Preview: #2 Duke Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) vs. Miami Hurricanes (6-21, 2-14 ACC)

#2 Duke Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) vs. Miami Hurricanes (6-21, 2-14 ACC)

Tuesday, Feb. 25 • 7 p.m. ET

Watsco Center (7,972) • Coral Gables, FL

TV: ESPN

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

The Duke Blue Devils travel to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Kevin Brown
Analyst Jon Crispin
Producer Sean Jackson
Director Johnny Hana

Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 84

Overall Duke leads, 27-10
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 13-3
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 13-3
In Coral Gables, FL Duke leads, 10-7
at Watsco Center Duke leads, 8-6
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 4-0
Last Meeting @Duke 89, Miami 54 (Jan. 14, 2025)

Miami enters the week on a 3 game skid, having lost to Pitt, Florida State and Virginia Tech. They currently sit at 6-21 on the season and 2-14 in the ACC which puts them at 18th. Miami is among the ACC’s top shooting squads, ranking fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (.464) and fourth in free throw percentage (.769). The Hurricanes commit just 14.5 fouls per contest, which is best in the ACC and 25th in the nation.

Matthew Cleveland leads the Hurricanes in scoring at 16.3 points per game. Cleveland’s his status for this game is unclear, having turned an ankle against Florida State and missing the Hurricane’s last game against Virginia Tech. Lynn Kidd checks in right behind Cleveland in scoring at 11.3 points per game, he also leads Miami with 7.2 rebounds per game. Lynn Kidd is 11th among the ACC’s leading rebounders with 7.2 boards per game, including 2.5 on the offensive glass, which ranks 10th in the league. Kidd led the Hurricanes in their game in Cameron Indoor Stadium back in January with 20 points on 10-17 shooting. Freshman Divine Ugochukwu leads the Hurricanes in assists per game at 2.1 per contest.

The Blue Devils own an overall record of 24-3 with a 15-1 mark in ACC play. Duke owns the second-highest net rating (38.13) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season). Only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils have achieved a higher net rating (43.01). The Blue Devils lead the country in scoring margin (+21.0) and rank fourth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.80), sixth in effective field goal percentage (.576), sixth in field goal percentage defense (.384), seventh in scoring defense (61.0), ninth in rebound margin (+8.4), 15th in field goal percentage (.489), 17th in assists per game (17.1) and 19th in three-pointers per game (10.2) – all top marks in the ACC. Duke is the only team in the country ranked among the top-four in both offensive (2nd) and defensive efficiency (4th), according to KenPom and the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (82.0) and hold its opponents to 61 points or fewer per game (61.0).

11 time ACC Rookie of the Week Cooper Flagg leads the Blue Devils in scoring (19.5), rebounding (7.7), assists (4) and steals (1.6) per game. Flagg became the first ACC player to amass 500 points, 100 assists and 30 blocks in the regular season in the last 25 years, reaching those numbers in 26 games and is the only player who ranks among the ACC’s top-10 in all five major statistical categories – scoring (3rd), rebounding (7th), assists (8th), blocks (9th), and steals (10th).

Duke boasts 2 other double figure scorers in Kon Knueppel, who averages 13.2 points per game and junior guard Tyrese Proctor who averages 12 points per game. Proctor has averaged 16.6 points in Duke’s last seven games, while shooting 43 of 81 (.531) from the field, including 20-of-43 (.465) from 3-point range. In the last 10 games, Sion James has distributed 41 assists to just seven turnovers, a 5.9 assist to turnover ratio. James ranks third in the ACC in that category (3.0). Isaiah Evans has scored 17 points in each of the last two games, shooting 11-of-15 (.733) from the field, including 8-of-11 (.727) from long distance.

PG Sion James 6’6, 220lbs – Grad Transfer
SG Tyrese Proctor 6’6, 183lbs – Junior
SF Kon Knueppel 6’7, 217lbs – Freshman
PF Cooper Flagg 6’9, 205lbs – Freshman
C Khaman Maluach 7’2, 250lbs – Freshman

G Divine Ugochukwu 6’3, 190lbs – Freshman
G Matthew Cleveland 6’7, 2210lbs – Senior *
G Jalil Bethea 6’5, 190lbs – Freshman
F Brandon Johnson 6’8, 223lbs – Senior
C Lynn Kidd 6’10, 241lbs – Grad Student

*Cleveland missed the last game, his status is up in the air. If he does not start expect A.J. Stanton-McCray to start in his place

The Hurricanes are obviously in a transition year, with the exit of Coach Jim Larrañaga and Bill Courtney having to step in as interim head coach. They’ve also had injury issues that curtailed their season early on, but that doesn’t mean Miami isn’t a dangerous team. What they do have are guys that can fill up the bucket. Lynn Kidd is especially dangerous for the Hurricanes, as Duke fans saw when he dropped 20 points in Cameron earlier this season. Matthew Cleveland is also a dangerous scorer – it’s still unclear whether he plays or not, as he was sidelined with an ankle injury, but my guess is that he plays. He’s a guy that can open things up for Miami. He’s a guy that can operate at all 3 levels effectively and has the size at guard where Duke’s length shouldn’t be an issue for him.

Miami is a team that wants to get to the free throw line, Duke has to defend without fouling but defend the paint with authority which sounds like two competing asks but to be able to put the Hurricanes away and away early it has to be a huge part of the game plan. Miami is not a good defensive team, so Duke should not struggle offensively – but there is always that inherent danger that the Blue Devils will fall in love with the 3 when they should be able to operate effectively at all 3 levels in this game. There may also be added motivation in this game as the rumors of Jai Lucas possibly being a strong candidate for the Miami job next season. It’s hard to say how that news manifests itself in motivation, but it very well could be a factor and distraction for both squads.