Duke basketball: Jon Scheyer managed minutes perfectly in blowout win

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer looked like a veteran in his first postseason game. 

Jon Scheyer looked like a seasoned professional as the Duke basketball team took the floor in his first career postseason game.

The Blue Devils, the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament, romped Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals, 96-69, and allowed the first year head coach to look stress free on the sidelines as he emptied his bench with about eight minutes remaining.

The outcome was never in doubt after the opening sequence which saw Duke score the first 12 points of the game and eventually open up a 20-6 lead in nine and a half minutes.

However, the best part of the 27-point victory was the rest Scheyer was able to give his star players with a semifinal matchup looming on Friday night against top-seed Miami, who was able to withstand a late Wake Forest run in its quarterfinal matchup.

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No Duke player logged more than 27 minutes and Kyle Filipowski, who appeared to sprain his ankle in the first half, only played 16 minutes despite scoring 22 points in the victory.

The rest should benefit the Blue Devils, who naturally have more time to recover for its semifinal matchup after playing on Thursday afternoon and not in the quarterfinal night session.

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On the other hand, each of Jim Larrañaga’s starters played at least 28 minutes in the 74-72 victory against the Demon Deacons.

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Star players Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller logged 34 and 38 minutes, respectively, while Norchad Omier saw just 28 minutes because of foul trouble despite registering 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Duke and Miami will take the floor first on Friday night (7:00p.m. ET, ESPN) at the ACC Tournament, the third matchup of the season between the two programs after both teams won on its home court in the regular season.