Duke Basketball Throttles Louisville at Cameron

The Duke basketball program improved to 19-1 overall and 8-0 in ACC play following an 83-52 demolition of No. 20 Louisville (14-6, 4-4 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday night. The Blue Devils now hold a 7-1 record against ranked opponents this season.

This was potentially the most complete 40 minutes of basketball that Duke has played on both ends of the court so far this season. If anything, it sits as a major statement for the program, taking down a top-20 team by over 30 points. This was also the Blue Devils' third straight victory by over 20 points.

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Monday night's defeat of Louisville felt completely different from Duke's first contest against the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 6. The Blue Devils entered the halftime locker room in a 47-38 deficit, the most points allowed to any opponent in any half so far this season.

Now, Duke was able to flip the switch and secure an 84-73 win over Louisville back in early January, but the team's performance this time around felt like a complete shift.

Jan 26, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Adrian Wooley (14) drives to the basket as Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Additionally, Louisville had 5-star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. back in the lineup after he wasn't available for the first meeting between the two programs.

Brown missed eight games with a lower back injury, and Duke had to handle potentially Louisville's best player after he sat out in the first edition.

The 5-star guard made his return to the Cardinals' lineup on Saturday in an 85-71 win for Louisville over Virginia Tech. Brown went for 20 points and six assists on 63% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from three-point range in his return.

Despite Brown looking like he hadn't missed a beat in his return, he was taken out of the contest almost entirely by the Blue Devils.

83-52 👿 | top 5⃣ plays pic.twitter.com/Op49LkXwyM
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 27, 2026

Brown tallied seven points and four assists on 1-of-13 (7.7%) shooting from the field and 1-of-7 (14.3%) shooting from the perimeter. This was his lowest point total all season and just the third time he's been held to single digits in scoring.

Jan 24, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cayden Boozer (2) controls the ball as Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Sebastian Akins (10) defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Paint Points and Rebounding

Jon Scheyer has previously said that this team works best offensively when the ball finds the paint early, and it works out of the inside. The Blue Devils have been making that a priority over their last few games, and it's showing.

Pat Ngongb — Jan 26, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba II (21) drives to the basket as Louisville Cardinals guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Across the team's last four games, Duke is +114 in paint points, +62 in total rebounds, and +24 in offensive rebounds. It has won its last four games by an average margin of 24.3 points.

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