Duke (5-3, 3-1) vs. Pittsburgh (7-2, 3-1)
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh; Tuesday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Duke looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over Pittsburgh. Duke has won by an average of 19 points in its last five wins over the Panthers. Pittsburgh’s last win in the series came on Feb. 28, 2016, a 76-62 win.
FAB FRESHMEN: Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie, Xavier Johnson and Femi Odukale have combined to account for 47 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 46 percent of all Panthers points over the last five games.MIGHTY MATTHEW: Matthew Hurt has connected on 44.4 percent of the 45 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 11 of 21 over the last three games. He’s also converted 62.5 percent of his foul shots this season.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Panthers are 6-0 when at least three of their players score 10 or more points and 1-2 when any fewer than that achieve double-figures. The Blue Devils are 5-0 when they score at least 75 points and 0-3 on the year when falling short of 75.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Panthers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Blue Devils. Pittsburgh has 39 assists on 75 field goals (52 percent) across its past three matchups while Duke has assists on 44 of 85 field goals (51.8 percent) during its past three games.
DETERMINED DEFENSE: The stout Pittsburgh defense has held opposing offenses to a field goal percentage of 39.1 percent, the 29th-lowest mark in Division I. Duke has allowed opponents to shoot 46.4 percent through eight games (ranking the Blue Devils 287th).
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