Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs. Louisville

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils went to Louisville on the heels of a two-game skid—including their first loss at home in 42 games—but found their edge once again in a hostile road environment.

No. 4 Duke used a stout defensive effort—which held the Cardinals to 29.5 percent shooting, their second-worst shooting performance of the year—to knock off No. 6 Louisville 63-52 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., to avoid its first three-game losing streak since the 2006-07 season. The Blue Devils were carried by freshman star center Jahlil Okafor and reliable team captain Amile Jefferson for the second game in a row on the offensive end. But this time around, Duke got enough stops this to control the tempo—and ultimately the game—with its frontcourt.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Stop the ball screen: The Blue Devils of Saturday looked nothing like the team that dropped its first game at Cameron in two and a half years against Miami Tuesday. They closed in on shooters and rotated well, forcing shooters into mistakes and bad looks. AP Preseason first-team All-American Montrezl Harrell—a 58 percent shooter entering the game—was limited offensively as the Blue Devils packed in their defense with a new zone look for the entire game. Pick-and-rolls were contained of the majority of the game as both Louisville starting guards—Terry Rozier and Chris Jones—had their share of issues. Rozier scored 17 but did so on an inefficient 5-of-16 shooting performance and Jones was hounded into five turnovers after scoring five early points then getting shut out the rest of the way. Duke's zone allowed its ball screen defense to improve immensely.
• Play with patience: After a first half during which the team struggled to funnel the ball to Okafor—who took only three shots in the half, one of which was a tip-in—after the break he was able to get more touches when the Blue Devils beat the Cardinal press. The big man was able to go to work after the break thanks in large part to Jefferson's first half success keeping double teams away. The 6-foot-11 center poured in 14 of his 18 points on the day after the break and freshman Tyus Jones set the tone for his team with his command of the offense in the final 20 minutes. The Apple Valley, Minn., native had eight assists against just two turnovers.
• Spread the ball: Duke’s three-point shooting woes continued today, as the Blue Devils went just 4-of-15 on the afternoon and were unable to convert several open looks. But despite its misses the team shot a collective 49 pecrcent from the field thanks to better ball movement—largely facilitated by the floor general Jones—and the fact that it controlled the tempo of the game. As a team, the Blue Devils assisted on 13 of their 21 made field goals and the ability of their frontcourt to also make smart decisions with passes paid dividends as the game wore on.

Three key plays:

• 2:27, first half: Quinn Cook hits a desperation triple after an Okafor screen to beat the shot clock to cap off an 11-0 run for Duke, giving the Blue Devils a comfortable 26-14 lead. The team captain had two defenders contest his shot but everything was going right for Duke when it made its run. The Blue Devils would go on to maintain this double-digit lead for the rest of the game behind strong defense and consistent scoring.
• 1:56, first half: For six offensively-challenged minutes, the Cardinals went without making a field goal. They missed 11 shots in a row—only adding two points on a pair of free throws—before Anton Gill hit a jumper with less than two minutes left in the half. Duke set the tone for the rest of the game during this stretch of great defense—which was also helped by several Louisville misses—as the Blue Devils made the right defensive rotations and provided solid support for one another. The Blue Devils held every Louisville starter other than Harrell to less than 33 percent shooting for the game.
• 13:14, second half: Duke picked up right where it left off at the half, kicking off the second period on a 16-5 run to break open the game and open up a commanding 21-point lead. During this stretch, Okafor scored eight points and grabbed three boards. It was clear that the Blue Devils emphasized getting the Chicago native early touches after a quiet first half and the dominant center responded as he has all year.

Three key stats:

• Just three first-half turnovers for the Blue Devils: After doing an atrocious job of protecting the ball against Miami, Duke started off the game by forcing four Louisville turnovers in the first three minutes before giving it up once. Both teams ended the game with 10 turnovers but Duke’s turnovers didn’t kill its offensive rhythm like the Cardinals’ did. Cook racked up three steals and had no turnovers while freshmen Jones and Winslow added a steal each, and the Blue Devils only lost the points off turnovers battle by two, an extremely impressive stat considering Louisville's pressure defense.
• Cardinals make just six shots from outside the paint: Today was just one of those days for Louisville. Its players were consistently missing layups, shot 4-of-25 from three—with Rozier making three of those—and shot just 30 percent from the field overall. The putrid shooting performance by Pitino’s squad is even harder to believe considering it dominated the offensive glass 18-5. Nonetheless, the shots just weren’t falling for the Cardinals, who struggled to create momentum off their defense because of the lid on the basket.
• Duke once again leans on frontcourt, gets 37 and 14 from big men: Just as they did in the Miami game, the Blue Devils relied heavily on their big men on a day when the guards and Winslow struggled from the perimeter. Okafor and Jefferson followed up their 29-point, 27-board performance against the Hurricanes with 37 points and 14 boards against Montrezl Harrell and the Cardinals. The junior team captain posted 10 points and six boards in the first half to make up for a slow start by Okafor and take advantage of Louisville's double teams. The underclassman stepped it up big after intermission with 14 second-half points, frequently bullying opposing defenders and using his superior footwork to maneuver in the paint.

Rozier attacked the basket and did what he could for his team on a day when Duke’s defensive unit meshed too well and finished with 17 points on 5-of-16 shooting and 3-of-7 from long range. The dangerous sophomore added four boards and two assists but his inability to catch fire earlier in the game really cost the Cardinals, who had to play without Jones after he picked up two quick fouls.