Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs Pittsburgh

The Blue Devils started slow Sunday and could not recover in a 76-62 loss on the road to Pittsburgh. Duke fell behind by as many as 23 late in the second-half and lacked the energy the more desperate Panthers displayed in front of their home crowd. 

Revisiting the three keys to the game: 

• Play a clean game: Although the Blue Devils weren't done in by foul trouble, a fourth foul on freshman Brandon Ingram with 9:39 remaining in the game her the team in a big way. On the afternoon, Duke sent its opponents to the line only 15 times—which was more indicative of a lack of tenacity on defense than a solid defensive performance. On the offensive end, the Blue Devils did not have one of their more efficient games as the team committed 13 turnovers and failed to shoot better than 40 percent from the field for the first time since a Jan. 18 loss to Syracuse. 
• Crash the boards: After watching Duke Sunday, it was hard to imagine that this category was even up for debate. The Blue Devils were pounded on the boards all afternoon by one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Pittsburgh finished with a 39-20 advantage on the glass and collected 16 offensive rebounds en route to 19 second-chance points. Duke's subpar performance corralling misses were perhaps no clearer than in the final box score where the Blue Devils' leading rebounder Marshall Plumlee collected just four rebounds. On the other end of the floor, four Panthers recorded more than Plumlee's total. 
• Push the ball in transition: Duke could not get the ball in transition because it could not force stops on the other end of the floor. With the Panthers shooting 50 percent from the field in the win, the Blue Devils found themselves matching up against Pittsburgh in the half-court for much of the afternoon. Duke finished with eight fastbreak points, many of which came late in the game once the outcome was already decided. 

Three Key Stats 

• Duke needs 4:10 to make their first field goal of the game: The signs were there early that the Blue Devils would struggle in this one. Duke missed four shots and committed three turnovers before scoring their first basket of the game on a Brandon Ingram three. The Blue Devils started in a similar lull out of halftime as they took 4:40 to get on the board in the second-half 
• Duke attempts 32 shots from beyond the arc: Despite having two of the most fearless attackers in the ACC, the Blue Devils settled for far too many jumpers Sunday. The team's 32 attempts from 3-point range were the second most all season. Compounding the problem for Duke was its lack of success from distance. The Blue Devils shot only 34 percent from downtown with the normally accurate trio of Allen, Ingram and freshman Luke Kennard combining to shoot 9-of-25. 
• Duke drops to 10-6 in conference play: With conference play winding down, the Blue Devils find themselves in a logjam near the middle of the ACC standings. Duke is tied at 10-6 with Notre Dame and sits one game behind both Virginia and Louisville at 11-5. But perhaps the biggest worry for the Blue Devils is that three teams—Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Clemson—Duke lost to this season sit just a game back at 9-7. The Blue Devils will need a strong finish to the season to preserve a solid ACC Tournament seed. 

Three Key Plays 

• 4:06 remaining, first half: After Duke weathers the initial storm to stay in the game, junior Sheldon Jeter slams home a dunk to cap off a 13-6 Pittsburgh run that puts the home team up 14. The forward was a tough matchup for the Blue Devils all evening and finished with 11 points and six rebounds. 
• 9:39 remaining, second half: After an inbound steal and quick three by Kennard cut the lead to 10, Ingram picks up a critical fourth foul while defending forward Ryan Luther. Ingram would sit out until the 6:29 mark of the second half when his team trailed by 20. 
• 8:14 remaining, second half: With the Blue Devils hopes hanging by a thread, Luther hits an open three with the shot clock winding down to put the Panthers up 16 and send the home crowd into a frenzy. The 16-point deficit would be the closest Duke would get until the final shot of the game. 

And the Duke game ball goes to ... Grayson Allen