Louisville Falls to Duke in First Game of Post-Mack Era

The Cardinals and Blue Devils were tied with eight minutes left to go in Mike Pegues' first game as the interim head coach.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In a game with no shortage of head coaching storylines leading up to tip-off, the Louisville men's basketball program was unable to close down the stretch, falling to No. 9 Duke 74-65 in front of a raucous KFC Yum! Center crowd Saturday.

Tied at 60 with eight minutes to go, the Blue Devils fired off a 12-0 run to take control of the game, and Louisville's shooting went ice cold as they made just two of their final 17 attempts.

The matchup served as the first game since head coach Chris Mack and the program mutually parted ways, with assistant coach Mike Pegues taking over as interim head coach. It was also - barring a rematch in the ACC Tournament - Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's final showdown against the Cardinals, as he is set to retire following the season. Even with the win, Coach K will end his championship career with a losing record (8-9) against Louisville.

Related: Highlights, Photos and Notes: Duke 75, Louisville 65

Louisville shot 53.8 percent in the first half, only to turn around and shoot 33.3 percent in the second, with Duke going 44.1 percent for the game. The Blue Devils dominated the paint, out-rebounding the Cardinals 47-34 and 20-10 on offensive boards, and putting up 42 points in the paint to Louisville's 26.

El Ellis came of the bench to put up another fantastic performance, scoring a team-high 18 points. Dre Davis added 16, while Malik Williams had a 10-point/12 rebound double-double. Duke's A.J. Griffin led all scorers with 22.

Even with a rejuvenated home crowd of 18,493, and Pegues implementing an early full court press and trap defense that Louisville fans have been clamoring for, that didn't stop Duke from getting whatever they wanted right out of the gates

The Blue Devils opened up the game on a 24-8 run over the first 10 minutes, thanks mainly to a dominating presence down low and a propensity to turn defense into offense. Duke hauled in 10 first half offensive rebounds that resulted in 12 second chance points, and forced eight turnovers before halftime that led to 10 points on the other end.

But in the face of early adversity, like Pegues had previously mentioned, Louisville was not about to roll over and quit. After connecting on just three of their first 11 field goal attempts, the Cardinals shot 11-15 to close out the first half. They trimmed the deficit to as little as two, and head into halftime trailing just 40-35.

More: What Mike Pegues, Coach K and Louisville Players Said

Louisville got back within striking distance, connecting on nine of their first 16 second half shots to tie the game twice, but struggled to find the momentum necessary to pull ahead and mount a run. Down the stretch, Duke finally took advantage of the Cardinals' inability to jump in front.

Next up, Louisville will stay home at the KFC Yum! Center to host North Carolina. Tip-off against the Tar Heels is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Samuell Williamson, Paolo Banchero: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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