Next Up - A Cameron Pitt Stop
And a rapid rematch just a few days after the first go-round
Date 1/20 || Time 8:00 || Venue Cameron Indoor Stadium || Video ACCN
After a week off, Duke gets back on the court Saturday as Jeff Capel brings Pitt to Cameron.
It’s an unusually quick rematch - Duke dominated Pitt on the 9th and gets the rematch just 11 days later.
Duke really laid into Pitt, with Kyle Filipowski shooting 11-12 and the team hitting 51.8 percent overall and 11-25 from deep.
The Blue Devils held the Panthers to 32.8 percent overall and 9-27 from behind the line. Blake Hinson was held to 5-8 for nine points. Guillermo Diaz Graham was just 1-6 from the floor.
And of course Pitt has struggled in ACC play. The Panthers are just 1-5 in conference and have slumped to 10-7 overall.
But Duke may be without Mark Mitchell and Jeremy Roach, and losing two starters is tough to overcome.
Mitchell is an immensely versatile defender who could conceivably guard 1-5. He couldn’t do it against every team necessarily but some teams?
Yeah he could.
And Roach has been an immensely valuable and steadying senior. Like Mitchell, he is also an outstanding defender.
Against Georgia Tech, Tyrese Proctor moved back into the starting lineup to replace Mitchell and that was fine, even though Duke was undersized. But what if Mitchell and Roach both have to sit it out? Who would join Filipowski, Proctor, Jared McCain and Caleb Foster?
Presumably Ryan Young would get the nod. Depth would be quite limited though with Jaylen Blakes, TJ Power and Sean Stewart being the only available scholarship reserves.
Blakes will be fine. He’s not a huge offensive player but his defense is absolutely superb. He attacks like great Duke defenders of the past like Billy King, Tommy Amaker and Steve Wojciechowski.
Power is coming on and is already a significant offensive threat. When he’s a little older he’s going to be a devastating weapon. Right now. he’s still a bit thin and that limits his effectiveness on defense.
As for Stewart, his playing time has dwindled as the season rolls on. There’s no lack of talent there and unlike Power, he doesn't need to catch up physically. He is almost certainly the most talented player on the roster.
But talent isn’t the only thing that matters. We’ve all seen less talented players dominate more talented ones. Larry Bird is the classic example but you can also point to Luka Doncic and, not long ago at Michigan State, Cassius Winston, who just outsmarted everyone he came up against.
Stewart hasn’t played as much as expected because he hasn't always made smart decisions on the court. He’ll figure it out, but at this point, he hasn’t, which is why he hasn't played much.
With the depth being what it is, Stewart may have to play. It could be a great opportunity for him.
This will probably not be like the last game. Duke has a lot of issues to deal with Saturday, starting with a possibly shortened rotation. And obviously fouls are going to be a concern.
And as we’ve said before, desperate teams are dangerous. Realistically, it’s almost impossible for Pitt to get to the NCAA Tournament, but this is still a team with some nice pieces. G. Guillermo Diaz has really had some nice moments and we like their backcourt. Carrington and Ishmael Leggett are one of the better ACC backcourts when they play well.
Hinson is a guy you’d kind of expect to be more of a power player but he’s a perimeter sniper and he can hurt you. Zack Austin is a pretty handy transfer. He came advertised as a defender but he can score too and he’s a good shotblocker as well.
Federiko Federiko, the man so nice they named him twice, is still around and while he’s been moved to the bench, he’s still getting plenty of minutes. He’s a solid big. Freshman Jalen Lowe has been coming on - he racked up 20 points against Syracuse on Tuesday.
William Jeffress, a 6-7 junior, has missed a ton of time due to injuries the last couple of years, but he’s healthy now and starting to contribute in a major way.
The final piece of the main rotation is the other Diaz Graham twin, Jorge. Thinner than Guillermo, like Power, Jorge needs to fill out to reach his potential.
Pitt’s depth could be a major advantage in this one and Duke’s margin for error is much thinner than it was up there. Foul trouble could be crippling, for instance.
But this is important too.
Pitt got embarrassed on the 9th and the only way to respond to that, particularly with such a quick rematch, is to fight like hell.
And that’s exactly what we expect them to do.
It won’t surprise us in the slightest, for instance, if Hinson or Carrington erupts from behind the line.
A lot of people thought that Duke would beat Georgia Tech senseless but we didn't because the matchups weren’t great. We didn’t see the three point shooting coming though.
In this one, you can see how it might.
Toss that in with a desire for redemption and Mitchell and Roach possibly sitting out or being less than 100 percent, and Pitt has a real chance here. Don’t expect this to be easy.
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