On Tuesday night, Pitt has its biggest opportunity of the regular season to make national waves with a game against Duke.
The Panthers will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina for the second-straight season. Last year, Blake Hinson, Jaland Lowe, and Bub Carrington led the Panthers to a win over the Blue Devils at the historic arena. Now, with Hinson and Carrington gone, Pitt is off to its best start of the Jeff Capel-era at 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.
Duke and Pitt are two of the three undefeated (in conference play) teams left in the league, along with Clemson. Both teams are currently on extended winning streaks, with Pitt having won five in a row and the Blue Devils eight in a row.
BLUE DEVILS REPORT
Duke is ranked second in the NCAA’s NET rankings and shares a 12-2 record with the Panthers. Duke’s two losses came against No. 19 Kentucky (ranking from the time of the game) and No. 1 Kansas.
Duke has the No. 6 scoring defense in the nation, giving up just 59 points per game on average. The Blue Devils rank ninth in scoring margin, and fifth in opponent field-goal percentage.
THE MAINE EVENT
Duke’s top player this season is Cooper Flagg, a freshman from Maine. Flagg, the No. 1 player from last year’s high-school class, is projected to be a top-3 pick in next year’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-10 forward is an explosive athlete with length and guard-like skills. He is currently averaging 17.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game
Meet Duke’s Newest Star: No. 1 Overall, Five-Star Freshman Cooper Flagg
SUPPORTING CAST
Kon Knueppel (freshman) and Tyrese Proctor (junior) are the only other Blue Devils averaging double-digit scoring so far this year. Knueppel went 0-8 from three-point range in the Blue Devils’ loss to Kansas, but has the ability to shoot the rock. He has hit multiple threes in 10 of 14 games this year for Duke.
Alongside Knueppel and Flagg, the Blue Devils will look to Tyrese Proctor and Isaiah Evans for outside shooting. In addition, Jon Scheyer’s squad has guard depth with Sion James (Tulane transfer) and Caleb Foster. Khaman Maluach, who competed in this past year’s Olympics for South Sudan, is averaging 7.9 points per game down low and has grabbed the second-most rebounds on the team.
The Pitt Vs. Duke game will be televised on ESPN at 7 p.m. est.
