Duke Blue Devils Edge Past Houston Cougars in a Close Encounter at American Airlines Center

The Duke Blue Devils, ranked 13th, narrowly defeated the second-ranked Houston Cougars with a final score of 54-51. The Blue Devils now stand with an improved record of 1-0, while the Cougars drop to 0-1 after this intense matchup.

In a game that saw only one lead change and was tied five times, the Duke Blue Devils showcased their resilience and determination. Despite not registering any blocks and fouling out one player, the team managed to maintain a slight edge over their opponents throughout the game. The Blue Devils' offense was fueled by making six three-pointers at a rate of 35 percent from beyond the arc compared to just two by the Cougars at 25 percent.

The defensive efforts were equally impressive for Duke as they grabbed a total of 34 rebounds—19 defensive and ten offensive—giving them crucial second-chance opportunities which translated into eleven second-chance points. Their tenacity on defense also led to four steals and ten points off turnovers.

On offense, Duke's field goal percentage stood at an even 41 percent with twenty shots made out of forty-nine attempts. They were slightly more efficient from two-point range hitting fourteen out of thirty-two attempts for a conversion rate of 44 percent. From the free-throw line, they scored eight out of twelve attempts which rounded up to about 67 percent accuracy.

The assists column showed that teamwork played an essential role in Duke's performance; they dished out fourteen assists over Houston's ten but had fourteen turnovers against Houston’s ten as well. However, their assist-to-turnover ratio remained positive at approximately 1.17.

Houston put up a strong fight throughout; matching Duke's field goal percentage at 41 percent and two-point percentage also at around 44 percent but struggled from both three-point range (25 percent) and free throw line (53 percent). They ended up with fewer rebounds than Duke (30), less points off turnovers (15), fewer second-chance points (9), equal number of steals (4), but managed more blocks with four rejections.

As fans look forward to what comes next for their team, they can mark their calendars for when the Duke Blue Devils host North Carolina State Wolfpack on March 31st at American Airlines Center in Dallas. This upcoming game is scheduled for tip-off at around five past five PM Eastern Time Zone and will be broadcasted live on CBS where fans can tune in for full coverage.