Duke digs in for comeback win
Once, twice, three times Duke has trailed at halftime against Louisville in the past 13 months.
Once, twice, three times Duke has come back and won by 11.
The Blue Devils were down nine at the break before winning 84-73 against Louisville on Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
Duke (14-1, 3-0 ACC) went from looking like a trainwreck defensively to only 26 points in the second half — and that was with a meaningless 3-pointer thrown in with 3 seconds left.
Louisville (11-4, 1-2) went from making 10 of 21 3-pointers in the first half to going 2-for-17 in the second. And to reiterate, that was with a 3 in the final seconds.
The main difference in Duke’s defense was freshman Dame Sarr. He chased around Louisville star Ryan Conwell in the second half; Conwell scored 24 points but 16 of those were in the first half. He made one shot in the last 10 minutes.
The Blue Devils rode three players offensively, who combined for 70 points.
Cameron Boozer scored 27 points on 10-for-12 shooting. He made 3 of 4 3-pointers and added eight rebounds and four assists. Isaiah Evans scored 23, his second straight game over 20, and made four 3s.
But junior Caleb Foster scoring a career-high 20 points was the biggest boost. Sixteen of those came in the second half, when he was 7-for-8 from the field. Foster’s dribble penetration and scoring from inside the paint led the comeback.
Duke’s first lead came on a free throw by Boozer with 13½ minutes left. Louisville retook the lead about two minutes later, at 60-59. The next two buckets of the game were a Foster layup and a 3-pointer by Evans.
The Blue Devils essentially choked the life out of the game from there. Louisville made two field goals between the 9½-minute and 30-second marks of the game.
Tip-ins …
– Boozer and Evans were the only two Blue Devils to make a 3-pointer. They were a combined 7-for-14; the rest of the Blue Devils were 0-for-9.
– In Foster’s 80th career game, he scored a career high. His previous career high, 18 points, came in the third game of his career — the Champions Classic win against Michigan State in 2023.
– Duke only had nine assists on 29 field goals. That assist rate (31%) is the lowest of the season for Duke.
The Blue Devils were coming off a game with 23 assists on 28 field goals (82.1%).
– Duke’s halftime deficits have been four, five and nine against Louisville in the past three meetings. Each of those has been an 11-point win; so Duke is plus-51 in second halves against the Cardinals in those three games.
The Blue Devils have won eight straight matchups against Louisville.
