Cameron Boozer is dominating headlines as the Duke Blue Devils’ 23-point-per-game freshman. But Pat Kelsey, coach of the Louisville Cardinals, already figured out that just stopping the young star won’t be enough to win the game against the No. 6-ranked team on Tuesday. But what does he really worry about? Unity and chemistry. Boozer is surrounded by a bunch of talented peers, each of whom can step up when defenses double-team him.

“John just finished this call about two seconds ago, so I’m not going to sit here and give him the game plan. But he’s a really smart dude, and he knows how good that kid is,” Kelsey said in his pre-game interview with GoCards on YouTube. “Everybody tries everything under the sun to slow him down, but man, he’s not a one-man show. He’s got like 47 McDonald’s All-Americans around him as well.”

“So, obviously, he’s always going to be the front and center of every scouting report of every game he’s ever played in his entire life,” Kelsey continued. “It’s going to be a big challenge, and we’re excited about the opportunity in a big game on a big stage tomorrow night.”

We saw a similar pattern of what Kelsey warned his team about in the Blue Devils’ close four-point win over the Florida State Seminoles. Boozer scored 17 points, had nine assists, and stole four balls. However, sophomore Isaiah Evans stole the show with a career-high 28 points, making six three-pointers and hitting all six free throws.

The team’s balanced attack features many weapons ready to fire when required. They’re averaging 18.3 assists per game. When defenses put too much pressure on Boozer, players like Evans, Maliq Brown, Dame Sarr, and Caleb Foster are ready to take advantage of the open space.

After the Seminoles game, Jon Scheyer specifically praised Evans for his timing and ability to play different positions.

“The moments that he had were huge,” the Blue Devils coach said. “With him, I think it’s only a matter of time. For him, the ability to get open without the ball, the ability to know when they’re flying at you, when you can drive, which he had some good drives tonight, versus shooting some tougher ones.”

Evans has gone from scoring an average of 6.8 points as a freshman to 13.4 points per game this season, giving his team another option along with Boozer’s great play.

However, the Cardinals continue to deal with a lingering problem.

Pat Kelsey’s Louisville faces Duke without star freshman

The Cardinals don’t have their star freshman for Tuesday’s game. Mikel Brown Jr. is out for the fifth game in a row because of a lower back injury that has been bothering him since December 13. His absence leaves a gaping hole in the Cardinals’ lineup at the worst possible time.

Pat Kelsey didn’t hide his displeasure on Monday.

“He wants to be out there so stinking bad, you can tell,” the coach said. “It’s just been a couple of disappointing setbacks as we kind of tried to ramp him back up, and practice full go to see if he can sustain throughout a game.”

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The timing hurts because the Cardinals lost their second ACC game (their first conference loss), 80-76, at Stanford on Friday.

Brown’s 16.6 points and 5.1 assists in ten games would prove to be very important against the Blue Devils’ full roster.

While the Cardinals desperately need to find ways to score without Brown, Scheyer has been concerned about his team’s defense. The Seminoles shot 14 of 30 from deep and 54.3% from the field in the previous game. And the Cardinals currently rank third nationally in three-pointers, making 12.2 a game.

The Blue Devils have won seven straight games in this rivalry, including their last three trips to the Cardinals’ home court.

ESPN Analytics, however, slightly edges the Cardinals to win this game with a 54.6% probability.