Critical Gut Check Propels Duke Basketball Past Cardinals

Passionate Duke basketball plays were few and far between in the first half of the team's road bout against the No. 20-ranked Louisville Cardinals (11-4, 1-2 ACC) on Tuesday night. However, the second half was a different story entirely, and the No. 6 Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0 ACC) exited the KFC Yum! Center with an 84-73 victory in tow.

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Just over nine minutes into the game, Duke faced its largest deficit of the season. The Blue Devils trailed the Cardinals, 26-14, at the time having fallen into the trap of watching Louisville go to work rather than focusing on their own attack. Despite quickly closing the gap to five points by frequently feeding freshman power forward and reigning ACC Rookie of the Week Cameron Boozer, Scheyer's bunch fell behind by 12 again just a handful of minutes later.

"They haven't guarded anyone in 2.5 games."

"Have some damn passion."

- Seth Greenberg and Jason Williams speak facts about Duke
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) January 7, 2026

The Cardinals, playing without the services of one of their top weapons in freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr., knocked down eight of their first 12 attempts beyond the arc, ultimately shooting 10-for-21 from downtown in the first half, and entered the locker room with a 47-38 advantage on the scoreboard. And for the second straight outing, Duke never held a lead across the first 20 minutes of action.

got some work to do pic.twitter.com/YjkIpwEegU
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 7, 2026

Louisville's 47 points before the break marked the most that Duke has allowed in any half this season.

Duke's starting froncourt of Cameron Boozer and sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II combined for five fouls in the first half, forcing the Blue Devils to defend the Cardinals with care in the paint early in the second half.

Duke basketball center Patrick Ngongba II versus the Louisville Cardinals — Jan 6, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba (21) posts up against Louisville Cardinals forward Kasean Pryor (7) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Nevertheless, the Blue Devils managed to ramp up their effort on the defensive end while often earning trips to the foul line on the other end, altogether helping them to gradually climb back and shift the momentum in their favor.

Duke Basketball Seizes Control With Authority

Just over six minutes into the second half, Duke captured its first lead of the night, 54-53, after Boozer drained a pair of free throws following his determined drive toward the basket. Roughly a minute later, junior point guard Caleb Foster connected on a layup to cap off a 9-0 run by the then-hungrier-looking Blue Devils.

The Cardinals, led by senior sharpshooter Ryan Conwell's 24 points, briefly regained the lead a few minutes later at 60-59. But it didn't take long for Foster, Ngongba, Boozer, and sophomore wing Isaiah Evans to answer on offense, as they fueled Duke's timely 13-2 run to give the Blue Devils a commanding 72-62 advantage with under seven minutes left on the clock.

broke the press in style pic.twitter.com/uc8iVLZL80
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 7, 2026

Three Blue Devils finished with at least 20 points: Cameron Boozer (27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals), Isaiah Evans (23 points, six rebounds, four steals), and Caleb Foster (career-high 20 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal).

Next on the Duke basketball slate is a home battle against the No. 24 SMU Mustangs (12-2, 1-0 ACC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN).

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