Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski plays his final road game in his career against former assistant Jeff Capel and the Pittsburgh Panthers.
TV schedule: Tuesday, March 1st, 8:00 pm ET. ACC Network
Arena: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
It was an incredible past Saturday in college basketball, with each of the top 6 teams in the AP poll all suffering a loss. The highest-ranked team to avoid a defeat was Duke (25-4, 15-3), who easily took care of Syracuse, 97-72. It was a no-contest from the get-go, with the Blue Devils scoring 51 first-half points and having a double-digit lead for 98% of the game.
Mark Williams had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead all scorers, while Paolo Banchero had 21 points and nine assists. AJ Griffin, who has emerged as a clear quality scoring option in league play, chipped in with 20 points. The game didn’t matter but it was a nice moment for Coach K and Jim Boeheim of the Orange, part of the Duke leader’s retirement tour.
There’s one more true road game for Coach K, heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers (11-18, 6-12) and head coach Jeff Capel. The connection here is that Capel was an assistant for Duke from 2011-18 before taking the job with the Panthers. There may be love there but that doesn’t mean Coach Capel will take it easy on Duke, evident by last season’s 79-73 upset in Pittsburgh.
Of course, the players who starred in that game aren’t around anymore, so it’ll be a new cast of players for the Panthers to play in this one. Big man John Hugley (14.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg) leads the way for them inside, while Femi Oduakle, Ithiel Horton, and Jamarius Burton are all double-digit scorers in the starting lineup. And while Banchero may be the best athletic forward in the country, Mo Gueye of Pitt has a case to make as well, as one of the best slot-blocking forwards in his own right.
The Panthers are coming off two straight losses to Georgia Tech and Miami, with the ladder being a blowout at home. But the hope is that a week off can get this team physically and mentally prepared for this late-season clash. Pittsburgh has a history of playing to the level of their opponents so that could make this a more interesting game than expected.
The problem when scouting both teams is that what Pittsburgh can do, Duke simply has a better version of it. They’ll need the guards to go off to have a chance and for Hugley to avoid foul trouble against this large frontcourt of the Blue Devils. I predict that the Panthers will keep it close for the first 15 minutes before the talent advantage goes Duke’s way and blows it wide open.
Prediction: Duke 76, Pittsburgh 60