Here’s the stat that will haunt Duke basketball after March Madness loss to Tennessee -

Here’s the stat that will haunt Duke basketball after March Madness loss to Tennessee

Posted by Admin March 19, 2023 Basketball

ORLANDO, Fla. – Duke basketball didn’t make excuses following its season-ending loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament.

The Volunteers had an advantage in nearly every statistical category in their 65-52 win against the Blue Devils.

But as Tennessee (25-10) heads to the Sweet 16 and Duke (27-9) heads back to Durham, the Blue Devils will likely be thinking about one statistic that looms over their 2022-23 season.

When its full roster was available, Duke was 19-1. When the Blue Devils had a player sidelined because of an injury, they were a .500 squad (8-8).

BLUE DEVILS BOW OUT:Duke basketball loses to Tennessee in NCAA Tournament as Vols advance to Sweet 16

MITCHELL INJURY:Duke basketball’s Mark Mitchell questionable to play against Tennessee

Riding a 10-game winning streak – including a championship run at the ACC Tournament – into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Duke seemed poised for an extended stay amidst the March Madness.

But five minutes before tipping off against Tennessee at the Amway Center, Mark Mitchell was pulled from the starting lineup because of a knee injury and missed his first game after starting the first 35.

“Mark has been a warrior for us all year. Showed up every single day, competed every day, and right before the tip he just didn’t have the same burst,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “So, obviously not going to put him out there if he didn’t feel great, and he didn’t. That happened late.

“He’s been a key guy for us. He’s started every game. He’s been … he’s really the guy where he defends everybody, he’s a jack-of-all-trades. You can have anybody on the court with him.”

Mitchell, who averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in his freshman season, is built to match the physicality and grind-it-out style that Tennessee effectively deployed against Duke.

In addition to his ability as a rebounder and defender, Mitchell had reached double figures in six of the past eight games. Duke was 15-1 when he scored double-digit points.

“Of course we miss Mark. Dariq (Whitehead) did a good job stepping up,” Scheyer said. “He’s done that throughout the year. I thought we ran out of gas down the stretch.”

Duke had 15 turnovers that Tennessee turned into 18 points and the Blue Devils tied a program record with a NCAA Tournament-low 52 points.

Whitehead, who scored eight points, said Mitchell likely would have been matched up with Olivier Nkamhoua, who scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half – including 13 straight – to help Tennessee pull away from the Blue Devils.

“It’s unfortunate. In the beginning of the year, we had guys out due to injuries,” said Whitehead, who missed eight games. “Once we got back together, I believe we strung together a (10-game) win streak. Then, five minutes before the game, one of our brothers is out. … At the end of the day, we still had to play a tough team.”

In addition to Whitehead, junior captain Jeremy Roach missed four games because of a toe injury and Dereck Lively missed two games as well as time in the preseason.

“You kind of figure out who you are,” Lively said of the setbacks. “Life is supposed to be hard as hell. This isn’t supposed to be easy. You’re supposed to go through a lot of hardships – a lot of adversity – and that’s what we did. Sadly, we weren’t able to get to the goal we wanted, but just because (Mitchell) went out doesn’t mean anything changed.”

Even as they dealt with the blow of Mitchell’s absence, the Blue Devils expected to be in New York City next week.

Instead, they’ll be left to think about what could have been if one of their starters had been good to go.

“It happens. It’s March. It’s a one-game season,” Roach said. “I’m just proud of these guys for fighting through everything that we’ve been through – injuries, losses, tough losses. And we just kept battling adversity, staying on the court, so I’m just proud of these people.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.