Jon Scheyer: We must stay poised in physical Duke-Tennessee NCAA Tournament game

In a physical contest between Duke and Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer just wants to see his team stay the course.

Already big man Kyle Filipowski has taken a shot to the face that resulted in a cut and some blood and the two squads have muscled back and forth throughout the early parts of the first half as they feel each other out.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of rhythm to the game.

“Well it’s hard to establish a rhythm, they do a great job on defense,” Scheyer told the CBS broadcast team. “They’re really good at what they do. So for us we just need to have poise, continue to play strong. We had some really good drives the last stretch, we need to do more of that here the rest of this half.”

Duke maintained a narrow early lead in the first half, even playing without one of their usual contributors.

Forward Mark Mitchell is unlikely to play after suffering an unfortunate knee injury during Friday’s practice. Duke and Tennessee were locked in a competitive contest even with him out.

Mark Mitchell unlikely to play in Duke-Tennessee showdown

Mitchell hurt his knee in practice Friday and is having a hard time moving it, CBS’ Lauren Shehadi reported early in the first half. She listed some other players who could step up, including sophomore Jaylen Blakes and Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison, and added it’s “unlikely” Mitchell sees the court.

“You mentioned Mark Mitchell not starting today because at practice yesterday, he landed awkwardly and he’s having trouble moving his knee,” Shehadi said on the broadcast. “Look for Jaylen Blakes and Jacob Grandison to cover. Ryan Young, as well. I’m told it’s unlikely he’ll in this game at all unless he starts to move it a little bit better.”

Mitchell has started all 35 games for Duke this season, averaging 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a true freshman. In the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament opener against No. 12 seed Oral Roberts, he had eight points and seven rebounds to help his team to the 74-51 victory to get to the second round.

Mitchell spoke about the matchup against Tennessee in the press conference prior to practice Friday, acknowledging the tough task at hand against a staunch Volunteers defense. Tennessee entered the game No. 2 in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

“They’re a really tough physical team,” Mitchell said. “We know they live to live in the paint, kind of similar to us. Just try and keep them out of the paint and just rebounding. I think those are two things we’re just trying to focus on. We know they love to crash the glass and pack the paint. Just continue to play together, but on the defensive end just keep them off the offensive glass and protect our paint. We know they have some big guys down there, but I think if we play our defense, we’ll be good.”