Matthew Hurt continued to scorch the nets to start the game. At the under 16 timeout, Duke led 8-6 thanks in large part to Matthew Hurt’s six early points.
The game remained neck and neck for the next few minutes. A Mark Williams hook shot tied the game at 17 with 11:07 left to play. Louisville would score on the following possession and took control at this time.
Duke could not stop Louisville’s trio of Carlik Jones, David Johnson, and Jae’Lyn Withers and Duke’s backcourt was significantly outperformed by Louiville’s. By the under eight timeout, Louisville was ahead by eight. Malik Williams knocked down a three with 1:26 to play, giving Louisville a 10 point lead. They would take a 10 point lead into the half.
Duke came out looking like a different team in the second half. Louisville scored first in the second half to extend the lead to 12, but Duke answered quickly. After a DJ Steward steal and score, Duke trailed by just five.
Duke would continue to claw their way back into the game. After a Steward three and Brakefield and one, Duke was down by just one. Moments later, Roach tied the game with a midrange jumper. In what felt like a major missed opportunity, Duke immiediately squandered the momentum. Following the tie, Louisville went on a 6-0 run to lead by 6:00 with 10:17 to play. Then Matthew Hurt happened.
Hurt would score the next 13 points for Duke. After trailing by six, Duke led by three with 7:15 to play. Louisville would retake the lead with 5:12 remaining.
Louisville increased their lead to five points with just 3:07 to play. With the game teetering on being out of reach, Duke again answered the Louisville run.
In the closing seconds, Louisville had an opportunity to take the lead at the free throw line. Carlik Jones missed the second free throw after making the first, but Louisville grabbed another offensive rebound. Duke was fortunate to then get a stop and the game was headed to overtime.
Duke was thoroughly outplayed in overtime, despite the fact Louisville was down two key players for the overtime period. The extra period started with a three from Quinn Slazinski and Duke never recovered. In the end, Duke fell 80-73.
Five Observations:
Poor guard play
Duke got virtually nothing from their backcourt in this game. Jordan Goldwire, Jeremy Roach, and DJ Steward combined for just one point in the half. Things did not improve in the second half. The trio of guards finished with just 12 points on 3/21 from the field.
Duke dominated on the glass
Duke was dominated on the glass in the first half with Louisville out-rebounding Duke 20-9. Louisville pulled down eight offensive rebounds compared to zero for Duke. Duke’s inability to to keep Louisville off the glass was one of the biggest reasons for their first half struggles. Duke continued to struggle on the glass in the second half, giving up seven more offensive rebounds. The inability to rebound hurt Duke all night. It was fitting that Duke was unable to secure a rebound that would have given them a chance to win on the final possession of regulation.
Matthew Hurt
Considering the stakes of this game, this was one of the best individual performances by a Duke player in recent years. Hurt finished with 37 points to go along with seven rebounds, and carried Duke’s offense completely by himself. In curious fashion, Hurt was not force fed the ball late in the game. Duke rushed many shot attempts without giving Hurt a touch. Hurt had just two shot attempts in overtime and to no surprise, made both. Hurt was absolutely phenomenal, and the fact Duke did not feed him the ball down the stretch will remain bewildering.
Unforced turnovers
Duke’s habit of falling into unforced turnovers returned in this game. There were several questionable passes made. After taking care of the ball better of late, some of Duke’s ugly old habits reared their ugly head again.
Inability to hit threes
After scorching the nets from deep over the last four games, Duke fell ice cold from beyond the arc tonight. As a team, Duke shot just 4/21 from three. There were several questionable attempts from Duke. Their inability to convert from deep was just one of several factors contributing to the loss.
Player of the game: Matthew Hurt
This pick could not be any more obvious. Hurt was a one-man wrecking crew, but did not have enough help in the end.