Louisville Cardinals (11-3, 1-1) vs. Duke Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0)
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analysis) and Kris Budden (sideline)
Favorite: Louisville by 1.5
Series: Duke leads, 17-9
Last Meeting: Duke won 73-63 on March 15, 2025 in the ACC Tournament championship game in Charlotte
Series History:
Projected Starting Lineups:
Louisville
G Adrian Wooley (6-4, 200, So.)
G Isaac McKneely (6-4, 195, Sr.)
G Ryan Conwell (6-4, 215, Sr.)
F J’Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, Sr.)
C Sananda Fru (6-11, 245, Jr.)
G Cayden Boozer (6-4, 205, Fr.)
G Caleb Foster (6-5, 205, Jr.)
G/F Isaiah Evans (6-6, 180, So.)
F Cameron Boozer (6-9, 250, Fr.)
C Patrick Ngongba (6-11, 250, So.)
Injury Reports:
Statistics:
Duke’s Season to Date:
Relevant Videos:
About Duke:
The preseason favorites in the ACC, Duke enters Tuesday night’s game against Louisville owning a gaudy 13-1 record and the No. 6 ranking in the current AP top 25 poll. The Blue Devils haven’t exactly been playing their best basketball of late, as their last three games have featured a come-from-ahead loss to Texas Tech and a pair of shaky performances in their league-opening wins over Georgia Tech and Florida State.
The main thing always stays the main thing, and the main thing for Duke is that they have the early favorite for every major national Player of the Year award in freshman big man Cameron Boozer. At 6’9 with a strong frame, good length, great instincts and excellent coordination, there’s a reason Boozer is almost certain to be a top six pick in this summer’s NBA Draft. He enters Tuesday night as the nation’s third-leading scorer (23.0 ppg), while also ranking 21st in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and 13th in double-doubles (7).
He is very good.
Offensively, Boozer has a versatile and reliable scoring package. He’s effective in the post with soft touch, polished footwork, and the ability to finish with either hand. His face-up game is advanced, allowing him to attack off the dribble, hit pull-ups in the midrange, and stretch the floor to the three-point line. He excels at using his body to carve out space, seal defenders, and convert through contact. He’s also a high-level rebounder and an underrated playmaker who can read the floor, pass out of double teams, and facilitate when needed.
Defensively, Boozer may not be an elite level rim protector, but he’s disciplined and smart. He’s very rarely out of position and knows how to use his body effectively when defending in the paint.
Duke’s second-leading scorer is sophomore guard Isaiah “Slim” Evans at 13.4 ppg. One of the better shooters in the ACC, Evans is coming off of a career-high 28-point performance in the Blue Devils’ Saturday win over Florida State. He knocked down six shots from beyond the arc, where he’s currently shooting 34.7 percent for the season, down from 41.6 percent a season ago. With a lightning quick release and the ultimate shooter’s mentality, Evans is the definition of a microwave scorer. Defensively, he can be attacked.
Sophomore center Patrick Nbonga II has taken his game up several notches this season, and is averaging 11.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. While he has a relatively limited offensive skillset, the combination of his size and the attention defenders have to pay to Cameron Boozer makes him a lethal threat to a team like Louisville. Nbonga has also blocked 14 shots over Duke’s last six games.
The one big weakness for this team early on this season has been the lack of a guard who can consistently make plays off the dribble. Recognizing this, Jon Scheyer has recently moved freshman PG Cayden Boozer into the starting lineup. While more prone to the occasional freshman mistake than fellow starters Evans and Caleb Foster, Boozer has a playmaking ability off the bounce that no other guard on the team does. He doesn’t shoot it well, particularly in pull-up situations, bit his ability to create for his teammates is a necessary development for this team to have a shot at making it back to the Final Four.
Dame Sarr, a 6’6 freshman from Italy, might wind up being the best NBA player on this team. While still very raw, he has an outrageous skillset that should help this team come close to reaching its ceiling as the season goes on. He played well against Florida State on Saturday, and it feels like it’s just a matter of time before he gives a breakout performance in a spotlight game. Here’s hoping that game isn’t Tuesday night.
Schematically, Duke plays at one of the fastest paces in the country when it has the ball in its hands and then tries to slow things down dramatically when possession changes hands. Obviously, Louisville will attempt to combat that.
There isn’t anything that the Blue Devils don’t do at least moderately well, but the two offensive areas where they have looked mildly shaky have been free-throw shooting and turnovers, particularly allowing steals. Louisville should be as aggressive as is allowed on the defensive end tonight.
—A win Tuesday night would be the 300th of Pat Kelsey’s coaching career.
—Louisville is holding a “Stripe Out” for Tuesday night’s game. Fans sitting in odd numbered sections are encouraged to wear black, while fans sitting in even numbered sections should wear red. The entire lower bowl will receive a towel giveaway, courtesy of Jimmy John’s.
—After winning three straight games over Duke in 2020 and 2021, Louisville has lost its last seven contests against the Blue Devils, including both meetings last season.
—Duke’s seven-game winning streak over Louisville is the longest for either side in the series.
—Louisville is 4-6 all-time in home games against Duke.
—Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 168-64 all-time in conference play as a head coach.
—Duke has won 24 of its last 25 games against conference opponents.
—Duke has a 4-1 record in games against top 25 opponents so far this season. Louisville is 1-2 against ranked foes.
—Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 0-3 in games against Duke.
—Duke head coach Jon Scheyer is 5-0 in games against Louisville.
—Under Pat Kelsey, Louisville is 3-7 in games against Top 25 opponents.
—Duke’s four Quadrant I wins are tied for the most in college basketball.
—Duke ranks 14th in the country in rebound margin (+10.5 - best in ACC), 28th in rebounding (41.4 rpg) and 22nd in defensive rebounding (28.8).
—Duke posted a record of 36-3 (.923) in 2025, to tie the ACC record for most wins in a calendar year, equaling the 1992 Blue Devils (36-2) and North Carolina in 2008 (36-3).
—Louisville is 5-11 against Duke since joining the ACC in 2014-15.
—Louisville is the only program in college basketball that played at least 10 games against Mike Krzyzewski and owned a winning record (9-8) against the now retired Hall of Famer.
—Louisville and Duke have played 11 times with both teams ranked in the AP top 25 poll. Duke owns a 6-5 advantage in those meetings.
—Louisville tops the ACC and sits 17th nationally with 19.1 assists per contest, while ranking 14th in the country with 42.4 rebounds per outing.
—Duke is 24-8 overall and has won 13 of its last 16 games played on Jan. 6. The Blue Devils have a 7-5 road record on this date, having lost three of the last five contests on the opponent’s court.
—Louisville has hit the 100-point mark four times in a season for the first time since 1989-90.
—Louisville is 38-0 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play. The Cardinals are also 0-10 under Kelsey when trailing with five minutes to play.
—Louisville is 14-0 over the past 11 seasons when limiting opponents to no more than one three-point field goal.
—Louisville is 120-0 all-time when scoring 100 or more points in non-overtime games.
—Louisville has won 167 consecutive games when holding an opponent under 50 points.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 82, Duke 81