CHARLOTTE — “Have a short memory.”
Duke guard Tyrese Proctor had a simple answer Thursday to the key to success in the ACC Tournament. After two of their worst 3-point shooting performances of the season and two monumental injuries, the Blue Devils followed the advice of their junior leader.
Duke defeated Louisville 73-62 in the ACC championship for its second league title in three years. The Blue Devils snapped the Cardinals’ 11-game win streak, and even without Cooper Flagg, Duke basketball will soon have a banner flying high.
"Really proud of our team. To win this ACC championship, to win an outright regular season and to win in the tournament is special," head coach Jon Scheyer said. "For us to be tested the last three games the way that we have, I think we're going to learn a ton from it, and gives us extra motivation and lessons to move forward."
Louisville graduate transfer Terrence Edwards Jr. opened the second half with an airball, and Proctor hit a three to immediately set the tone. Kon Knueppel curled off a screen for his patented layup, and all of a sudden, the game was tied.
But Edwards was unfazed by the “airball” chants in the Spectrum Center and remained the best player on the floor with five quick points. He even hit a prayer over the outstretched arms of Sion James as the shot clock expired above for 22 points on the evening. The 6-foot-6 former James Madison standout — averaging 16.2 points per game — was a thorn in the Blue Devils’ side all evening, exacerbating the effect of Flagg’s absence.
But Duke’s Group of 5 transfer had something to say. James scored 10 points in just four minutes, bookended by a pair of triples, the latter of which forced a Pat Kelsey timeout. Proctor hit a transition 3-pointer, and Duke led 57-47 with 11:08 left to play. The Blue Devils never looked back.
A defensive lapse from Louisville allowed Proctor to shoot a wide-open 3-point jumper from nearly the same spot as earlier, and Duke continued to extend its lead.
The Blue Devils ratcheted up their defensive pressure as well, blitzing screens and boxing out with more physicality, especially with the entrance of Patrick Ngongba II. The driving lanes that were once open immediately shut, and every Cardinal that touched the painted area was swarmed by a contingent of Duke blue. A block party ensued with five in the first 12 minutes of the second half, capped off by an emphatic Khaman Maluach rejection leading to the under-eight timeout.
"Edwards really had it going. So we we stayed with him a little bit more [on screens] when typically we like to get back, and Khaman does a great job protecting the rim," Scheyer said. "They shoot so many threes, but we thought they were paint team, so protecting the paint was a big key tonight."
Edwards attempted to bring his team back, but the energy shift on both sides of the floor was too much for Kelsey’s squad to overcome. The Cardinals not named Edwards only had three field goals in the second half.
"We just came out and played Duke defense. We went into the we went into the locker room at halftime, we regrouped together," Maluach said. "We knew we had to get stops and rebounds, and that's what we did."
In the first half, Louisville grasped the momentum by tying the game at 25. Proctor hit a deep top-of-the-key 3-pointer off a Caleb Foster offensive rebound to wrestle the lead back, but once again, Edwards responded to tie it at 28 with 3:08 left in the half.
Duke went to zone after the break, attempting to trip up Louisville like it did with Georgia Tech Thursday night. However, the well-coached Cardinals were prepared.
The first play was a back screen on Maluach in the middle of the zone for a James Scott dunk, and Edwards hit his third 3-pointer of the contest on the subsequent possession to give Louisville the lead, which it kept to take a 38-33 halftime lead.
It felt as though Duke didn’t get a clean defensive rebound for the majority of the contest, but the second half was vastly different from the first.
Despite two of the best defenses in the league going at it, both sides showcased elite shotmaking ability to start. When possessions didn’t end in turnovers — as the inevitable ACC championship game butterflies found their way into the players — Duke and Louisville both connected on impressive shots.
Knueppel dove on the floor to tip it to Proctor. The ball found its way to Isaiah Evans, who hit a stepback three to give Duke a 14-12 lead with 13:12 remaining. Proctor continued the Blue Devil 3-point barrage with a left-wing splash. Not to be outdone, Edwards responded with a stepback to cut it back to two.
"I thought everybody contributed, and everybody pitched in, and we didn't need any Superman performances or anything like that. Everybody just stepped up and added to the team," Knueppel said.
Louisville’s point guard Chucky Hepburn hit two midrange fadeaway jumpers and a 3-pointer for his team’s first seven points of the evening. But he was held to just seven more the rest of the way, key to the Blue Devil win.
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Duke has locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will find out its placement Sunday at 6 p.m.
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.