By Josie Simpson
Louisville is set for a tough road test against the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils.
This matchup features two of the ACC’s top teams, each battling for position in the conference standings. Both teams sit at 11-3 in league play, and the winner will have the inside track for a top-four seed in the ACC tournament.
The Devils thwart again and again
Duke boasts one of the best defenses in the nation, holding opponents to just 58.7 points per game. They torture opposing shooters, only allowing 40% from the field and 29.3% from three-point range.
If getting a good look wasn’t hard enough, getting any kind of look is even more difficult.
The Blue Devils force 21.4 turnovers a game with 11 of those coming off of steals. Both marks rank within the top 35 nationally.
Oluchi Okananwa leads the Blue Devils with two steals a game, and Tina Mair, Delaney Thomas and Jadyn Donovan each grab at least an additional 1.5 steals.
Louisville has made serious strides this season at holding onto the ball, but a regression could doom the Cardinals’ chances.
Shot-blocking is another area of strength for Duke, as they swat 4.4 shots per game, another top 35 mark. Freshman phenom Toby Fournier provides a major presence in the paint, swats 1.2 shots a game and alters many more.
Rebounding is another area where the Blue Devils control the game, averaging 38.7 rebounds per game. Louisville has faced more prolific rebounding teams this season, but Duke is still imposing enough on the glass to make noise. Duke is better on the offense glass than defensive, but if the Cards can’t keep pace then they’ll only help the Blue Devils defense shut them down.
Devilishly good
On top of a terrifying defense, Duke scores an impressive 75.4 points per game.
Fournier is Duke’s leading scorer at 13.4 points a game, with Ashlon Jackson joining as the only double-digits score with 12.5 a game.
Mair is the leader in assists, averaging four a game. A handful of other players average around two.
A big reason for this lack of ball dominance is the deep Bench Kara Lawson likes to play with. Nine players average 12.9 or more minutes a game, with none of those players having missed more than one game this season. Duke averages 32.5 bench points per game, the third most in the country.
Duke also shoots an astonishing 45.4% from the field and 35.2% from three.
There is virtually nothing that The Blue Devils do poorly. Louisville will need to put up their A-game if they want to walk away from Cameron Indoor Stadium with a victory.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.
Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics
