Au’Diese Toney scores career-high 27 points against Duke

Pitt traveled to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, to take on a ninth-ranked Duke team on Tuesday night, and while the Panthers fell to the Blue Devils by a score of 79-67, it wasn’t due to a lack of fight. In fact, Pitt pulled within three points of Duke in the second half, and leading the Panthers in their upset bid was Pitt wing Au’Diese Toney.

Toney got off to a decent start, scoring eight points in the first half, but it was in the second half that he took his game to a new level, as he scored 19 points to close out the game. That brought his total to 27, a game-high figure that topped Duke star Vernon Carey Jr. and his 26 points and marked a personal best for the Huntsville, Alabama, native.

The 6’6” Pitt wing presented Duke’s defenders with a multifaceted challenge, as he went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and drove to the rim with aggression, coming up with some highlight-reel dunks over the course of the game.

Tuesday night marked the first time Toney reached the 20-point mark against a Power Five opponent and just the second time he did so in his collegiate career. The first came against New Orleans on Dec. 20, 2018, when he scored 20 points in a 99-57 non-conference victory at the Petersen Events Center.

After the game, Toney was praised by both Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Pitt coach Jeff Capel, with the latter saying it was the best game Toney has played in his time at Pitt.