The Duke Blue Devils (15-2, 7-0 ACC) easily handled the lowly Miami Hurricanes (4-13, 0-6 ACC), 89-54 in Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night. The Hurricanes have shown little life since their long-time coach Jim Larranga suddenly retired on December 26th of last year, losing 11 of their last 12 games coming into Cameron. The Blue Devils entered the game as a 24-point favorite and covered the spread in the first half. Miami had no answer for the Blue Devils offense which is averaging 80 points per game.
The Blue Devils got off to a blistering hot start. Thanks to a 12-0 fueled by three threes by Kon Knueppel and two more from grad transfer Mason Gillis gave Duke a very early 21-8 lead. The BLue Devils were just getting started, halfway through the first half the Blue Devils were 8-12 from the arc shooting nearly 70%. As expected, Miami gave very little resistance on the defensive side of the court. The Canes game plan seemed to be “stop Cooper Flagg” as he drew 3-4 defenders every time he touched the ball. This left the remaining 4 Blue Devils open and they took advantage.
The lone bright spot for the Hurricanes was Forward Lynn Kidd, who had 14 first half points. The Blue Devils felt the absence of defensive ace Maliq Brown, as Kidd had his way with the 7 foot Maluach. Duke finished the half scoring 50 points behind 11 made three point attempts including 4 from Kon Knueppel. Duke shot 61% from the field and 64% from three. The Blue Devils had 17 assists on 19 made field goals. Knueppel led the Blue Devils with 18 first half points, Cooper Flagg finished with 8. Freshman Patrick Ngongba had a season high 9 minutes in the first half in relief for injured Maliq Brown. On three point shooting alone, the Blue Devils would have taken a 33-26 lead into half time.
The second half start was the lone bright spot for the Canes as they began the half on a 7-2 run causing Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer to call an early timeout. Duke went right back to their offensive ways getting their lead up to 29 points in the second half. Depth was the story of the final stanza as the Blue Devils had appearances and extended minutes from Patrick Ngongba, Isaiah Evans, and Darren Harris partnered with solid second teamers Caleb Foster and Mason Gillis. Khaman Maluach finished the game with his second straight double-double and a career high in rebounds, scoring 12 points and grabbing 15 boards in 20 minutes of play. Kon Knueppel led the Blue Devils in scoring with 25 points going 6-8 from the three point line. Cooper Flagg finished with 13 points, 7 boards, and 6 assists. Mason Gillis had a season high 12 points on 4-6 shooting behind the line.
The Blue Devils travel to the Northeast to take on the Boston College Eagles in an ACC nightcap Saturday. The Eagles have lost three straight contests heading into the matchup with the first place Blue Devils. The Blue Devils will have a full week off to get ready for a big-time matchup on the 25th against the much improved Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston Salem.
Miami looks to get in the win column Saturday as they host the SMU Mustangs in Coral Gables.
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