Coral Gables, FLA: The Miami Hurricanes hosted the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils at the Watsco Center in this highly-anticipated Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) matchup.
Duke came into this game with an overall record of 24-3 (15-1 ACC) and ranks first in the conference. Miami is on the flip side — literally — with a 6-21 overall record (2-14 ACC) and is ranked dead last in the conference.
Without their two star players, Nijel Pack and Matthew Cleveland, Miami struggled to score key points in tough moments; however, guard Jalil Bathea stepped up for the Hurricanes and put up 13 points, as well as Lynn Kidd put up 17 points.
“Nijel’s been talking to me on the sidelines and just throughout the game. I think I’ve been getting better at my role; it just takes time,” said Bethea. “I just feel like I keep getting better and more comfortable.”
“We’re really in a situation where guys have to step up, because we haven’t had Nigel since December, and Matt’s missed the last two games. They were the most veteran guys on our team. If you look at our group, they were the only guys besides Paul [Djobet],” said Miami interim head coach Bill Courtney.
Duke took control early against Miami accumulating a double-digit lead midway through the first half behind hot shooting and aggressive defense.
Kon Knueppel was the Blue Devil’s leading scorer with 20 points, four rebounds, and three steals, followed by three more double-figure games for star freshman Cooper Flagg (16 PT, 5 RB, 6 AS), Isaiah Evans (16 PT, 1 RB, 1 AS) and Caleb Foster (10 PT, 1 RB, 3 AS). Duke’s bench accumulated an astonishing 44 bench points in their 97-point win.
“For freshmen like these two guys next to me [Evans and Knueppel], they just have such a maturity and serious approach, and it’s really fun to coach these guys because of that, so proud of the win,” said Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.
Knueppel got the Blue Devils on the board first with a three-pointer, assisted by Cooper Flagg. Moments later, Flagg drained a second-chance three after a Tyrese Proctor offensive rebound, giving Duke a 6-0 advantage. Miami struggled to find its rhythm, missing multiple shots from behind the arc.
Duke continued to capitalize on Miami’s turnovers. Proctor extended the lead to 10-2 with a driving layup, and Flagg followed with another layup off a turnover, pushing the margin to 12-2. The Hurricanes’ shooting woes persisted, with several missed three-pointers and inside attempts. A three-pointer by Proctor made it 13-2, and Flagg added a fast-break layup moments later for a 15-2 lead.
Miami attempted to fight back, with Divine Ugochukwu sinking two free throws to trim the deficit to 15-4. Paul Djobet and Kidd added baskets to keep the Hurricanes in reach, but Duke’s Isaiah Evans responded with consecutive three-pointers to maintain a double-digit lead.
Bethea provided a spark for Miami, knocking down multiple three-pointers to keep the Hurricanes within striking distance. However, Evans answered with another three, and Duke continued to dominate the offensive glass. Knueppel and Flagg added driving layups as Duke extended its lead to 31-19 with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.
The Hurricanes continued to struggle from deep, missing several three-point attempts despite multiple offensive rebounds. Miami turned the ball over again with 5:44 left, leading to free throws from Proctor that pushed Duke’s lead to 33-19.
Duke remains in control as the first half winds down, with Miami looking for an offensive spark to close the gap.
The Blue Devils took over in the first half shooting 61.5% from the field and 64.3% from three in the first half alone. Miami, on the other hand, shot 37.5% from the field and 21.1% from three. Bathea alone shot 50% from three (3/6) and 44% from the field (4/9); he leads the Canes in scoring with 11 points and two steals.
Miami trailed Duke by 15 going into the second half, 47-32.
Duke came into the second half strong with an 8-0 run over a minute and a half extending their lead to 57-34 four minutes in. Miami was in a four-minute scoring drought, shooting 0-5 from the field. Duke was also able to force
Duke proceeded to go 100% from the field from their last three possessions with a little over 13 minutes left in the game; Miami shot 20% (2-10).
Duke’s scoring run persisted, going 20-4 over a six-and-a-half-minute period scoring their last 4-5 field goals.
However, Duke then shot 0-4 from the field and proceeded to not score for three minutes with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.
Duke shuts out Miami in this ACC matchup, 97-60.
Photo Credit via Christian Proscia
