Duke gets another crack at Miami. Canes ‘very, very excited’ to face Blue Devils again
Having survived Syracuse on Thursday, No. 7 Duke gets the matchup it wanted in the ACC tournament against Miami on Friday night.
The Blue Devils and Hurricanes played just once in the regular season with Miami escaping Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 76-74 win back on Jan. 8. That result, after Duke led 74-71 with 30 seconds to play, left the Blue Devils eager for another crack at Miami.
It will arrive at 7 p.m at Barclays Center in the first of two tournament semifinal games.
Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said his team is eager to face the Blue Devils again, too.
“They have the winningest coach in college basketball history, and our guys are going to be very, very excited about playing them again,” Larrañaga said Thursday. “We played them one time earlier in the year. A lot has transpired since then.”
Regular-season game
Duke carried a five-game winning streak and was 12-1 when Miami stunned them on a Saturday night in Durham. The Blue Devils’ biggest issue that night was turnovers — they committed a season-high 17.
They also made critical errors in the final minute. Leading 74-71, Duke’s defenders allowed Miami’s Charlie Moore a lane to drive to the basket, where he scored and drew a foul from Jeremy Roach. Moore missed the free throw, but Jordan Miller secured the rebound. He passed the ball to Kameron McGusty, who scored to put Miami up 75-74 with 23 seconds left.
Duke’s Trevor Keels missed a shot in the lane with 12 seconds left. Fouled after he grabbed the rebound, Isaiah Wong hit one of two free throws with eight seconds left.
Duke’s Wendell Moore missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left and the Blue Devils lost.
Can Duke force turnovers?
While Duke struggled with its own turnovers against Miami the first time, the Hurricanes have proven to be among the tougher teams to turnover this season.
According to KenPom.com, the Hurricanes turn it over on just 14.3% of their possessions. That’s No. 8 nationally, and best among ACC teams this season. The big reason for the Hurricanes’ success? Veteran ballhandlers like Charlie Moore, Kameron McGusty and Isaiah Wong. They were successful driving for easy shots against Duke back in January and did so without rally-killing turnovers.
Duke has not been particularly strong on defense when it comes to forcing turnovers. Blue Devils opponents have done so just 16.4% of the time, which is 254th nationally.
Miami was sloppy by its standards in Thursday’s quarterfinals, committing 13 turnovers in its 71-69 overtime win over Boston College.
What role will A.J. Griffin play?
Duke’s sharp-shooting freshman forward played 24 minutes off the bench against Miami back in January. He scored 10 points while making four of nine shots.
Griffin started his first game four nights later when Duke changed its lineup after the Miami loss. He’s scored in double figures 12 times as a starter, including his season-high 27 points when Duke won 87-67 at North Carolina.
But Griffin, slowed by a stomach illness that’s affected several people in Duke’s program, scored four points on three shots in 22 minutes when Duke beat Syracuse, 88-79, on Thursday. It’s the second game in a row he’s struggled to score after he tallied only five points in Duke’s 94-81 loss to UNC at Cameron last Saturday.
To handle Miami’s bevy of experienced guards, Duke could use it’s ball-handling lineup that includes Griffin, Trevor Keels, Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore and Paolo Banchero. But that’s only if Griffin is well enough to make an impact.
Can Duke build a lead and add to it?
The Blue Devils have won their share of lopsided games this season while building their impressive record. But there have been frequent occasions when Duke takes a lead but can’t add to it to pull away.
Last Saturday’s loss to UNC was a prime example as Duke built a nine-point, first-half lead with a 14-0 run only to see UNC cut that deficit to a basket at halftime. Duke led by seven in the second half but never put the Tar Heels away.
Against Miami back in January, the Blue Devils led 52-47 with 12:39 to play and, of course, 74-71 with 30 seconds left, before faltering.
Even Thursday, Duke led by 11 in the first half against a Syracuse team it had handily beaten twice this year, only to see the Orange battle back to lead by four points at halftime.
To win a championship this month, Duke can’t afford such moments of weakness.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 5:42 AM.