Duke Basketball 'Went to Valley of Despair' at Louisville

The 2025-26 Duke basketball squad improved to 14-1 overall, 3-0 in ACC play, and 5-1 against ranked opponents via the No. 6 Blue Devils' 84-73 road victory over the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals (11-4, 1-2 ACC) on Tuesday night. Their win was impressive in the end. But the test in the KFC Yum! Center was nowhere near as easy as their dull first half effort suggested they thought it could be.

ALSO READ: Critical Gut Check Propels Blue Devils Past Cardinals

So, after trailing at halftime, 47-38, stemming from Duke allowing Louisville to shoot 10-for-21 beyond the arc across the first 20 minutes of action, the Blue Devils opted not to roll over and instead flipped the script to outscore the Cardinals, 46-26, in the second half.

Duke basketball forward Cameron Boozer — Jan 6, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) posts up against Louisville Cardinals guard J'vonne Hadley (1) during the second at KFC Yum! Center. Duke defeated Louisville 84-73. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Summer Feats of Strength Paying Dividends for Blue Devils

According to the following Duke Blue Planet chat between junior point guard Caleb Foster and freshman power forward Cameron Boozer in the locker room, their rediscovered hunger brought to mind some passion-finding exercises that Duke basketball strength coach William Stephens put them through back in the offseason.

Thankful to get the locker room exclusive w/ Cam & Caleb after outscoring Louisville 46-26 in the 2nd half pic.twitter.com/Rap6qN238c
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 7, 2026

"I think it goes back to the summer when we did strongman [competitions]," Foster, who poured in 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half, noted to Boozer. "You know what I'm saying?

"We went to the valley. Like Coach Will said, we went to the valley of despair, and we got back. And that's what we gotta do every time. We've got to start that in the first half next time."

Boozer, who totaled a game-high 27 points while shooting a highly efficient 10-for-12 from the field, 3-for-4 from downtown, and 4-for-5 at the foul line, responded with a "Yessir."

At 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN), the No. 24 SMU Mustangs (12-2, 1-0 ACC) will be in Cameron Indoor Stadium to square off against the Blue Devils.

Of course, that bout will serve as Duke's next shot at hopefully coming out of the gates with intense fire in its belly, rather than continuing the team's somewhat concerning trend of waiting until the second half to enter and get through their valley of despair.

Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.

As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clicking HERE, and following us on X (formerly Twitter) HERE.