Less than two weeks after taking down the Panthers in Pittsburgh, the Blue Devils will look to repeat their victory at home Saturday. The Blue Zone brings you a key player from each side:
Duke: Tyrese Proctor
Just two games after their statement victory against the Panthers in Pittsburgh, the Blue Devils will welcome their conference foes to Cameron Indoor. In the last matchup, Duke blew Pittsburg out by 22 points, featuring a 26-point, 10-rebound performance from sophomore center Kyle Filipowski. Freshman guard Jared McCain, senior guard Jeremy Roach and freshman guard Caleb Foster followed Filipowski in scoring, but despite the comfortable win on the road, sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor only finished with three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Back on Dec. 2, Proctor was taken out of the Blue Devils’ game against Georgia Tech after suffering a sprained ankle. The Yellow Jackets went on to pull off the upset and hand Duke its first ACC loss of the season. The Sydney, Australia, native was forced to sit out the next three games against Charlotte, Hofstra and Baylor. Proctor played in the several victories that followed, but displayed underwhelming offensive performances, including being held scoreless against Notre Dame. In last week’s victory against Georgia Tech, however, Proctor was able to muster 17 points and significantly contribute to the offense, allowing his team to hold off another historic Yellow Jacket upset.
With the Blue Devils looking to display another victory to justify their top-10 ranking, they will need all the offensive firepower that they can get. If Proctor can get hot from beyond the arc, there will be little the Panthers will be able to do to keep Duke from running up the score yet again. But, the sophomore guard is currently averaging 9.6 points per game, the least of all players from the team’s starting lineup to start the year. The Blue Devils will need Proctor to be running on all cylinders Saturday — and beyond — to help maintain their upward trend.
Pittsburgh: Blake Hinson
Every upset needs its spark, and Pittsburgh may have one in senior forward Blake Hinson. Hinson has been the Panthers’ top scorer this season, averaging 18.1 points per game. He is also their strongest 3-point shooter, leading the team in made triples.
In Pittsburgh’s last matchup against Duke, Hinson’s typical offensive consistency faltered, and he exited the game with only nine points. The Blue Devils’ defense suffocated any form of effective offense from the Panthers that night, and there was little Pittsburgh could do to defend its home court. Considering Duke’s dominant win took place just over a week ago, the Deltona Fla., native will need to make a quick turnaround to lead his team to victory in Durham.
Luckily for the Panthers, they have shown some evidence of confident victories over Power-6 programs this season. In early December, the team nearly beat West Virginia by 20 points in an away game. Hinson scored a career-high 29 points, and set the school’s all-time record for 3-pointers made with nine.
Another lights out performance from Pittsburgh’s record-breaker could shake-up the Blue Devils, but much more will need to fall in the Panthers’ favor for them to overcome their ranked ACC opponent.
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