Jay Bilas impressed by Duke’s toughness in win over Houston

Houston is a program that prides itself on its toughness. Duke was able to match the Cougars in that area Friday night.

The Blue Devils earned a 54-51 win over Houston to advance to the Elite Eight, grinding out a physical victory. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas broke down the performance by Duke on ESPN College GameDay Saturday morning.

You can watch the tournament live on Prime Video, add on your favorite channels and watch at home or on your phone and laptop at work! 

“Defensively they’ve been good all year long. I think the toughness level we’ve seen increase during the NCAA Tournament. It’s at a different level,” Jay Bilas said. “And I thought against Houston, the way they attacked and found those mid-range shots — Tyrese Proctor hit a big one. You saw Jeremy Roach hit a couple of them.

“And then Kyle Filipowski using his mobility against the Houston big men out on the perimeter was really important. But I think the collective toughness they’ve shown is at a different level than it was, at least consistently throughout the regular season.”

Bilas and others questioned Duke’s toughness during the regular season, particularly after a couple of losses to rival North Carolina. But the Blue Devils didn’t back down in their biggest game of the season on Saturday.

“It’s been a common theme whenever we talk about the Blue Devils, when they get punched in the mouth, can they punch back?” ESPN analyst Jay Williams said on GameDay. “We saw them last year in the tournament, they got punched by Tennessee. They got punched in the mouth by North Carolina — both times — they didn’t punch back. They got punched by NC State.

“This was the most physical game of the tournament I saw, and Duke won this game in the 50s. To me, that shows maturation and learning how to win in different ways. That’s a great sign for them moving forward.”

It helped the Blue Devils that Houston star Jamal Shead went down with an ankle injury in the first half. Still, it was a strong showing by the Blue Devils. Up next, Duke will face a familiar opponent in NC State on Sunday with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

“Once they settled into the toughness level, the physicality of the game, how they had to compete on the glass — yea Shead went out and that’s obviously a huge problem for Houston. You can’t replace a guy like that,” ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said on GameDay. “[But] Houston was the bully that was trying to steal their lunch money. They met the bully and said ‘you might kick my rear end, but I’m going to meet you toe to toe.’”