Pittsburgh squared off with No. 4 Duke at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday night in front of the largest crowd the venue had seen all season. But despite the show of support, much of which was for the Blue Devils anyway, the Panthers, who entered the game as 14.5-point underdogs, were beaten 86-56.
As Pitt has made a habit of over its last few games, the team fell behind early, allowing Duke to shoot out to a commanding 16-3 lead less than four minutes after the tipoff. That charge was led by former blue chip Paolo Banchero, who scored seven early points and capped off that run with a dunk.