Duke’s win over Louisville was very impressive, again showing that the Blue Devils are arguably the best team in America. While the Blue Devils executed incredibly well on offense, scoring 83 points, it was their defensive showing that set the tone from the opening minutes and never allowed the Cardinals to get going.
Head coach Jon Scheyer obviously loves how his guys are playing on the offensive side, but e pointed to the defensive mindset and buy-in as the reason behind the team’s defensive showing.
“I don't care what we do as coaches, if you don't have guys take that pride in being coached, if they don't want to grow as players, I don't care what we do,” Scheyer said, per Anna Snyder. “I think it starts there when you have the right people in the room.”
With a roster blending elite veterans and youngsters, Scheyer believes he has the perfect players who want to be coached, which isn’t something we see all the time in this era.
“We have the right people, we get the chance to coach them,” Scheyer said. “I think our staff has done an incredible job.”
“I think we've actually learned to give these guys less and in giving them less I think get a chance to focus on what's most important, which is your competitiveness,” he said.
Not only did Duke find a way to only give up 52 points, but it also held Louisville to 29.6% from the field and 32.4% from 3-point range.
Louisville’s offense has been great this season, and Scheyer acknowledged that after the game.
“I think the thing that you saw is those critical moments where they made shots and made a run, I thought the focus was there. Against Louisville, you have to… you can never rest, because they're always moving. I thought the discipline and the maturity showed up in those moments, end of the first half as we got the lead.
“Start of the second half was a mature response, and again, I'm just so proud of the character, I'm just proud of the mentality of our guys. I think it showed up really in that area. And again playing to our strengths, we found that the paint game was going to be huge. 42-10 (in the paint), 47-26 on the boards, that's the difference maker. I just think that shows our competitiveness."