ACC Basketball: Anas Mahmoud, swarming defense leads Cards over Blue Devils

Louisville defeated Duke in an ACC basketball battle thanks to 17 points from Anas Mahmoud and 17 forced turnovers.

Duke is now 2-3 in the ACC. Yes, you read that right: The Duke Blue Devils, the team that was the overwhelming favorite to win the National Championship, is now under .500 in conference play.

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After getting thrashed by the Florida State Seminoles on the road earlier this week, Duke was beaten by the Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center, 78-69, on Saturday afternoon due to an unlikely star and a stellar Cardinals defense.

The Cardinals received 17 points and 11 rebounds from big man Anas Mahmoud, whose presence in the starting lineup and improved play has drastically changed Louisville’s capabilities on both ends of the floor. Mahmoud also recorded two steals and a block, helping the Cardinals protect the rim and limit Duke’s easy looks.

Mahmoud was the star of the show for the Cardinals, but they also got a lift from Donovan Mitchell (15 points on 6-of-12 shooting), Quentin Snider (13 points) and Raymond Spalding (11 points). Deng Adel scored only six points on 2-of-7 shooting and Jaylen Johnson didn’t make a field goal, but the Cardinals rode Mahmoud and an other wised balanced attack to a victory.

Also, let’s not forget about Louisville’s defense. Sure, Duke shot 47 percent from the field overall, 42 percent from downtown and Grayson Allen scored 23 points, but the Cardinals also forced 17 turnovers and used their aggressiveness and energy to bother Duke’s offensive approach.

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Louisville is clearly one of the better defensive teams in the country, which in turn makes them one of the best teams in the ACC. They very well could win the regular season title, especially if they continue to shoot the ball well from the perimeter (37 percent), and Mitchell, Snider and Mahmoud continue to play outstanding basketball.

But the bigger story of this game is Duke’s play.

The Blue Devils have been awful defensively in their three ACC losses, they had only eight assists on Saturday and the freshman look lost for the most part. The Blue Devils clearly miss Coach K’s presence and clearly aren’t the same team without Amile Jefferson in the lineup.

What about the freshman though? Jayson Tatum struggled for the second straight outing, as he looked more interested in operating one-and-one offensively than moving the ball within the confines of the offense. Harry Giles has no confidence in his knee and Jeff Capel said after the game that he is that unsure that the forward “will be up to speed for us this year.” Frank Jackson has fell off the face of the earth. And then there’s Marques Bolden, who can’t even get minutes with Jefferson out.

The Blue Devils don’t have to worry about not making the tournament (they have way too much talent for that and they only have four total losses), but they haven’t beaten a single NCAA Tournament team since their win over Florida in early December. They looked unimpressive against Tennessee State and Elon before Christmas break and have been anything but impressive in conference play.

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If there’s one positive to take away from this game, it’s that Allen played a terrifically and Luke Kennard continues his consistent play. However, Duke needs to figure things out rather quickly because they have a stretch a very winnable games coming up against Miami, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils need to turn the corner during the next three games or they will be in real trouble.

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