More On Duke’s Big Win At Louisville

Duke’s big win at Louisville could be a harbinger of things to come.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

What is with Duke and comebacks in the Yum! Center? Duke’s comeback at Louisville in 2019 was shocking because it happened really fast. Duke was down 23 with 9:58 to play. That comeback was basically basketball blitzkrieg.

It wasn’t quite that extreme here. Duke was down 47-38 at the half and finally tied the game with 13:36 to play. After that, it was less blitzkrieg and more like being squeezed to death like a boa constrictor. At a certain point, you could see the frustration and doubt on the faces

of the Louisville players and coaching staff.

After hitting 10 threes in the first half, we think Louisville only made two in the second half.

A lot of that was due to the defense of Dame Sarr, who threw a wet blanket over Ryan Conwell: in the first half, Conwell shot 4-7 on his threes. He finished 4-11 and a lot of that was due to Sarr.

At the half, Louisville was shooting 48% from behind the line; the Cardinals finished at 32%.

And while we also saw what we’re used to seeing from Cameron Boozer – he finished with 27 points on 10-12 shooting, 8 rebounds and 4 assists – he didn’t get much help in the first half. Isaiah Evans did get 13 before the break but no one else scored more than 4 (Caleb Foster).

That changed in the second.

Foster really took control in the second half, finishing with 20 points. Moreover, while he shot 2-5 in the first half, in the second he shot 7-8. He was pretty dominant and he and Evans combined for 43 points, which is a lot of support for Boozer.

It’s easy to overlook Maliq Brown’s willingness to do the dirty work, but he was a huge asset too, particularly since Pat Ngongba was effectively out of this game after the first half, which we’ll get back to.

Brown played 28 minutes, scoring only 2 points but grabbing 8 rebounds and stealing the ball 3 times. Neither Brown nor Sarr is a huge factor offensively, but when they defend together, good things happen.

This game obviously would’ve been different if Mikel Brown had played, but them’s the breaks. You have to go with what you have.

There was one note of controversy Tuesday and that come courtesy of one Kasean Pryor.

For some reason, he decided to headbutt Ngongba, who not surprisingly, pushed him away.

The officials reviewed the play and called offsetting technicals. We’re not trained officials but what Pryor did could have gotten him arrested if he had done it outside with a police officer nearby. Ngongba’s reaction was relatively mild and not really escalatory. But it is what it is.

What’s worse is that after that, on the next trip downcourt, Ngongba was still hot and tried to bull his way to the basket. He was then called for a foul on a rebound. With 1 foul, then a second from the technical, and a third on the latest play, Ngongba’s night was effectively over. He only played 10 minutes.

We’d like the ACC to address Pryor’s behavior, but as for young Ngongba, he needs to know when he’s being baited.

The bottom line here? While Duke again started slow, which is something that shouldn’t be disregarded, the Blue Devils also finished brilliantly. The defense really came alive and, as we said before, constricted the Cardinals. A lot of people got carried away recently and started worrying about this team and nitpicking its faults.

With more offensive options emerging and the re-emergence of a brutally effective defense, Duke is again looking like a dominant power and making the nervous nellies look pretty ridiculous.

There will be more ups and downs between now and the end of the season. There always are. And, as always, the odds are against any team winning the national championship.

This team has a heart though, and a soul. March, and possibly April, should be fun.

One last thought: Louisville was brought into the ACC as a roughly equivalent replacement for Maryland. They’ve provided that, but with Duke breaking Cardinal hearts again, they may become more like Maryland than we really might want.