Can the Blue Devils Bounce Back After Narrow Defeat to Panthers at Cameron Indoor?
In a closely contested battle at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Duke Blue Devils, ranked 7th, fell just short against the unranked Pittsburgh Panthers with a final score of 80-76. The Blue Devils now stand with an overall record of 15-5 while the Panthers improved to 12-8.
The game was marked by intense competition and frequent shifts in momentum, as evidenced by eight lead changes and seven instances where the score was tied. The home crowd of 9,314 witnessed a gritty performance from both sides in this conference game. Despite trailing at halftime with only 34 points compared to Pittsburgh's 38, Duke fought back valiantly in the second half to add another 42 points to their tally.
Duke's offensive efforts were led by their proficient free throw shooting; they made an impressive 21 out of their total 28 attempts from the line, translating into a solid free throw percentage of around seventy-five percent. Their accuracy from two-point range was also notable as they made over half of their attempts. However, struggles from beyond the arc were apparent as they converted only eleven out of twenty-eight three-point shots for an approximate thirty-nine percent success rate.
Defensively, Duke managed six steals and blocked three shots but could not contain Pittsburgh's offense which posted an equal field goal percentage for both two and three-pointers at fifty-one percent. The Panthers' ability to capitalize on fast breaks contributed significantly to their victory; they scored sixteen fast break points compared to Duke's eleven.
The Blue Devils did manage more points off turnovers than Pittsburgh—sixteen versus twelve—but it wasn't enough to secure a win. In terms of ball handling and passing efficiency, Duke recorded eleven assists but also turned over the ball eleven times which gave them an assist-to-turnover ratio exactly at one.
Looking ahead after this setback for Duke University’s team is another challenging matchup on January twenty-third against Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Fans can catch all the action live on ACC Network (channel six hundred twelve) starting at seven o'clock PM Eastern Time.