Is there anything more dangerous in college basketball than Duke coming off a heartbreaking rivalry loss?
The Pittsburgh Panthers are about to find out.
On Tuesday night at 9:00 PM ET, No. 4 Duke travels to the Petersen Events Center to face a Pitt team spiraling in ACC play. This matchup brings together two programs heading in very different directions: a Duke squad still firmly in the national title conversation and a Pittsburgh team desperately searching for answers. With the Blue Devils listed as 15.5-point road favorites, this game sets up as a classic “get-right” spot for Jon Scheyer’s group.
🏀 DUKE: HEARTBREAK, BUT HARDLY BROKEN
Saturday night’s showdown in Chapel Hill was brutal for Duke fans. The Blue Devils led nearly wire to wire, built a 13-point second-half advantage, and appeared to be in control—until everything unraveled in the final seconds. Seth Trimble’s buzzer-beating corner three sent the UNC crowd into chaos and handed Duke a 71–68 loss that stung deeply.
But context matters.
That defeat snapped a 10-game winning streak, and Duke still walked off the floor looking like one of the most complete teams in the country. Losses like that don’t derail elite programs—they sharpen them.
Freshman phenom Cam Boozer was outstanding, pouring in 24 points and 11 rebounds, continuing a season that has him averaging 23.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 4.0 APG. While he had a few late turnovers, Boozer remains the engine of an offense that ranks among the nation’s best.
Duke wasn’t helped much by the supporting cast against UNC. Guard Isaiah Evans struggled, finishing 4-of-14 from the field for 11 points. Expect that inefficiency to be corrected quickly against a Pitt defense that has been leaking points at home.
Statistically, Duke is elite nearly everywhere:
3rd overall on KenPom
8th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency
3rd in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency
7th nationally in rebound rate
This is a team that defends, rebounds, and shoots efficiently—and teams in Pitt’s position usually can’t keep up for long.
🐾 PITTSBURGH: A LONG NIGHT LOOMING
The Panthers enter Tuesday night in rough shape. Pitt has lost three straight games, six of its last seven, and nine of the last eleven overall. Their most recent outing—a 86–67 home loss to SMU—highlighted all the issues plaguing Jeff Capel’s squad.
Pitt shot just 36% from the field and a miserable 24% from three-point range (8-of-33). Those numbers are alarming on their own—but against Duke’s defense, they’re downright terrifying.
Even worse, Pitt may once again be without leading scorer Brandin Cummings (12.5 PPG), who is dealing with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable. Without him, offensive creation becomes extremely limited.
Forward Cameron Corhen leads the team with 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, but Pitt simply lacks firepower. The Panthers rank:
302nd nationally in scoring (70.8 PPG)
111th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency
124th in Adjusted Offense
337th in pace of play
Slowing the game down is Pitt’s only realistic path—but even that may not be enough.
