Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer offered ‘new’ update on his two injured starters

Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer is “hopeful” Mark Mitchell and Jeremy Roach will be able to play Saturday against Pittsburgh.

During the ACC’s weekly Zoom teleconference Monday morning, Scheyer provided an update on the knee injuries of Mitchell and Roach.

“We got imaging done for Jeremy. We got positive news, where we don’t feel it’s anything serious – it’s more day-to-day. … We’ll see where he’s at (Tuesday). I doubt he’s able to practice for the next few days, but hopeful for Saturday. We’ll take it day by day,” Scheyer said.

“Mark, same thing. It was a day off (Sunday). He felt better. He needs to continue to progress, but … he won’t be practicing (Tuesday) either.”

Mitchell was sidelined with a sprained knee for the entire game. Roach, who appeared to injure his knee in the second half, missed most of the final eight minutes against the Yellow Jackets.

Mitchell is averaging 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He had back-to-back games with 20 or more points against Syracuse and Notre Dame. With Mitchell out, Scheyer rolled with a four-guard lineup to surround 7-footer Kyle Filipowski.

Roach was among those starters, but he limped to the bench with 8:22 left and was grabbing his right knee. The senior captain left the bench for several minutes, but shortly returned to the court with just over four minutes left. After 59 seconds, he limped back to the bench and didn’t return.

Roach has averaged 33 minutes per game in the last two seasons, including five games with 37 minutes or more. He played all 40 minutes in Duke’s top-10 win against Baylor in New York.

Scheyer broke down the importance of Mitchell and Roach after Duke’s win against Georgia Tech. He re-emphasized the importance of their presence Monday.

If Mitchell and Roach are unable to go against the Panthers (10-6, 1-4), Scheyer said “everybody” will have to step up. Duke earned a 75-53 win at Pitt on Jan. 9.

“We have four dynamic guards that can play in the backcourt,” Scheyer said.

“With that said, Jeremy’s been the most consistent. He’s invaluable to who we are as a team and what we do. I’ve tried to take it day by day. Everybody has to step up. … Everybody needs to be ready.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.