Duke Basketball Head Coach: 'Guys Aren't Concerned About Numbers'

An unselfish approach is paying off for Jon Scheyer's Duke basketball team.

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Duke basketball's ball movement in Tuesday night's 75-53 win at unranked Pitt (10-6, 1-4 ACC) was exquisite, to the tune of 19 assists on 29 field goals. The rebounding effort was collective, resulting in a 42-26 advantage for the No. 11 Blue Devils (12-3, 3-1 ACC) on the glass. And wise shot selection yielded an 11-for-25 clip from three.

Sure, sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski scored 26 points, more than a third of Duke's total. But he did so on 11-for-12 shooting from the field, including 4-for-4 from downtown, to post the best shooting performance by a Blue Devil (min. 10 attempts) since Zion Williamson's 13-for-13 night against Syracuse at the 2019 ACC Tournament.

Moreover, Filipowski didn't exhaust all his energy on offense, as the preseason ACC Player of the Year selection helped anchor a cohesive defensive performance that equated to the Panthers' lowest point total this season and the lowest by any of Duke's 15 opponents to date. 

Yes, second-year head coach Jon Scheyer liked what he saw from his squad as a unit, as his Blue Devils extended their winning streak to seven games and picked up a second straight true road victory for only the second time under his command.

Every bucket from the win over Pitt pic.twitter.com/oHHrThJJ5e

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 10, 2024

Here's what the 36-year-old noted afterward about the group's togetherness:

"I think our guards are figuring out how to play with each other. I thought we just had some great sharing. I thought we missed some good looks. We're making extra passes.

"Guys aren't concerned about numbers. You know, the fact we only had two guys in double digits, but we kept defending, kept going. I think that was a big step for our team in that regard."

NEXT GAME: at home versus unranked Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-3 ACC), 5 p.m. ET Saturday (ACC Network)

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