Duke basketball remains undefeated at Cameron Indoor with win over Louisville
DURHAM – Duke basketball won its third straight and remained undefeated at Cameron Indoor on Monday night with a 79-62 win over Louisville.
The Blue Devils (19-8, 10-6 ACC) moved to 14-0 at home with two more games remaining at Cameron in coach Jon Scheyer's first season.
The Cardinals (4-24, 2-15) entered the game tied for last place in the ACC, but coming off a surprising win over Clemson over the weekend, led early before giving way to Duke in the second half.
Kyle Filipowski scored nine of the Blue Devils' 11 points to start the second half as a nine-point halftime lead ballooned to 17.
Duke shot better than 43% from the field for the seventh time in the past nine games.
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Overcoming El Ellis
Louisville led early in the first half behind the performance of El Ellis, who scored 11 of his team’s first 13 points. Duke countered with a 13-0 run, led by the 3-point shooting of Jacob Grandison and Tyrese Proctor that turned a nine-point deficit into a four-point lead.
Ellis had 15 in the half, but only four points after making his first four shots, including three 3s.
The Blue Devils took a 42-33 lead into halftime with Mark Mitchell leading the team with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Duke finished 15 of 33 (45%) from the field in the first half as Dereck Lively II added nine points.
Nolan Smith returns to Cameron Indoor
Monday marked the return of former player and assistant coach Nolan Smith, who left Duke after last season to join the Louisville coaching staff under Kenny Payne.
Smith spent seven years on Duke’s coaching staff and became a full assistant in April of 2022. Smith, 35, is the son of former Louisville basketball player Derek Smith. The elder Smith played on Louisville’s 1980 NCAA championship team and was part of the Cardinals’ 1982 Final Four team.
Smith was a member of Duke’s 2010 national title season alongside Scheyer.
Up Next
The Blue Devils will host Virginia Tech on Saturday at 8 p.m. in their penultimate game at Cameron Indoor this season. Duke will end its home schedule with a Feb. 28 game against NC State.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball cruises past Louisville
