The championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament was Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's first battle against Rick Pitino since 1992, and it was well worth the wait. In a tightly contested and physical battle between two top-five teams, the Blue Devils' composure and timely shooting proved to be the difference as Duke prevailed 76-71 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship and hand No. 2 Louisville its first lost of the season. After defeating Kentucky last week, Duke's win over Louisville is the team's second victory in two weeks against top-10 squads from the Bluegrass state.
Here’s your postgame recap:
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- What's Curry's "gait" like? Clearly, Seth Curry was not at full strength tonight—shooting 3-for-11 from the field. The senior, however, came up big yet again for the Blue Devils when they needed him. Despite battling a lingering leg injury and playing three games in three-straight days, the senior hit a pair of big-time shots, was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and managed to finish with 14 points on the night.
- Mason gets a break: With Louisville's top post presence Gorgui Dieng out of commission, Mason Plumlee did his part on the interior, even though he did miss a few easy looks in the post. The senior co-captain netted 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Who is the top floor general? The edge goes to Quinn Cook because the Blue Devils were able to pull off the victory. The sophomore appears to be settled in as the team's floor general as evidenced by his clutch play down the stretch and 15 points and six assists in the contest. Moreover, he was a big reason why all five starters finished in double figures. Cook also scored Duke's final eight points to help secure the big victory.
Three key plays of the game:
- 1:23, first half. After a monstrous dunk by Louisville freshman Montrezl Harrell that reduced Duke's lead to one point, the Cardinals appeared to be on roll at the end of the first half. That momentum was quickly laid to rest when Mason Plumlee responded on Duke's next possession with a put-back slam of his own. The terrific play by the senior co-captain was the first bucket of a crucial a 7-0 run for Duke to end the half that allowed the Blue Devils to go into the locker room with a 36-28 lead.
- 4:30, second half. With the game knotted up at 61 a piece, it was Curry that came up big again for Duke as he nailed a trey from the corner to give the Blue Devils a three-point lead as the game entered its final minutes.
- 1:16, second half. On a long inbounds pass to break the Cardinal's press, Ryan Kelly connected with Quinn Cook, who finished a tough layup in transition to give Duke a 70-66 lead. The hoop ultimately helped seal the win for the Blue Devils.
Three key stats:
- Duke 23-27 at the free throw line vs. Louisville's 9-14. Getting to the charity stripe was crucial for Duke, especially considering its inability to box out at times. Notably, the Blue Devils' trio of seniors were a combined 16-of-19 from the line.
- 37-31 rebounding advantage for Louisville. The Cardinals were pesky on the glass much of the night, which allowed them to close the gap on Duke numerous occasions.
- Three push-off, offensive fouls on the Duke guards. In close game, these three, uncharacteristic offensive fouls could have cost the Blue Devils the game.
And the Duke game ball goes to … Quinn Cook. It wasn't a perfect game for the sophomore point guard, but he played perfect down the stretch—scoring the team's final eight points—to give Duke the win. This week was a bit of a coming out party for Cook; his steady play as the lead guard earned him MVP honors.
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