AFP editor Chris Graham leads our live blog as #4 seed Louisville faces #5 seed Duke in the 2017 ACC Tournament.
Louisville Team Notes
- Sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference five-man first team in a vote by league coaches and media. Mitchell leads the Cardinals in scoring (15.9 ppg), steals, three-point goals and minutes played (31.9 per game).
- His 76 three-pointers is tied for the ninth-most in a single season at Louisville. Since scoring 25 points against Indiana on New Year’s Eve, Mitchell has averaged 19.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and made 41.7 percent of his three point shots (55-of-132). His 18.1 scoring average in ACC games is the sixth-best in the league. He totaled 20 points, five rebounds and two steals in the Cardinals’ regular season finale against Notre Dame on Saturday, his ninth game this season with 20 or more points.
- Mitchell was also selected to the ACC All-Defensive team after leading the conference in steals (66, 2.13 per game, 18th in the nation). He is within eight steals of the UofL top ten for a season.
Duke Team Notes
- A unanimous first-team All-ACC selection for sophomore guard Luke Kennard highlighted Duke’s collection of conference awards on Sunday.
- Kennard leads Duke in scoring with an average of 20.1 points per game and shooting .504 from the floor, .450 from outside the arc and .847 from the free throw line. He is one of two players nationally – and the only major-conference player – to average at least 20.0 points while shooting at least .500 from the floor, .400 from outside the arc and .800 from the line.
- Senior guard Matt Jones was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team. Jones is Duke’s first ACC All-Defensive Team selection since Mason Plumlee in 2013. He is the 15th Duke player to earn the acclaim since 1997 – a group that has combined for 25 All-Defensive Team nods. Routinely given the assignment of guarding the opposition’s top perimeter player, Jones has blossomed this season with a career-high average of 1.6 steals per game that ranks fifth in the ACC. He ranks fourth in the ACC in steals percentage, accounting for 27.3 percent of the Blue Devils’ total steals on the season.
- Freshman forward Jayson Tatum was named a third-team All-ACC selection and a member of the ACC All-Freshman Team. Tatum is the fifth Duke freshman in the last four seasons to garner All-ACC accolades, and his selection to the ACC All-Freshman Team gives Duke a representative for the sixth consecutive season. He is the 23rd Duke player to earn a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team since 1993. The St. Louis native ranks second on the team in rebounding (7.3) and scoring (16.0), which rank first and second, respectively, among ACC freshmen. He is shooting .433 from the floor, .358 from the three-point line and .870 from the free throw line.
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