How Duke’s win at Louisville showed Blue Devils’ full national championship potential

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As Isaac McKneeley’s contested 3-pointer ricocheted down the right rim to Duke’s Dame Sarr with just under 14 minutes remaining in the Blue Devils’ 84-73 win over Louisville on Tuesday, Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey turned and slammed both hands on the court table behind him.

Kelsey could see a potential marquee victory slipping away from the Cardinals and had some frustration to let out. Duke had outscored Louisville 14-6 in the second half and was methodically taking control in a critical ACC battle that the Cardinals once led by 12.

Just 15 seconds later, the defensively resurgent Blue Devils took their first lead en route to a victory that established No. 6 Duke firmly atop the conference pecking order.

The No. 20 Cardinals, who started 7 of 10 from 3-point range to ignite a crowd of 17,656, went cold in the second half. After two minutes, Louisville fans flocked to the exits, resigned to Duke extending its series winning streak to eight.

Freshman Cameron Boozer had another dominant performance with 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Blue Devils, and coach Jon Scheyer was quick to note that “what he’s doing is incredible.”

But as great as Boozer was, and as great as the 43 points were from the supporting duo of Isaiah Evans and Caleb Foster, Tuesday’s result stood out as something completely different.

Duke’s defense, mired in its worst stretch since Scheyer’s playing days, rediscovered its identity.

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“They were as explosive as any offense we’ve played this season,” Scheyer said. “There’s no doubt about it. The game really came down to the wire, I thought our defense in the second half was great.”

Duke’s return to basics

During their 11-0 start, Duke ranked No. 6 in defensive efficiency. But something changed in the second half of an 82-81 loss to Texas Tech on Dec. 20, as the Red Raiders shot a blistering 62.1 percent while erasing a 17-point deficit.

The shoddy defense continued with uncomfortably close wins over ACC bottom-eaters Georgia Tech and Florida State over the past week. Those three games marked the first time since February 2009 that Duke allowed three straight opponents to shoot 53 percent or better.

“We lived through it,” Scheyer said, adding that the Blue Devils spent Monday working on “basic defensive drills” in an effort to rebuild good habits.

“Keep the ball, move as the ball moves and stay in position,” Scheyer said, touching on principles that could also be taught at Scheyer’s youth summer camps.

Even after that homecoming, it was much of the same in the first half at Louisville, as sharpshooter Ryan Conwell made his first three 3-pointers. Then, reserve center Aly Khalifa had some fun, hitting his first three 3-pointers as the Cardinals opened a 26-14 lead.

That’s when Boozer put his foot down. The Duke freshman phenom responded with a quick 3-pointer and scored 10 points in 8 minutes to help keep the Blue Devils in touch.

“In that first half, he settled us,” Scheyer said. “If he hadn’t, it could have gotten out of hand.”

The freshly minted Blue Devils regrouped at halftime and showed why they need to be considered a Tier 1 threat to win the national championship.

Unsung heroes

Collectively, the trio of Boozer, Evans and Foster led Duke to an excellent 70.8% shooting performance in the second half. But offensive brilliance is nothing new for the Blue Devils, and Louisville’s defensive susceptibility hasn’t been a big revelation either.

Which is why, while praising his star trio for its production, Scheyer also credited Dame Sarr and Maliq Brown. The duo only had six points coming off the bench, but they played a pivotal role in slowing down Louisville’s offensive barrage.

A Cardinals team that made 10 of 21 from 3-point range in the first half made just 2 of 17 after halftime, and it wasn’t because they suddenly forgot how to shoot. The sharp looks that abounded in the first half dissipated for Louisville as Duke spread out its defense, became more active and challenged the perimeter-oriented Cardinals to try to score inside the arc. Sarr and Brown helped launch the charge.

“They’re two of the best defenders I’ve ever been around,” Boozer said. “What they do for our team, it might not show up in the score. But it shows throughout the game.”

The strong defensive effort came with a caveat, as Louisville freshman star and offensive maestro Mikel Brown Jr. missed his fifth straight game with a back injury. But given how strong Louisville was in the first half without Brown, there was plenty to take from Duke’s defensive effort in the second half.

Conwell, who got his spot at will in the first half, finished 0-for-4 from deep in the second half.

“With a guy like him, you want to make him work for it,” Scheyer said. “I think the first two threes he hit were clear. So it wasn’t good. It was my fault, not our guys. It was my fault. But I was just thinking about the fight, the discipline to make him score over the top…I think it was more about the fight and the effort from Dame and Caleb and Isaiah in the second half to really guard.”

More tests await in an ACC that has more teeth in 2026 than last season, when Duke went 19-1 in league play. Although the Blue Devils accomplished what might be their toughest mission in conference by beating the Cardinals, they can’t rest on their laurels. The next challenge is Saturday against SMU, which is the highest-rated offensive team in the league, with neither Duke nor Louisville named. The Mustangs hung 97 in North Carolina last weekend.

But Duke took a big step back in the right direction against Louisville. Boozer played an incredible game. That’s to be expected at this point.

What was less certain, especially after the first half, was whether the defense would come back for the first time in weeks. This is what happened, and the Blue Devils demonstrated their potential at the championship level.

“We did some things in the second half that I thought was Duke’s defense,” Scheyer said. “How can we build from that and be true to who we are and what has made us really good so far?”