Had Duke won their last two games against N.C. State and Miami, it would have set up a historic opportunity for Coach K on Saturday.
He would be seeking his 1,000th career win at Louisville and against fellow Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, who himself might be closing in on 1,000 wins by now had he not missed eight seasons while coaching in the NBA.
Instead, the No. 4 Blue Devils have now dropped back-to-back ACC games for the first time since 2008, losing to Miami at home on Tuesday, 90-74, thanks to Angel Rodriguez’s 24 points, including 4-of-6 from deep. It was the fifth-largest home loss under Coach K.
It marks the first time Duke has lost consecutive conference games by a dozen or more points since the 1982-83 season.
“We’re not a very confident shooting team,” Coach K said. “In the ACC, if you take Jah[lil Okafor’s] stats out, we’re probably shooting about 37 percent. You can’t win doing that. And then the free throws, we’re not as confident as we have been and I think that that’s part of being young. I’m not sure if with a young group, if they hit the wall al little bit. It’s a long year, it’s a long year and those three kids simply haven’t been through it.”
Coach K was referring to the freshmen trio of Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones.
If Duke can win at Louisville, no easy ask considering the Cardinals are coming off a 78-63 rout of Virginia Tech, and then beat Pitt at home, Coach K could be in line to win his 1,000th career game Jan. 25 against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.
Photo: Duke Photography
