Duke Basketball: 3 keys to beating ACC threat Pittsburgh Panthers

There may not be a conference that has been more confusing than the ACC in the first few weeks of league play. For example, this past Saturday, there was a matchup between the final two unbeaten teams in the league to decide who got first place. But it didn’t involve North Carolina, Virginia, Miami, or Duke Basketball. But instead, it was between the Pittsburgh Panthers and Clemson Tigers.

It was a close game decided in the final minute but Pittsburgh lost a close one, 75-74 to move to 11-5 (4-1). Even with the defeat, the Panthers have been arguably the biggest surprise in the ACC, already with wins over UNC and Virginia in the past two weeks. They’ve become a legitimate threat in the ACC and someone that the Blue Devils need to take seriously.

Quite frankly, Duke (12-4, 3-2) isn’t in a position to overlook anyone, considering their recent struggles. They lost by 24 points on the road at NC State and barely beat Boston College, 65-64 on Saturday. Freshman Dariq Whitehead had 18 points to lead the team to victory, while fellow freshman Kyle Filipowski had 15 points and nine rebounds.

This is a game that features a pair of former Duke Basketball assistants in current HC Jon Scheyer, opposed by Pitt HC Jeff Capel. The Panthers last beat the Blue Devils at home in 2021, led by 31 points by Justin Champagnie. Duke’s won every game since, mostly by double figures.

But this Panthers squad has shown to be much tougher so far this season. Here are the keys for Duke to win on Wednesday.