LOUISVILLE, Ky. — By: Zach Greenwell
Struggles on the boards cost Louisville men’s basketball in an 83-69 home loss to No. 12 Duke on Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals (6-13, 1-7 ACC) got outrebounded 43-28 while allowing 15 offensive rebounds, which turned into 21 second-chance points for the Blue Devils.
“I thought there were segments of the game where we showed our growth,” UofL head coach Kenny Payne said. “We showed at a time that we can play with a team like Duke. But there were a few things that stood out to me, one being in the second half, 16 second-chance points, another being time and score. So, we were having success attacking them, moving the ball and attacking them, putting them on their heels. Then, for some reason, we take a shot out of that norm – not a feel for what is going on, the plays before that. The guy comes off and takes three dribbles and shoots the ball. Time and score is critical, especially with a team that is better than a top 15, more like a top 10 team. Their skill, they are talented and have great players, so in order to beat them, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Duke (14-4, 5-2) built a significant 38-20 lead with 5:25 to play in the first half after a 9-0 run.
Louisville cut the deficit to 45-34 by halftime, then opened the second half with a 10-2 run to get back within 47-44 with 15:21 remaining.
But every time the Cardinals made a push, the Blue Devils seemed to have a response.
Louisville’s last threat came after cutting it to five at 65-60 with 7:38 to go. Duke got a 3-pointer from Tyrese Proctor and a putback by Mark Mitchell to build a cushion.
Proctor had a game-high 24 points off the bench for Duke, while Mitchell had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Kyle Filipowski added 17 points and 15 boards.
Junior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield paced Louisville with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Redshirt sophomore guard/forward Mike James (13 points), sophomore guard Skyy Clark (13) and freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson (10) all reached double figures.
The Cardinals stay at home to host Virginia at 12 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will air on The CW.
