The #3 Duke Blue Devils (14-2, 6-0 ACC) host the Miami Hurricanes (4-12, 0-5 ACC) in an ACC matchup in Cameron Indoor Stadium. These two teams meet on two completely different trajectories towards March. The Hurricanes have lost 12 of their last 13 games including a ten point defeat to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Saturday. The Hurricanes are ranked 141 according to the KenPom rankings. Things have looked bleak in Coral Gables since the sudden retirement of Hall of Fame coach Jim Larranaga on December 26th.
The Blue Devils, winners of 10 in a row, are coming off an up and down contest against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday. The game was not short on fireworks which saw multiple technical fouls and a historical game by a freshman. Cooper Flagg finished the game with 42 points, a Duke and ACC Freshman record. Kahman Maluach dropped 19 points and 10 boards and 1 technical, a career high for the Duke 7 foot center. Duke coach Jon Scheyer also picked up his second career technical during the first half. The Blue Devils escaped the Fighting Irish and their blistering 3-point shooting display: 86-78.
The Blue Devils will look to achieve what they could not against the Irish, develop depth. News came out earlier in the week that defensive stand out, Maliq Brown, will be out for “weeks” due to a knee injury sustained in the first half of Saturday’s contest. Duke will need to find a replacement for the key rotational player. Maluach took up most of the slack Saturday, playing a career high 32 minutes. Look for the Blue Devils to turn to freshman Patrick Ngongba II to give Maluach a breather. He played 5 minutes Saturday and scored one basket and got one rebound.
Key Points:
Duke
- After an 18-point welcome party against Auburn, Duke Freshman Isiah Evans has not scored in the Blue Devils last two games and only hitting one shot 10 days ago against SMU. The Devils need Evans to be a reliable shot off the bench, look for the Blue Devils to build his confidence
- Defense- What does Duke’s second team defense look like without Maliq Brown? This is the Devils first taste of injury adversity of the season. Look for a bounce back defensive effort after giving up 78 points Saturday
- Where is Caleb Foster? The highly rated Duke sophomore lost his starting spot to Sion James and has fallen off. Foster hasn’t scored in the past 2 games. He will have to be a consistent scorer for the Blue Devils come March.
Miami
- Find something to build on. The season seems lost, they need to find some form of hope.
- Score points when they can. The Canes average 77 points per game, if they can score on average or above, they might be able to hang with the Blue Devils
- Hope the Blue Devils and Cooper Flagg have a bad night and take advantage. It will be an uphill battle all night for the Canes.
The Blue Devils face the Hurricanes 9pm Tuesday Jan 14th 2025 on ESPN/ACC Network
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