LOUISVILLE, Ky.— No. 9 Duke men’s basketball hit the road for a matchup against Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center. After 20 minutes of play, the Blue Devils head into the locker room with a 37-33 deficit:
Conference contest
Tipoff marked the start of ACC play for both the Blue Devils and the Cardinals, both of whom will face only one other conference opponent before the new year. Duke’s difficult early-season schedule didn’t seem to yield benefits as Louisville jumped ahead to an early 10-6. The Cardinals’ eventually established a double-digit lead that the Blue Devils chipped down to four before the end of the half.
Depth deficiency
Injuries have forced Louisville into a shallower rotation, with senior guard Reyne Smith once again slotting in for Kasean Pryor in the Cardinals’ starting five. Each member, however, carried his weight: Louisville distributed points nearly evenly across its six players, while Duke relied on just four. Terrence Edwards Jr. outscored Foster, who led the Blue Devils at the half with nine points, while two Cardinals followed close behind at eight points apiece.
3-point shooting discrepancy
Shooting woes have plagued Duke on the road this season, and it appeared the Blue Devils had a case of the basket blinders once again. The team shot 5-from-18 from the 3-point line in the first half, and Knueppel once again struggled with 0-of-3. The Cardinals, meanwhile, held a 3-point clip above 70% for much of the half that put valuable points on the board. They finished shooting 8-of-16 from behind the arc.
Slow starts
The Blue Devils have been slow off the bat in nearly every game this season, and tonight was no exception. The Cardinals held Duke to three separate scoring droughts of over two minutes, the second of which eventually became a 1-of-7 field goal drought. The Blue Devils briefly turned it around with a driving layup from Cooper Flagg and three points from Mason Gillis, then found a 6-0 run with just under three minutes left in the half. It wasn’t enough to give them the edge as the first 20 minutes expired, but the game looks more manageable than it did early in the half.
Player of the half: Terrence Edwards Jr.
Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn gave his team starting momentum with a 3-pointer, steal and assist within the first four minutes, but it was fellow senior guard Terrence Edwards Jr. who stole the show in the KFC Yum! Center. The James Madison transfer — who Duke saw last season in the NCAA Tournament — led his team with 11 points thanks to 3-for-4 shooting from the 3-point line and an early 4-of-4 (eventually 4-of-7) field goals.
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Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.