Duke 76, Louisville 71 (final): Peyton Siva got to the rim and converted to bring Louisville back within three points, but it was too late for the Cardinals, who were forced into foul-and-hope mode. Quinn Cook just continued to come up with huge plays, converting 4-of-4 free throws in the final 15 seconds to maintain a two-possession lead for Duke and seal the tournament championship for the Blue Devils.
Duke 72, Louisville 67 (0:24, second half): The first four possessions out of the final media timeout resulted in three fouls and a Louisville turnover. Mason Plumlee drained a pair of free throws, but Russ Smith looked tired as he missed three of his four attempts from the line. A Chane Behanan putback after the fourth of those, though, earned Louisville back the pair of points. A Quinn Cook coast-to-coast, press-breaking layup answered the Behanan putback, but when Behanan got his chance at the line on the ensuing possession, he also missed one of his two attempts. Cook was the hero again after Behanan's single make, with a high-arching 12-foot floater late in the shot clock that gave Duke a five-point lead with under 30 seconds to play
Duke 66, Louisville 63 (3:03, second half): Chane Behanan finally tallied his first field goal of the game to tie the game at 61, and the Cardinals continued to attack the offensive glass as the pace became steadily more frenetic at the makeshift Imperial Arena at Atlantis. Seth Curry's first field goal since the first-half buzzer-beater was a corner 3-pointer that restored the Duke advantage, though, and Duke fought through a pair of turnovers to hit a wide-open Mason Plumlee for a breakaway dunk that had the crowd going wild as the officials whistled for the game's final media timeout.
Duke 61, Louisville 59 (7:29, second half): A 9-2 run from Louisville, keyed by a pair of buckets from Russ Smith and a transition layup from a streaking Kevin Ware, slashed the Duke lead from 11 points to four, leading to a timeout by Mike Krzyzewski as the Imperial Arena at Atlantis got as loud as it has been all weekend. Out of the timeout, an out-of-control Quinn Cook took on two defenders in transition, missed his layup, and Tyler Thornton fouled Cardinal center Stephen Van Treese getting the rebound. Van Treese converted a putback on the other end to cut the deficit to two points before a pair of Cook free throws finally stopped the Duke bleeding. Van Treese kept his nose on the offensive glass, though, answering Cook's tallies with yet another putback, and an offensive foul on Cook on the ensuing inbound gave Louisville the ball back and its chance to tie. Back the Cardinals went to Smith, who converted a floater in traffic to knot the score at 56. Crucially, Louisville picked up its tenth team foul with just under 10 minutes to play, giving Kelly a pair of free throws to put Duke back ahead and ensuring that Duke would shoot free throws for the rest of the game. Point guards Siva and Cook then took turns stealing the show with clutch top-of-the-key 3-pointers, putting the Cardinals ahead before Cook's marksmanship stole the lead back for the Blue Devils.
Duke 52, Louisville 45 (12:37, second half): It's promising for Duke to see the way that Rasheed Sulaimon and Ryan Kelly have stepped up to lead Duke in scoring tonight. Even considering the absence of Gorgui Dieng, the Blue Devils are showing an ability to adjust on the fly to a very different kind of game than they have played the last two days. The frequent zone looks from the Cardinals have opened up midrange opportunities for an inside-out big like Kelly, and Sulaimon has been Duke's most aggressive player off the bounce. Their efforts have proven especially crucial with Seth Curry having what seems like his first cold night from the floor, with a 2-for-8 showing so far. Siva continues to lead the Cardinals with some help from Smith and the assorted Louisville big men, but wing Chane Behanan—who, at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, appeared to be a difficult matchup for the Blue Devils—has missed all nine of his attempts from the floor.
Duke 45, Louisville 39 (15:48, second half): The Cardinal backcourt led the way early in the second half for Louisville, with six points from Peyton Siva and a 3-pointer from Russ Smith to cut the Blue Devil lead down to four. Siva's quickness in transition and penetrating ability Ryan Kelly took the reins for Duke, with a pretty swish from the elbow and then 2-of-3 free throws after drawing contact on a long-range attempt. When Siva picked up a loose ball at midcourt and took it the length of the floor for a layup and a foul, it looked as though the Cardinals had a chance to steal some momentum, but he missed the free throw and Sulaimon broke free of the Louisville press for an outlet pass and an authoritative one-handed slam. Another bucket from Kelly off an offensive rebound extended the Duke lead back to six.
Duke 36, Louisville 28 (halftime): The Cardinals have hardly missed a beat inside, even without starting center Gorgui Dieng, as junior Stephen Van Treese, sophomore Zach Price and freshman Montrezl Harrell—who came into the game collectively averaging just 6.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game—have combined for 14 tallies and 6 boards in the first half against Duke. The Blue Devil freshman have been the late answer for the Cardinal bigs, though, as Rasheed Sulaimon upped his total for the half to 11 with a layup and a long jumper, and Amile Jefferson added a nice drive that Mason Plumlee finished with a dunk to help keep Duke on top. Seth Curry extended the lead back to eight with a buzzer-beating off-balance 3-pointer that sent a typically quiet Duke crowd into a frenzy.
Duke 27, Louisville 22 (3:28, first half): Behind a raucous crowd of Louisville faithful, the Cardinals built momentum as the clock ticked under six minutes. A Russ Smith bucket and a pair of free throws from Kevin Ware on a Ryan Kelly foul 30 feet from the basket brought Louisville back within five, and Quinn Cook committed a charge to give the Cardinals a chance to pull even closer. A Rasheed Sulaimon steal and layup stemmed the tide a bit before Montrezl Harrell slammed home a putback to restore the Cardinal deficit to five. Duke's struggles from long range have continued late into the half, with just a 2-for-8 performance so far from beyond the arc.
Duke 25, Louisville 16 (7:51, first half): Amile Jefferson and Josh Hairston have been seeing significant early minutes, giving Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly breathers against a small Louisville squad. Even Alex Murphy has gotten in on the action after not playing against VCU and seeing the floor for just two minutes against Minnesota. Both Plumlee and Kelly have scored at will when the Cardinals have given a zone look, and several transition opportunities against Louisville pressure have helped Duke extend its lead to nine. Almost all of Duke's scoring has come at the rim, and a Cook transition lay-in with 8:03 forced Rick Pitino to stop the bleeding with a timeout.
Duke 15, Louisville 14 (11:33, first half): Duke got several chances out of the second media timeout, forcing Louisville turnovers on the first two Cardinal possessions. But Rasheed Sulaimon and Mason Plumlee failed to convert opportunities at the rim, and Sulaimon airballed a 3-point attempt. A Tyler Thornton 3-pointer accounted for Duke's only points since the first media timeout as Peyton Siva attacked the rim for a layup and then a foul for four points. The Blue Devils looked flustered at times against an occasional Louisville press, committing a pair of turnovers trying to bring the ball up the floor.
Duke 12, Louisville 8 (15:32, first half): Sophomore Zach Price had played just 14 percent of Louisville's minutes over the team's first five games, but the 6-foot-10 center drew an unexpected start when Gorgui Dieng was announced as a late scratch. The 250-pound Price made his mark on the game early, though, with four of the Cardinals' first six points. His counterpart inside, Mason Plumlee, answered with five of Duke's first seven points, though, as Louisville came out in a 2-3 zone defense. Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly helped exploit the zone by draining midrange jumpshots to give the Blue Devils an early four-point lead.
Starters:
Duke: G Quinn Cook, G Seth Curry, G Rasheed Sulaimon, F Ryan Kelly, F Mason Plumlee
Louisville: G Peyton Siva, G Russ Smith, F Wayne Blackshear, F Chane Behanan, C Zach Price
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