LOUISVILLE, KY.—Duke touched down in Louisville Friday for its noon tipoff Saturday against the Cardinals. After a slow start for the first couple minutes, the Blue Devils exploded into a 14-2 run, but Louisville fought back. The Blue Devils only take a 40-35 lead into the locker room. Here’s our five observations from the first 20 minutes.
New Cardinal coach
Louisville announced Wednesday that they would be parting ways with now-former head coach Chris Mack, and its game against the Blue Devils is its first with Mike Pegues back at the helm. Pegues had previously stepped in as head coach for the first six games of the season when Mack was suspended by the university, and Cardinals star and team captain Malik Williams said Friday that, “the transition back [to Mack] was hard for us and I don't think we ever really got over it.” During their six games under Pegues, the Cardinals went 5-1, but they’ve struggled recently, going 1-5 in their last six games.
The Cardinals still looked a bit discombobulated, struggling to put anything together especially at the start. In less than four minutes, the Blue Devils were able to jump out to a 10-point lead, as much due to Louisville’s struggles as their own smooth play. By the five-minute mark, the Cardinals had more turnovers than made baskets and zero offensive rebounds, making it relatively easy for Duke to get its own offense going. However, they completely turned their play around in the latter half of the period, and the Blue Devils entered the locker room with a slim five-point lead.
Still no Keels
Trevor Keels still hasn’t returned to the court for Duke following his injury Jan. 18 in the Blue Devils’ loss against Florida State. Keels brings a lot to the team with his unwavering energy, especially on defense. While adjusting to the loss of a starter is never something you want to do, it has given the Blue Devils the chance to flex their depth. Sophomore guard Jeremy Roach has stepped back into the starting lineup with ease in these past three games, and Saturday was no different, as he continued to demonstrate his elite distributing ability. Keels’ absence has also given senior forward Joey Baker and transfer Bates Jones more minutes, and they’ve both been much more confident with the ball, even if they weren’t able to log any points in the half.
At the Yum! Center, everyone eats
Because of Louisville’s lackadaisical play on offense and defense, the Blue Devils’ box score had more than enough to go around. No one player did it all, because they didn’t have to. With ample space and time on the court, even with the Cardinals’ full-court press, the Blue Devils were able to share the ball and take their time getting open looks, and everyone got the opportunity to go for the basket. As such, by the end of the half six of the eight players that had seen the court had points on the board, as the Blue Devils’ demonstrated their team-offense strategy.
All Blue on the boards
Offensive rebounding has been one of the Blue Devils' most glaring weaknesses this season, logging only three in their most recent win against Clemson. That was not the case Saturday, though, as Duke picked up 10 offensive boards to Louisville’s three by the end of the half. Led by Banchero with five total rebounds, the Blue Devils held the Cardinals to just three second-chance points. In addition, by getting enough of their own rebounds, Duke was able to get 12 second-chance points of its own. And while Louisville had slightly more defensive rebounds, that is likely accounted for in the sheer amount of field goal attempts from Duke versus the Cardinals.
Player of the half: Jeremy Roach
We are in the midst of the Roach Renaissance. Roach led the Blue Devils at the half in assists with four, as he continues to make an impact through his playmaking. He also had seven points, including a 3-pointer. However, the biggest way he helped the Blue Devils was through his on-court leadership, as the Blue Devils’ offense basically ran through him.
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Sasha Richie is a Trinity senior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.