HALFTIME: Duke 35, Louisville 24

Although both teams are playing on just one day of rest, the Blue Devils have been anything but tired through the first 20 minutes of their toughest home contest to date.

Duke leads No. 13 Louisville 35-24 after one half of play at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the 1,000th game in the history of the historic venue. Sophomore Grayson Allen leads all scorers with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor—including a 3-of-4 clip from downtown—and the Blue Devil defense has managed to hold the Cardinals' top offensive threats—Damion Lee and Trey Lewis—to 4-of-15 shooting through the first 20 minutes.

The Cardinals were the first to put points on the board, but the Blue Devils wasted no time getting hot. Just before the first media timeout, captain Marshall Plumlee ignited the crowd after his adept footwork opened him up for a quick two points in the paint. On the next trip down the floor, Allen drained a shot from the corner for three more points to put Duke ahead by seven just 3:24 into the game and force a quick timeout by Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. 

Louisville came out of the timeout with a new energy and staged an 8-2 run in the next 2:28 to climb back from its early deficit and cut the Blue Devil lead to three. The two sides exchanged baskets for the next few minutes, but an emphatic slam from freshman center Chase Jeter followed by a layup-turned 3-point play from Allen turned the momentum back in Duke's favor.

Midway through the half, the Cardinals' Donovan Mitchell silenced the Cameron Crazies after slicing through the lane and finishing with a wide-open dunk. Freshman Luke Kennard responded with a triple for his first points of the night, but Mitchell drained one of his own on the other end to cut the Blue Devil lead to three once again. Duke pulled away in the closing minutes, including a wing 3-pointer by Allen that stretched the lead to double-figures.

Here are some observations from the first half:

• After bruising his knee against then-No. 2 North Carolina and missing Louisville's contest against Boston College Saturday, graduate transfer Damion Lee started for the Cardinals Monday night. He posted six in the first half, but shot 2-of-10 from the field.
• Despite still not having senior captain Amile Jefferson—who was averaging a double-double before sustaining a foot fracture in December—the Blue Devils hold a slim 20-19 edge on the glass.
• Junior captain Matt Jones struggled in the early going of Monday's contest, finishing 0-of-3 from the floor in his 14 minutes of play.
• Although neither team was particularly efficient, Duke outshot the Cardinals 41 percent to 31 percent from the floor. The Blue Devils also shot 4-of-12 from beyond the arc to Louisville's 1-of-7.