PITTSBURGH — Pitt matched up pretty well against the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday.
That is, all of them except one.
Freshman forward Zion Williamson, the consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had seven assists to physically power the Blue Devils over Pitt, 79-63.
The 6-foot-7, 285-pound forward has had his way with plenty of teams this season. He entered the game second in the ACC in points per game, averaging 21.5.
The only player with a better average is his Duke teammate, freshman forward RJ Barrett, who scored 26 points against the Panthers.
Freshman forward Cam Reddish had 15 points, while the final member of Duke’s fearsome freshmen foursome, Tre Jones, missed the game with a shoulder injury.
The Panthers got off to a hot start and even led around the 13-minute mark of the first half, with Jared Wilson-Frame providing some early offense. He finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
When forward Terrell Brown had to come out with foul trouble early in the first half, Williamson took advantage inside. He made his first 10 baskets and finished 11 for 13 from the floor. Brown eventually finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Trey McGowens led the Panthers with 14 points on 7 of 12 shooting, but was 0 for 4 from beyond the arc as part of a cold night overall for the Panthers, which made just 3 of 15 (20 percent) from long range. McGowens fouled out with just over three minutes to play.
The Blue Devils led by as many as 23 points early in the second half, but Pitt continued to battle throughout and closed to the final margin of 15 points.
Up next, Pitt will visit No. 23 Louisville on Saturday. That game is schedule for 2 p.m.
Not a mention of Duke going to a 3-forward, 2-center lineup for the last 10-minutes of the first half. This completely stymied the offense. A Duke guard didn’t re-enter the lineup til midway thru the 2nd half.
Duke played without a true guard most of the time.