Mark Mitchell 'unlikely' to play for Duke vs. Tennessee

Duke coach Jon Scheyer had to shake up his lineup for Saturday’s second-round game against Tennessee after Mark Mitchell suffered an injury in practice on Friday. He didn’t start — and he might not play at all.

Mitchell hurt his knee in practice Friday and is having a hard time moving it, CBS’ Lauren Shehadi reported early in the first half. She listed some other players who could step up, including sophomore Jaylen Blakes and Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison, and added it’s “unlikely” Mitchell sees the court.

“You mentioned Mark Mitchell not starting today because at practice yesterday, he landed awkwardly and he’s having trouble moving his knee,” Shehadi said on the broadcast. “Look for Jaylen Blakes and Jacob Grandison to cover. Ryan Young, as well. I’m told it’s unlikely he’ll in this game at all unless he starts to move it a little bit better.”

Mitchell has started all 35 games for Duke this season, averaging 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a true freshman. In the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament opener against No. 12 seed Oral Roberts, he had eight points and seven rebounds to help his team to the 74-51 victory to get to the second round.

Mitchell spoke about the matchup against Tennessee in the press conference prior to practice Friday, acknowledging the tough task at hand against a staunch Volunteers defense. Tennessee entered the game No. 2 in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

“They’re a really tough physical team,” Mitchell said. “We know they live to live in the paint, kind of similar to us. Just try and keep them out of the paint and just rebounding. I think those are two things we’re just trying to focus on. We know they love to crash the glass and pack the paint. Just continue to play together, but on the defensive end just keep them off the offensive glass and protect our paint. We know they have some big guys down there, but I think if we play our defense, we’ll be good.”

Mitchell, standing at 6-foot-8, helps Duke throw more size at opposing teams on defense and try to disrupt offenses. A key instance was against Oral Roberts when Tyrese Proctor picked up his second foul, and Scheyer simply moved Mitchell into his spot as he headed to the bench. That helped Duke contain Max Abmas, who scored just 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting.

“Well, it helps when you have Tyrese Proctor,” Scheyer said. “It starts there. It helps when you have Dereck Lively. Tyrese gets two fouls, you switch Mark Mitchell onto him. Just the awareness. Our guys, they watch film on their own. The buy-in that they have to defend other teams. They take great ownership.”