As Duke basketball preps for Louisville, Mark Mitchell, Jeremy Roach inch closer to playing
After No. 7 Duke played, and lost, without two injured starters Saturday night against Pittsburgh, the Blue Devils are hopeful both are ready to take important steps toward returning.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Monday morning there’s a chance Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell will return to practice later in the day ahead of the Blue Devils’ Tuesday night ACC game at Louisville.
“We’re hopeful they can try to practice today, which would be the first practice that they would have,” Scheyer said. “Again, we look at Tuesday night as more of a game-time decision. You have to be able to play 5-on-5. You have to be able to practice. They haven’t been able to do that yet.”
Neither Roach nor Mitchell were in uniform on Saturday night when Pitt beat the Blue Devils, 80-76 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Scheyer said they are progressing, though.
“They’ve taken good steps,” Scheyer said Monday morning. “Like I mentioned after the game, I thought in the days leading up, they took some good steps but couldn’t quite get over the hurdle. Yesterday, they had some good individual work. And today will be a big test to see how they can practice.”
It marked 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 last 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. Prior to missing the Pitt game, He’d 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).
Duke’s starting five against the Panthers 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.
The Blue Devils play at Louisville (6-12, 1-6 ACC), the ACC’s last-place team, at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
This story was originally published January 20, 2024 at 7:09 PM.