Blue Devils’ winning streak snapped 8, with defensive and rebounding woes to blame for losing to a team it blew out 11 days earlier
DURHAM – Knowing something will happen is only half the battle. Preventing it is the other part.
By all accounts, Duke knew it would get a better game from Pittsburgh 11 days after blowing out the Panthers on their home court. There was no shock factor here.
That’s part of what ratcheted up the frustration level for Duke after losing 80-76 to Pitt on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the seventh-ranked Blue Devils’ eight-game winning streak coming to a screeching halt.
“I don’t think we were the tougher team,” senior Ryan Young said. “They came out and were the aggressor, they punched us first. They made a lot of shots and they were just more aggressive.”
If that’s not enough of a reality check, there was the lasting image of Pitt’s Blake Hinson standing atop the media table after the final buzzer, yelling into Duke’s student section that showed him little mercy all night.
“I want to apologize to our fans too, by the way,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “What happened at the end, that can’t happen. And that’s on us, and that’s unacceptable.”
Added Kyle Filipowski: “Of course, whoever comes into Cameron, they’re going to see this as their championship. It was really disrespectful, what they did, so we’re going to have to take that with a grain of salt and remember that next time anyone steps in the building.”
Duke’s (13-4, 5-2 ACC) second loss at home this season came with the Blue Devils giving up a season-worst 1.19 points per possession — a week after giving up a season-worst 1.14 in this building to Georgia Tech.
The Blue Devils were outrebounded 32-25. It’s the fifth time in the last seven games that Duke has been outrebounded, though the other four times were either one- or two-rebound differentials.
There’s an excuse there that Scheyer wasn’t interested in using.
The week off didn’t equate to Duke getting Mark Mitchell or Jeremy Roach back from their knee injuries. Mitchell has missed two straight games (and three total this season), while Roach didn’t make it back from the knee injury he suffered at the end of last weekend’s game against Georgia Tech.
“Does it change our team, not having Jeremy and Mark in there? Of course it does,” Scheyer said. “But that can’t impact how you rebound. Can’t impact how you defend. Can’t impact how you compete. End of the day, that’s on us.
“That’s on us, together, to figure out how you have that mindset.”
It was a mindset that permeated early. Pitt scored the first nine points of the game, which prompted an early timeout by Scheyer.
And then after Duke took a 26-23 lead on a transition 3 by Jared McCain, Pitt went on another 9-0 spurt and carried a four-point lead into halftime.
That lack of sustained success still anchored Duke in the second half. McCain tied the game at 45-45; Duke gave up a bucket on the ensuing possession. Jaylen Blakes gave Duke a 50-49 lead; Hinson drained two 3s on Pitt’s next two possessions. McCain tied the game at 57-57; Pitt scored on its next two trips.
“It was tough because I stayed attached to Hinson,” McCain said of his defensive assignment. “And they would do the pick-and-roll action with Federiko (Federiko). … We should’ve just guarded the ball better. A lot of things we probably could’ve done better.”
The last twist of that theme was after Filipowski completed a three-point play to put Duke up 65-64 with 7:04 left, drawing Hinson’s fourth foul in the process. On the ensuing possession, Jaland Lowe missed a late-shot clock attempt and Pitt kept the ball, with an in-bound play in front of its bench and without a shot clock reset.
The Panthers threw it to the opposite corner, with Federiko quickly passing it to Hinson, who buried his seventh 3.
“We looked like the team that we were a month ago. I think our spirit was broken, our confidence,” Pitt coach and former Blue Devil Jeff Capel said. “We were just excited to play (Duke) again.
“You have to be tough and together to have a chance here.”
Duke’s clamps came off Hinson.
Pitt’s sharpshooting wing entered this game with 24 points on 7-for-22 shooting in three previous games against Duke. With 12½ minutes left, he had 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting, including a 6-for-6 clip on 3s.
That was a few minutes after he got a technical foul and sat for a short time. His seventh and final 3 — he never missed, setting a Cameron Indoor Stadium record for most 3s without a miss — came with 6:33 left and gave Pitt (11-7, 2-5) a lead it never relinquished.
Lowe, a freshman guard, entered as a 30.3% 3-point shooter and made 3 of 4 3s, including two in the last eight minutes. He also made three free throws in the final 20 seconds to help ice the game.
Duke was plus-16 (42-26) in rebounding margin in the first meeting; Pitt held a 20-10 advantage in the first half.
The most troubling moment in that department was late in the first half, when Filipowski went up for a defensive rebound without much resistance and Sean Stewart knocked the ball away from him and into the hands of Federiko.
That led to the sophomore barking at the freshman in the middle of the play, accentuated as a rough sequence when Zack Austin hit a basket later in the possession.
“Our staff was emphasizing that and letting us know that was a pivotal part of the game and we didn’t execute as players on that,” Young said. “Rebounding is just toughness and effort, so that’s something that can’t happen and we need to look ourselves in the mirror and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
TIP-INS: Khaman Maluach, Duke’s last remaining target in the Class of 2024, was in attendance. The 7-2 center sat behind Duke’s bench in the normal spot, next to Justin Robinson; behind him was signee Darren Harris. … Tyrese Proctor had 10 points in the first half and only one in the second half, on a free throw with 4.8 seconds left. … McCain led Duke with 20 points, his first game with at least 20 this month, and Filipowski scored 19. … Duke’s assist rate was 50% (11 assists on 22 field goals), which is the second time in the last nine games that it hasn’t been above 50% (Duke had 10 assists on 21 field goals in the grinder of a win at Notre Dame).