAA field, took care of business during an 86-51 rout of 15th-seeded Boston College in the opening round.
The Blue Devils (12-11) next will have to beat seventh-seed Louisville (13-6) on Wednesday night to keep those hopes alive.
No team has ever won five ACC tournament games in five days, the feat Duke hopes to accomplish.
The Cardinals, who closed the regular season with a 78-68 loss to top-seeded Virginia on Saturday, swept Duke during the regular season for the first time.
In both games, All-ACC first team guard Carlik Jones led the Cardinals, scoring 24 points in a 70-65 win at Louisville on Jan. 23, then putting up 25 points in an 80-73 overtime victory Feb. 27 in Durham, N.C. Jones averages 17 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
"We have to defend and rebound," Duke freshman guard DJ Steward said in a postgame interview Tuesday with the ACC Network. "Carlik Jones is obviously a great player, and we have to stay aware of him at all times and stay locked in."
A major key for Duke will be keeping its own All-ACC first teamer, Matthew Hurt, on the court. Hurt, who is averaging 18.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, scored 24 and 37 points in the two games against Louisville but fouled out of both contests.
Hurt only had eight points against Boston College on Tuesday, but Steward contributed 17 points and Mark Williams had 13 for Duke, which made 15 of 32 shots from 3-point range.
Louisville's frontcourt of Jae'Lyn Withers (10.3 points, 7.9 rebounds per game) and Samuell Williamson (9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds per game) will take on the challenge of containing Hurt.
"We made some mistakes in the Virginia game that if we are going to advance both in the ACC tournament and any type of postseason, that we have to clean up," Louisville coach Chris Mack said.
Duke snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Boston College. The margin of victory was easily the Blue Devils' largest of the season.
--Field Level Media