Pitt Vs. No. 7 Duke Preview: Everything You Need to Know

On Saturday night, Pitt will have its chance at redemption down in Durham, North Carolina.

The Panthers (10-7, 1-5 ACC) will take on the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils at the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium, just 11 days after losing to Duke by 22 at home.

Let’s dive into the game preview for Saturday’s contest.

No. 7 DUKE BLUE DEVILS (13-3, 4-1 ACC)

HEAD COACH

Jon Scheyer (2nd Season)

Scheyer’s Blue Devils are hot — coming into the game with eight-straight wins. Since its first win over Pitt, Duke played one game, taking down Georgia Tech by five points in Durham, North Carolina. The Blue Devils have since had an entire week away from game action and will be fully rested heading into round two against the Panthers.

LEADING SCORERS

#30 Kyle Filipowski – Forward

Filipowski had perhaps the best game of his sophomore season against none other than Pitt just 11 days ago. In that matchup, he proved to be a nightmare for the Panthers, hitting 11 of his 12 field-goal tries, including all four three-point attempts, in the win. He also grabbed ten rebounds for the Blue Devils and finished with 26 points. 

#3 Jeremy Roach – Guard

Roach had nine points and four assists last time out against the Panthers, hitting one of his four three-point attempts.

#25 Mark Mitchell – Forward

The 6-foot-9 sophomore started against Pitt but not against Georgia Tech. Against the Panthers, Mitchell had just four points on 1-for-4 shooting. 

BACK COURT SUCCESS

Last time out against Pitt, Duke guards Jared McCain, Caleb Foster, and Tyrese Proctor all had strong outings in all facets of the game. McCain was 5 for 9 from the floor and hit two threes, while Foster went 3 of 6 from the field (2 of 3 from three) and Proctor added five assists.

Against Duke, Pitt guards Bub Carrington, Ishmael Leggett, and Jaland Lowe combined to go 8 for 31 (26%) from the field. They’ll need to step up on Saturday if Pitt wants a chance to win.

HINSON

Last time out against the Blue Devils, Scheyer had his guards defend Pitt’s leading scorer Blake Hinson out on the perimeter. Hinson hit 3 of his eight shot attempts (7 three-point tries) but could not quite produce the volume that he’d like from outside due to the suffocating strategy.

METRICS

Pitt is ranked No. 83 (down 29 from last matchup against Duke) in KenPom. Com’s ratings, and No. 82 in the NET rankings. Duke is ranked No. 10 in Kenpom.com’s rankings, and No. 14 in the NCAA NET Rankings.

GAME TIME

Pitt Vs. Duke will start at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20.

SPREAD

Duke is favored by 13 points in Saturday night’s game, per DraftKings. The over/under is set at 141.5 total points. Pitt has a record of 8-8-1 against the spread this season, per TeamRankings.com.

The Panthers failed to cover the five-point spread last time against Duke.

TV

You can find Tuesday’s game on ACC Network.