Roach Leads No. 10 Duke in 84-59 Win Over Louisville

Wednesday, February 28

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

22-6,13-4ACC

Louisville

8-20,3-14ACC

Louisville

Duke

Roach Leads No. 10 Duke in 84-59 Win Over Louisville

2/28/2024 9:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Scheyer Quotes (PDF)Duke Player Quotes (PDF)Opponent Quotes (PDF)Coach Scheyer Presser Highlights Photo Gallery

DURHAM – The 10th-ranked Duke men's basketball team used a 48-point second half to secure an 84-59 victory over Louisville on Wednesday night. The Blue Devils (22-6, 13-4) were led by Jeremy Roach's 19 points, Kyle Filipowski's 10 rebounds and Tyrese Proctor's seven assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Two free throws from Jared McCain got Duke on the board on its first possession. A layup by Tyrese Proctor and a Mark Mitchell slam put the Blue Devils ahead, 6-3, in the early going. Jeremy Roach got in on the scoring out of the media timeout. Louisville snapped a five-minute scoring drought with a layup at the 14:07 mark, pulling within three, 8-5.
A dunk by Sean Stewart pushed Duke's advantage back to six, 15-9, at the under-12 media timeout. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Roach gave the Blue Devils their first double-digit lead, 23-13, and forced a timeout by the visitors with 7:27 remaining in the first half. Another dunk from Stewart, this time off an inbound play alley-oop, increased the freshman's point total to five and Duke's margin to 14, 31-17.
The lead got as large as 16 before Duke went into halftime ahead, 36-23. A quick 9-2 scoring burst out of the break extended the lead to 18, 43-25, and triggered a Louisville timeout just 1:45 into the second half.
A reverse slam by Mitchell gave the sophomore 14 points and maintained Duke's 18-point lead, 52-34. Louisville pulled within 14, 54-40, at the under-12 media timeout after a 5-of-7 shooting stretch from the field. TJ Power drilled a 3-pointer out of the break and the Blue Devils used a shooting hot streak of their own, making 6-of-7, to go up by 23, 67-44, with just over eight minutes on the clock.
Duke remained in control for the remainder of the game, never allowing Louisville closer than 18, 71-53 with 4:45 remaining, and closed out the 84-59 victory with seven of the final eight points in the contest, including a 3-pointer from Spencer Hubbard.

NOTES

With the win, Duke clinched a double-bye in the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils will begin postseason play in the quarterfinals, on Thursday, March 14.
The Blue Devils limited Louisville to 23 points through the first 20 minutes, matching the lowest first-half total from an ACC opponent this season (at Pittsburgh, at Miami).
Duke's defense held Louisville to 59 points, 13.6 points below its season average of 72.6. The Blue Devils have held 24 of their 28 opponents to below their respective scoring average.
Duke won the rebounding battle, 43-24. The Blue Devils are now 17-1 when out-rebounding their opponent.
The plus-19 rebounding margin matched the team's season high (vs. Bucknell) and was the best margin in conference play.
The Blue Devils dished 23 assists, a conference-play best and one shy of the team's overall season high.
Duke's 23 assists on 32 made field goals matches the team's best assist rate this season (71.9%), established against Bucknell on Nov. 17, 2023.
Duke has won eight of the last 11 meetings with Louisville, including five straight, and leads the all-time series 15-9.
Jeremy Roach made his 100th career start and scored a game-high 19 points, including 3-of-4 from deep.
The senior has made at least three 3-pointers in six games this season and 16 in his career. The Blue Devils are 14-2 when he reaches that threshold.
Mark Mitchell scored 17 points, his sixth game in double-figures across his last eight games played, along with a career-high three steals.
Duke is now 31-3 when Mitchell scores at least 10 points and is 13-0 when he scores at least 15.
Jared McCain connected on four 3-pointers, finishing the game 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, en route to 14 total points.
McCain has made at least three 3-pointers in 12 games this season and Duke is now 10-2 in such games.
Kyle Filipowski grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and dished six assists. The sophomore finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points.
Tyrese Proctor tallied seven assists, a season-high in conference play, with just one turnover. The sophomore also scored eight points and grabbed three caroms.
Proctor has 19 assists to just five turnovers, a 3.8 assist-turnover ratio, in his last five games played.
Sean Stewart contributed nine points, nine boards and two assists in 11 minutes of action.
Spencer Hubbard electrified the crowd in the closing minute of the game when nailing his first career 3-pointer, representing his career-high in scoring (3 points) and his first career points against an ACC opponent.

QUOTES

"Great to get that win. I thought our sharing was terrific overall. I thought we were a little sloppy in the first half, but once we settled into the game, overall our defense was really good. Besides they got a few transition baskets in the first half, I thought we did a really good job." - head coach Jon Scheyer
"Guys are sharing the ball. Guys are hitting shots. When we're playing like that, it's fun. You don't know who's scoring. It's going from inside to out, good to great passes, so that's something we've got to keep up. In our losses, we've had probably like 10 or less or 12 or less assists, but if we keep shooting the ball [this well], it's big-time. It's big-time for our team and it spreads throughout the team. If one person is making the extra pass, then another person makes an extra pass, and it's just fun playing." - senior guard Jeremy Roach

UP NEXT

No. 10 Duke (22-6, 13-4 ACC) remains at home for a weekend clash with Virginia (21-8, 12-6 ACC) on Saturday, March 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., broadcast on ESPN.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu

#GoDuke