Duke, ranked 11th, dominated Pittsburgh with a 75-53 victory on Tuesday evening. They scored 48 points in the first half, thanks in part to nine three-pointers. Kyle Filipowksi led the game with 26 points and recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds, shooting 11-of-12 from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

On Duke’s second possession of the game, Kyle Filipowski scored with a tip-in. Shortly after, Jeremy Roach made a three-pointer, giving the Blue Devils a 9-4 lead before the first media timeout.

After halftime, Tyrese Proctor and Jared McCain both hit long shots, giving the Blue Devils an eight-point lead at the 13:53 mark. Shortly after, Filipowski scored his third basket of the game, extending their lead to 10 points for the first time, 19-9.

The Panthers halted Duke’s 13-2 run with a step-back jumper, bringing the score to 22-9. Shortly after, Filipowski made a three-pointer and Roach scored his seventh point, prompting a Pitt timeout with 7:44 remaining in the first half.

After the timeout, Duke started making a lot of three-pointers. Caleb Foster made two in a row, followed by Filipowski on the next possession. These nine points quickly increased Duke’s lead to 20 points, 36-16.

The lead stayed at approximately 20 points for the rest of the first half until it reached its highest point of 25 points, with a score of 48-23, just before halftime thanks to Filipowski’s third successful three-point shot.

Filipowski continued his impressive shooting performance in the second half, sinking his fourth three-pointer of the game at the 14:37 mark to give Duke a commanding lead of over 30 points, 59-28. A 14-2 scoring streak lasting almost six minutes extended the Blue Devils’ advantage to 62-28 by the under-12 media timeout.

With slightly more than 10 minutes remaining in the game, McCain made a layup and Filipowski followed with a mid-range floater for his 24th point. He then secured his fifth double-double of the season by grabbing an offensive rebound right before the media timeout at the eight-minute mark.

The Blue Devils sealed their 75-53 win after a 14-2 run by the Panthers brought the margin to 21 points, 68-47, with four minutes remaining in the game.

NOTES

Duke’s defense limited Pittsburgh to only 53 points, making it the lowest scoring game for a Duke opponent and the lowest scoring game for the Panthers this season.

In the first half, Duke successfully made nine three-pointers, which is the highest number of three-pointers they have made in a half this season. This surpassed their previous record of eight three-pointers in the second half against Bucknell (11/17/23) and Syracuse (1/2/24).

The Blue Devils had their highest scoring first half of the season with 48 points, while Pittsburgh only managed to score 23 points in the first half, their lowest of the season.

The defense of Duke was able to restrict the Panthers to only 8 out of 28 shots made (.286) in the first half. This marked a new low for a Duke opponent’s shooting percentage in a half for the season.

Duke’s defensive efforts limited Pittsburgh to a total of 53 points, which is 26.1 points lower than their average of 79.1 points per game this season. In fact, Duke has successfully kept all 15 of their opponents from reaching their usual scoring averages.

Duke dominated the rebounding game against Pittsburgh, with a 42-26 advantage. This +16 difference is the second highest rebounding margin of the season for Duke, just behind their +19 margin against Bucknell.

Kyle Filipowski scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, achieving his fifth double-double of the season and 21st of his career. This was also his fourth game of the season where he scored at least 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Filipowski scored 17 points in the first half, shooting 7 out of 8 (82.5%) from the field. He also made all three of his three-point attempts, tying his previous record for first-half points this season, which he achieved against Hofstra on 12/12/23.

The player from Westtown, New York scored 26 points in total, making 11 out of 12 shots and hitting all 4 three-pointers attempted, equaling his personal best for three-pointers made in a single game.

Filipowski’s attempt resulted in the highest shooting percentage for a Blue Devil player who made at least 10 attempts since Zion Williamson’s perfect 13-of-13 game against Syracuse on March 14, 2019.

Jared McCain maintained his streak of scoring at least 10 points, recording a total of 12 points against the Panthers.

The freshman has now scored at least 10 points in each of the last seven games and has made at least two three-pointers in each of those scoring efforts. Duke is now 11-0 when McCain drains at least two three-pointers.

Caleb Foster achieved a personal record of seven assists and also scored eight points.

QUOTES

The focus of the game tonight was our team’s defense. Our defense was exceptional and possibly the strongest we’ve seen on that end. We were able to defend and rebound effectively, and Kyle Filipowski’s performance was a game-changer. When he plays at that level, it completely transforms our offense and defense. I believe there is no one else in the country who can match his impact when he plays like that. I am proud of our team’s effort and performance. These are my thoughts as the head coach, Jon Scheyer.

Tonight, there was a larger significance than just basketball – it was a privilege to participate in ‘Hoops for ALS’ with Jeff. We were colleagues at Duke when his father passed away and we discussed this event during the summer. Raising awareness for ALS, a terrible disease, was a significant moment to share with him tonight. – Scheyer

I believe our defensive teamwork was much stronger in this game. We were united as a unit of five on the defensive side. Defense requires the effort of multiple individuals, not just one. Our game strategy for defense was distinct and effective for this particular game, and I believe we carried it out successfully. Duke sophomore Kyle Filipowski shared this sentiment.

UP NEXT

Duke, ranked 11th with a record of 12 wins and 3 losses overall and 3 wins and 1 loss in the ACC, will be back at Cameron Indoor Stadium after playing two away games. They will face Georgia Tech, who has a record of 8 wins and 7 losses overall and 1 win and 3 losses in the ACC, on Saturday, January 13 at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on the ACC Network.

Source: wralsportsfan.com