GREENSBORO, N.C, (AP) — Kyle Filipowski overcame an early ankle injury to score 22 points, Tyrese Proctor added 11 points and 10 assists, and No. 21 Duke cruised to a 96-69 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Dereck Lively II had 13 points and Mark Mitchell added 12 for the fourth-seeded Blue Devils, who shot a season-high 62% from the floor and built a 48-32 halftime lead en route to their seventh straight win. It’s the longest active streak of any ACC team.
Nike Sibande had 17 points and Guillermo Diaz Graham had 14 for Pitt (22-11).
Duke’s recent formula for success has been focused on defense and rebounding, but its offense took a big step forward in the first half, when the Blue Devils made 13 3-pointers and posted a season-high for points scored.
Duke (24-8) moves on to face top-seeded and 14th-ranked Miami in Friday’s semifinals.
The Blue Devils scored on their first four possessions, bolting to a 12-0 lead with Filipowski knocking down 3s from the right corner and left wing.
Filipowski drew gasps from Duke fans in the crowd when he appeared to twist his left ankle after banging into Pitt’s Blake Hinson less than three minutes in. He had to be helped to the bench, but returned about six minutes later after getting taped and scored 14 points before the break.
Filipowski only played 15 minutes, leaving with 11 1/2 minutes remaining with Duke safely ahead by 32 points.
Duke shot just 6 of 32 from 3-point range over its past two games, but matched that output in the first half with Filipowski making half of those. Overall, the Blue Devils were 13 of 18 from long range.
Even Lively joined in the fun, when the 7-foot-1 center known for his shot-blocking drained a 3 from the left corner to stretch the lead to 29 less than four minutes into the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Pitt: The Panthers entered the ACC tournament in pretty good shape to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 — and the first time under coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers will have to put this one behind them quickly and regroup after a disappointing showing.
Duke: This was a dominant effort from everyone on the Blue Devils roster, and should raise some eyebrows from around the country as they begin to march toward the NCAA Tournament. With a strong showing in the ACC Tournament, it’s possible Duke may get to play close to home at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Noting Thursday’s Quarterfinals – Game 2
- Fourth-seeded Duke advances to face top-seed Miami (25-6) in Friday night’s 7 p.m. semifinal game. The teams split a pair of regular-season meetings with the Blue Devils winning 68-66 at home on Jan. 21 and the Hurricanes by an 81-59 score in Coral Gables on Feb. 6.
- Friday night’s game will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal game in Brooklyn, in which then top-seeded Duke defeated the fourth-seeded Hurricanes, 80-76.
- Duke, which is the all-time winningest program in the New York Life ACC Tournament with 108 wins, seeks to reach the finals for the 35th time. The Blue Devils seek to add to their current conference record of 21 ACC Tournament titles.
Miami seeks to reach the ACC finals for the second time and the first since 2013, when the Hurricanes captured the championship at the Greensboro Coliseum.
- Duke is now 100-40 all-time at the Greensboro Coliseum and is 42-18 all-time in ACC Tournament games.
- Duke set the ACC Tournament record for assists in any game with 27. The previous record was 26, established by North Carolina in a 2001 quarterfinal win over Clemson.
- Duke shot 62.1% from the field (36-of-58). The field-goal percentage is the third-highest by any team in a quarterfinal and Duke’s third-highest in any ACC Tournament game.
- Duke-Pitt becomes the 104th series to be played in the history of the New York Life ACC Tournament.
- Duke becomes the second ACC school to defeat all other 16 members of the conference (past or present) in the ACC Tournament. North Carolina became the first in 2018. Virginia is the only other school to have played all 16 others.
- Pitt slipped to to 7-10 in ACC Tournament games and is now 4-5 in Greensboro. The Panthers are 1-2 all-time in tournament quarterfinal games.
- The No. 4 seed is now 34-28 all-time versus the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
CUMULATIVE THROUGH THURSDAY’S FIRST SESSION
- Four of the New York Life ACC Tournament’s first nine games have been decided by three or fewer points.
- The record for games decided by 3 or fewer points in a tournament is five, set in 2014.
- The record for portion of all games decided by 3 or fewer points is 57.14% in 1959, 1967 and 1970 (4-of-7).