UPSET: (12) Arizona Knocks Off (2) Duke

Arizona upset Duke 78-73 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a back and forth thriller.

The 10th all time meeting between these two teams entered Friday night with a lot of hype, and deservedly so. No. 12 Arizona handed No. 2 Duke’s head coach Jon Scheyer his first home loss since taking over for Coach K, a streak maxing out at 17 games.

The Wildcats led most of the game but Duke hung around due to budding star Kyle Filipowski scoring 25 points for the second straight game on 10-20 shooting, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Jeremy Roach helped Filipowski and Duke erase multiple eight point deficits by scoring 17 points going 3-5 from three.

With 1:09 on the clock, Filipowski scored when he put-back an offensive rebound giving Duke a 69-67 lead. On the next possession, Arizona’s Larsson assisted Keshad Johnson to finish a three point play with a free throw after he made a tough layup getting hacked. Arizona 70, Duke 69.

Tyrese Proctor traveled with 28 seconds left which ended the Blue Devils comeback ambitions. Several fouls and free throws later, Duke inbounded the ball with 4.6 seconds remaining down three. Pelle Larson tipped the pass which went to Caleb Love, assisting a KJ Lewis dunk as time expired.

Love’s return to Duke for the first time since transferring from North Carolina was a big storyline prior to the game, but 18-year-old sophomore guard Kylan Boswell stole the show. He was Arizona's best player, filling the stat sheet with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and two steals. Defensively he was a pest, he rebounded with toughness, and showed flash with the ball in his hands both on a layup in the first half and on a nasty step-back three over the seven-foot Filipowski.

As for Love, he struggled aside from two big plays to end the first half. With 34 seconds left, Love emasculated Duke forward Mark Mitchell by violently stuffing his three point attempt. Then to close the half, Love banked in a buzzer beater from three to extend Arizona’s lead to 41-33. Love shot a poor 3-10 with 6 turnovers, but he made enough winning plays, and free throws, at the end of the game for that not to matter.

What did matter was rebounding. Dominating the glass gave Arizona the winning edge needed for the upset. Shooting stats, assists, and turnovers were all close between both teams, but the Wildcats showed separation by bullying the Blue Devils collecting 12 more boards. 45 to 33 overall and 15 to 8 in offensive rebounds.

On the broadcast, Jay Bilas said “Arizona doesn’t look to just pressure you. They want to take it from you.”

The Wildcats certainly took it from Duke, racking up 8 steals and forcing 14 turnovers. Arizona looks like a team to be reckoned with because defensively they utilize speed, toughness and aggression to counter opposing offenses.

Bilas also said “This team can run” referring to Arizona’s team speed.

The Wildcat guards demonstrated their speed all night, swarming around the ball applying good help defense in order to pressure Duke’s backcourt. Duke very seldom had open looks because the defense quickly switched and covered who need to be covered.

Speed isn’t even all this defense has to offer. Down low, Oumar Ballo and Motiejus Krivas used their strength and height to limit Duke’s attack in the post. The score didn’t indicate the great plays Ballo and the rest of the team made to protect the paint.

Arizona showed why they are a contender in March. They won scoring 78 points despite Larsson's foul trouble limiting his minutes, Love shooting poorly and 17 turnovers. In an average game where their stars plays normal minutes and produce at a normal rate, cleaning up the turnovers will make them difficult to deal with.

Arizona returns to Tucson to host the Southern Jaguars on Monday night, and Duke will travel to the United Center in Chicago to take on Michigan State as part of the State Farm Classic on Tuesday night.