Duke Extends Losing Streak, Fall to Cardinals

LOUISVILLE, KY – In what was a back-and-forth ACC battle, the Duke Blue Devils extended their losing streak to three games, and fall to the Louisville Cardinals, 70-65.

Sophomore forward Matthew Hurt led Duke with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman phenom Jalen Johnson scored 7 points in his first start since his foot injury last year. The Blue Devils were also able to get 13 points from fellow freshman, DJ Steward. 

The Blue Devils committed eight first-half turnovers in their third consecutive game away from Cameron Indoor Stadium and shot 46% from the floor. The Blue Devils finished the game 25-of-54 (46.3%) from the field. 

A key moment in the game was when Matthew Hurt fouled out of the game with under three minutes remaining. 

The Blue Devils struggled to hang onto the ball throughout the game as they turned the ball over 15 times. 

The Blue Devils shot 8-of-22 from three-point territory which makes that the third straight game where the Blue Devils knocked down eight three-pointers.

      At the start of the 2020-2021 season, Duke was picked to finish 2nd with 2,146 votes, including 34 1st place votes.  Ten games in and five losses later, Duke has landed in the eighth spot for the ACC, and out of the top 25 for the first time since 2016.  One thing is for sure, it is going to be interesting what the rest of the season will look like for the Blue Devils.  It leads you to wonder how Duke will respond to its current adversity.  

The home win for the Cards ends their two-game losing streak. Senior Carlik Jones lead the Cardinals with 24 points to continue his stellar season as coming from Radford University. 

Up next, Blue Devils returns home to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 9 PM ET on ESPN.