Back in action after a short break following their narrow win against Notre Dame, the 11th-ranked Blue Devils traveled up to Pittsburgh Tuesday night for a conference clash with the Panthers. With 20 minutes gone, Duke holds a titanic 48-23 lead:
Backcourt in charge
Though it’s been all about Mark Mitchell for the last couple Duke games — fair, given his excellent point and defensive production against both Notre Dame and Syracuse — it was the Blue Devil guards who took charge during the first half of this road game. The first significant lead Duke took against Pittsburgh came thanks to back-to-back-to-back threes from senior guard Jeremy Roach, sophomore Tyrese Proctor and freshman Jared McCain. They were responsible for pushing offensive movement as well as helping out notably on defense: McCain and Proctor snagged seven defensive rebounds between them, while Roach recorded a steal in early minutes.
Strong start on the road
This first half against Pittsburgh has started out on a stronger foot than any other road game of the season. Duke began its road record poorly, with losses to Arkansas and Georgia Tech starting out their out-of-Cameron-Indoor-Stadium career. The Blue Devils made their first comeback with their victory against Baylor at Madison Square Garden in December — not technically a road game but obviously not a home game — before doubling down on that comeback streak with their Saturday road win against Notre Dame. Neither of those matchups, however, began with the kind of standout lead that the Blue Devils established pretty much right off the bat in the Petersen Events Center, doubling the Panthers’ points by the 14th minute.
Shooting fire
Duke clearly spent its winter break at shooting practice; the Blue Devils collectively made shots fall all over the court. They shot 60% overall from the field and 9-for-17 from the arc, one of their best marks of the season so far. The only other games this season where the Blue Devils have collected this many points in a half were their early-season nonconference matchups at home against teams not nearly as threatening as an ACC rival like Pittsburgh.
Defending on enemy ground
Twenty-three points is the lowest score that the Panthers have been held to in a first half all season. The Blue Devils dominated on defense in a way their opponents simply could not; head coach Jon Scheyer’s zone defense kept Pittsburgh trapped such that the home team struggled notably in making baskets. That defense came from all ends of the court: the backcourt shone in its trickery while the frontcourt plumped Duke’s rebound total to 21, 15 of which were defensive.
Player of the half: Jeremy Roach
It can never be much of a surprise when the best player in a Duke jersey is its practiced senior captain. The Leesburg, Va., native led the half with the same calm disposition that has characterized his M.O. as captain all year. He tallied four assists, a steal and seven points — good for third behind sophomore center Kyle Filipowski and McCain, but he was more powerful when coupled with his role on the court as playmaker as well as shooter. The Blue Devils all have their foibles, inconsistency being one of the more common ones on this roster. But when it comes to Roach, constancy is his defining factor, and he can reliably be expected to support Blue Devil success.
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity sophomore and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.