Another costly win: 3 takeaways as Duke basketball routs Miami, loses starter to injury
No. 2 Duke winning yet another ACC game in lopsided fashion took a backseat to an injury to a starter on Tuesday night.
While the Blue Devils routed Miami, 97-60, junior guard Tyrese Proctor missed the second half after injuring his left knee late in the first half.
Proctor limped off the court with 36 seconds left in the half and received treatment from Duke’s medical staff in the locker room. He used crutches to leave the arena after the game.
Meanwhile, his teammates moved one win closer to an ACC regular-season championship as the league-leading Blue Devils (25-3, 16-1 ACC) beat a conference foe by 20 points or more for the 10th time this season.
Kon Knueppel led Duke with 20 points, while Isaiah Evans added 16 points while making 5 of 8 3-pointers in a reserve role. Cooper Flagg scored 16 points with six assists and five rebounds for Duke, which shot 56.1% overall and made 15 of 25 3-pointers (60%). Caleb Foster scored 10 points off the bench.
Miami (6-22, 2-15 ACC) shot just 39.1% and committed 20 turnovers, the most against a Duke opponent this season. The Hurricanes hit just 5 of 25 3-pointers.
Here are three takeaways from Duke’s latest win:
Isaiah Evans stays hot
Evans reached double figures for the third consecutive game and, given Proctor’s injury, that could very well be perfect timing for the Blue Devils.
Evans entered Tuesday night having made 45.8% of his 3-pointers this season and improved on that against Miami. Over the past three games, in Duke wins over Virginia, Illinois and Miami, Evans has averaged 16.7 points per game. Over that time, he’s made 13 of 19 3-pointers (68%), and 16 of 25 (64%) shots overall.
Evans started the second half for Duke following Proctor’s injury.
Duke put Miami away early
As the first-place team facing the league’s last-place team, the Blue Devils handled business well to remove any upset hopes Miami harbored.
Duke led 15-2 after six minutes of play and hit 11 of its first 14 shots, including 6 of 7 3-pointers, to build a 29-14 lead with 8:27 to play in the half. That included a stretch where Evans scored 10 consecutive points for Duke.
The Blue Devils’ lead hit 20 points for the first time, at 43-23, with 2:28 left in the first half when Evans drilled a 3-pointer.
Duke never trailed, the sixth time in the last eight games it has accomplished that feat.
Coach Jon Scheyer’s first 100
Duke’s win over Miami came in Jon Scheyer’s 100th game as its head coach, dating back to 2022 when he took over the program following Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement.
Scheyer is 79-21, setting a program record for most wins in his first 100 games coaching Duke. He surpassed Vic Bubas (76-24), Harold Bradley (70-30), Eddie Cameron (70-30) and Gerry Gerard (66-34). Krzyzewski went 52-48.
Duke won the ACC Tournament championship in Scheyer’s first season and is now two league wins away from adding an ACC regular-season championship this season.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 9:05 PM.