No. 11 Duke is coming off one of its more impressive performances of the season. Next up for the Blue Devils is trying to avenge one of their most disappointing games.
Georgia Tech visits Duke on Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference rematch in Durham, N.C.
Since a Dec. 2 loss at Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils (12-3, 3-1 ACC) have put together a seven-game winning streak. That includes Tuesday night’s 75-53 trouncing of host Pitt.
“I just thought our guys had such a great way about them — they were hungry, defended together, and I think the rebounding really says a lot about this game, it was everything,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-3) has a four-game losing streak. Saturday’s game will mark the 10th outing for the Yellow Jackets since knocking off Duke.
“You just get tired of losing in order to stop the bleeding,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said. “I won’t allow guys to pout and mope around me. We still got a long season to go.”
The Blue Devils have found a groove and that has Scheyer excited about several areas.
“I thought we had some great sharing, and I thought we missed some good looks (in the Pitt game),” he said. “We’re making extra passes.
“Guys aren’t too concerned about numbers — the fact that we only had two guys in double digits but we kept defending and kept going — I think there’s a big step for our team in that regard.”
On Tuesday night, Kyle Filipowski racked up 26 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. The sophomore post player has 21 career double-doubles.
“We’re trying to keep this streak going as a team,” Filipowski said. “Just having that energy as a team, feeding off of my teammates’ energy, the ball keeps falling for me and I was getting in the right spots because of them as well. It was just a great night on the offensive end because of how we played together.”
While Duke’s offense has clicked, the other end of the court might be drawing equal attention.
“I think we were just playing a lot more cohesively on the defensive end together,” Filipowski said. “We were playing five guys, in tandem. Defense is not a one-person job.”
It has been a busy time for the Yellow Jackets since knocking off Duke. They’re 4-5 following that upset.
Georgia Tech lost 75-68 in overtime to visiting Notre Dame on Tuesday night.
“The games don’t get easier,” Stoudamire said. “You got to figure it out. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
The Yellow Jackets had been outrebounded in only four games this season until Notre Dame held a 48-33 edge on the boards.
“We know what we got to do, we just got to do it,” Stoudamire said. “I’m confident in our preparation. I’m confident in the way we do things.”
Miles Kelly had 25 points vs. Notre Dame, marking the sixth time in the past 10 ACC games dating to last season that he has compiled 20 or more points.
–Field Level Media