Head coach of the Duke basketball team, Jon Scheyer, was able to coax more out of his ninth-ranked team, which had recently lost the rivalry, as they defeated Notre Dame 71-53 on Wednesday, despite their dismal performance.
The second-year coach remarked, “I thought it was great to get a win without playing our best offense.”
After losing 93-84 to No. 3 North Carolina, Scheyer’s Blue Devils (17-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) were dissatisfied with the Tar Heels’ tenacity, which included diving for errant balls.
“He just let it be known that it is not acceptable, and it’s not the way we’re going to play the rest of the season,” rookie Caleb Foster said following his 13-point performance.
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The Blue Devils had scored 17 straight points before Foster’s layup, jumper, and Mark Mitchell’s 13 points and 10 rebounds put them ahead 20–5. At the half, Notre Dame had a 33–25 advantage.
Duke, who shot 43%, missed ten consecutive free throw tries, finishing 4 for 18. In spite of this, the Blue Devils outscored opponents 21-2 in second-chance points thanks to their 16 offensive rebounds.
Head coach Micah Shrewsberry said in his debut season, “I thought they hurt us there, and we’re usually one of the best defensive rebounding teams.” “Sometimes they just beat us up on the glass.”
The Fighting Irish (7-16, 2-10), led by Markus Burton with 19 points, spent eight and a half minutes without scoring and shot 33.9% as Duke jumped out to a big early lead.
Broad viewpoint
Notre Dame: The Irish have not won since upsetting Georgia Tech on January 9. The Fighting Irish’s offensive woes were alarming as usual. Despite starting the game 305th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, they missed 12 straight shots and went five and a half minutes without scoring.
Duke: In a pivotal contest, rookie Armando Bacot beat AP All-American Kyle Filipowski, who found it difficult to bounce back from the UNC setback. After committing two fouls in the first half, the 7-footer sat down early on Wednesday and made his first shot. Nine rebounds, eight points on two of his nine shots, and nine rebounds were his totals.
“With him in there for half the game, we win by 19 points,” Scheyer said. We need him even though he is self-critical and always striving for improvement.”
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Scheyer kneeled down to speak with Filipowski on the bench following his fourth foul. Scheyer, according to Filipowski, was “doing good mentally.”
According to Filipowski, “I was trying not to overreact to nothing.” “I didn’t, but occasionally my face still conveys an expression that I’m not really trying to.”
Next.
To play Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Irish will travel to Notre Dame.
Duke: The Blue Devils play Boston College on Saturday to wrap up their three-game homestand.
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