Mark Mitchell, Jeremy Roach didn’t play as No. 7 Duke basketball lost to Pitt. What we know
Duke played without two injured starters as the No. 7 Blue Devils dropped an 80-76 ACC game to Pittsburgh on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Senior guard Jeremy Roach and sophomore forward Mark Mitchell, battling different knee injuries, were not in uniform for the game as Duke coach Jon Scheyer said they just hadn’t recovered enough to get ready.
“They made progress and they were close,” Scheyer said, “but they didn’t have enough time to get ready for the game. They were close but they just didn’t practice enough to get ready. They haven’t done 5-on-5 (work). You need to be able to do that in order to play the game.”
This marks the second consecutive game the 6-9 Mitchell has missed for the Blue Devils (13-4,4-2 ACC). The sprained knee he suffered earlier this month caused him to sit out Duke’s 84-79 win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 13 at Cameron.
During the second half of that game, Roach suffered a knee injury when he appeared to bang his knee with another player. He limped to the bench at the 8:21 mark of the second half. After returning to play 59 seconds, he left the game again and did not return.
Scheyer said earlier in the week that neither injury is considered a long-term concern. He said both players were “day-to-day,” allowing that “day-to-day means different things.”
Roach, a senior captain, is Duke’s most experienced player. He’s started 32 games in a row, dating to last season. Having played 32.9 minutes per game this season, he leads the team in playing time while averaging 14.6 points and making 45.3% of his 3-pointers.
Mitchell averages 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and has started 13 of the 14 games he’s played for Duke this season.
Without them on Saturday night, Duke saw its eight-game winning streak halted by Pitt (11-7, 2-5 ACC).
Mitchell and Roach were in street clothes, watching their teammates warm up and sitting on the bench along with injured center Christian Reeves and redshirting guard Jaden Schutt.
Duke’s starting five against the Panthers will included guards Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, Jaylen Blakes and Jared McCain along with forward Kyle Filipowski. It was the first start this season for Blakes, a junior guard.
Duke’s next game is Tuesday night at Louisville (6-12, 1-6 ACC), which is in last place in the league standings.
