No. 8 Duke ends losing skid in resounding fashion
No. 8 Duke wasted no time putting an end to its losing streak.
A barrage of 3-pointers early allowed the Blue Devils to lead by as many as 29 points in the first half as they rolled to a 89-59 ACC basketball win over Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (16-3, 6-2 ACC) won for the first time since Jan. 11. The Blue Devils lost 79-72 at Clemson on Jan. 14 and 79-73 at home to Louisville on Saturday night to carry a two-game losing skid in to their game with Miami (10-8, 2-6 ACC).
But the Hurricanes, who lost 95-62 to Duke in Coral Gables, Fla., earlier this month, were no match once again for Duke.
After making just 6 of 25 3-pointers in their loss to Louisville, the Blue Devils sank 11 of 25 3-pointers (44 percent) against Miami.
Freshman forward Matthew Hurt led the way, sinking 3-pointers for the game’s first two baskets on the way to scoring a game-high 22 points. He scored 15 first-half points.
Duke sophomore point guard Tre Jones finished with 16 points and six assists. and Vernon Carey added 11 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 53.1 percent from the field.
And-1
Duke trailed at halftime in each of its two previous games, the losses to Clemson and Louisville. Prior to that the Blue Devils had only trailed at halftime this season. So things returned to normal against Miami as the Blue Devils blitzed the Hurricanes over the first 20 minutes.
Lane violation
Miami starting the game shooting atrociously, making just 3 of its first 18 shots. That allowed to Duke to take control early. The Hurricanes finished 18 of 60 (30 percent) overall, including 4 of 18 (22 percent) on 3-pointers.
ICYMI
Duke played its fifth consecutive game without Wendell Moore, who is recovering from a broken hand. The 6-6 freshman guard had surgery on Jan. 6. He was on Duke’s bench Tuesday night but not in uniform, wearing a brace on his right hand as the broken fourth metacarpal bone continues to heal. Duke is now 3-2 without Moore, who is averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Making sense of the numbers
9: Three-pointers made by Duke in the first half as the Blue Devils built a 48-24 halftime lead. That’s more 3-pointers than the Blue Devils had made in 14 previous games this season.
10: Duke turnovers, a far better number for the Blue Devils than their recent games. Duke had 14 or more in five of its previous six games.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 11:03 PM.