Connect with us

Pitt Basketball

No. 4 Duke Routs Pitt in Mike Krzyzewski’s Final Game in Pittsburgh, 86-56

Published

on

PITTSBURGH — On Tuesday night, in Mike Krzyzewski’s final coaching trip to Pittsburgh, his star-studded Duke Blue Devils out shined Pitt and comfortably defeated the Panthers, 86-56.

Duke’s trio of highly-touted freshman — Trevor Keels, Paolo Banchero, and AJ Griffin — proved to be too much to handle for a struggling Pitt team, combining for 60 points in the Blue Devils’ seventh-straight win.

Duke opened the game by hitting four of its first five threes, building a quick 16-3 lead over Pitt right out of the gates. While the Panthers tightened up their defense throughout the rest of the half, they could not quite create enough chances offensively to keep the game within reach, and went into the break down 17.

The second half was more of the same, as No. 4 Duke shot 70% from the field to secure the victory.

Keels came out of the gates on fire, leading the Blue Devils with 15 first-half points on 6-for-7 shooting, including 3 for 3 from three-point land. Pitt’s defense could not keep up with Keels all game, as he finished the contest with a game-high 27.

Banchero, who has been widely regarded as one of the top players in the nation all year, followed Keels with a 21-point performance of his own in the win. He showcased a complete skill set, hitting all three of his three-point attempts and attacking the rim with force and finesse throughout the night.

For Pitt, John Hugley delivered a strong outing inside for the Panthers, scoring a team-high 19 points and grabbing six rebounds in the losing effort. He hit eight of his 15 shots, including one of his three three-point chances, and also turned the ball over four times in the loss.

Jamarius Burton followed Hugley with 13 points, finding success with his mid-range game early and sticking to it throughout the rest of the game. He knocked down four of his first five shots, but struggled to get open looks in the second half, adding just four points to his total in the frame.

With the loss, the Panthers fell to 11-19, as well as 6-13 in ACC play, while Duke improved to 26-4 overall and 16-3 in conference play.

Pitt will conclude its regular season slate with a matchup at Notre Dame on Saturday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNNews.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
5 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
5 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Rob Radich
Rob Radich
2 years ago

Sad. That 3 game winning streak seems like a lifetime ago. Just buy him out. Did see that Jamie Dixon’s team has beaten two top ten teams in the last week. Miss having a competent coach

Last edited 2 years ago by Rob Radich
Paul mcgrath
Paul mcgrath
2 years ago
Reply to  Rob Radich

I would do anything to have Jaime Dixon back.
I can’t wait for the season to be over because watching this team saddens me.

Krackerjack Kid
Krackerjack Kid
2 years ago

What a nice parting gift for Coach K.

Can’t believe this Capel only lost by 30.

What an embarrassing team and season.

Four year of this. Four years of bad losses.

AMF
AMF
2 years ago

Capel is in his 4th year and I still do not know
if he can coach in the ACC What I do know is he
cannot recruit to compete in the ACC.The only
two players with ACC talent are Hugley and
Gueye.The 3 other starters do not have enough all
around skill to play at this level. The conclusion
is that if you cannot recruit you cannot coach
whether you have the skill to do so or not.

Richard Johnson
2 years ago

I hope these kids noticed what defense looked like. Not one on ball defender on this team, everybody got blown bye and the help defense seems confused. Capel has got to quit recruiting bodies and get players.

Get PSN in your inbox!

Enter your email and get all of our posts delivered straight to your inbox.

 
Like Pittsburgh Sports Now on Facebook!
Send this to a friend