Preview: #8 Duke Blue Devils (20-5, 11-3 ACC) vs Miami Hurricanes (15-11, 6-9 ACC)

Overall Duke leads, 25-10
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 12-3
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 12-3
In Coral Gables, FL Duke leads, 9-7
at Watsco Center Duke leads, 7-6
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 4-0
Last Meeting Duke 85, Miami 78 (March 10, 2023)

TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Dan Shulman
Analyst Jay Bilas
Director Scott Johnson
Producer Phil Dean

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 161 or 193

The Hurricanes enter Wednesday with a 15-11 overall record with a conference record of 6-9. Miami is coming off of 4 straight losses and in need of a win to save their season.

Miami commits just 13.1 fouls per contest, which is best in the ACC and fifth in the nation. The Hurricanes are second in the conference and 42nd nationally in 3-point field goals made per game (9.0). Miami is only second to Duke in conference field goal percentage at 47%.

Norchad Omier tops Miami in scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg), while shooting 60.3% from the field. The 6-7 junior forward ranks ninth in the nation with an ACC-high 14 double-doubles. Omier leads a 4-pack of double-figure scorers for Miami. 6’7 guard Matthew Cleveland checks in with a 14 point per game average, followed my Wooga Poplar and Nijel Pack at 13.7 each.

The Blue Devils reached the 20 win mark with their win against Florida State. The Blue Devil record stands at 20-5 and their conference record at 11-3. Duke is the only team to rank among the top four ACC statistical leaders in both scoring offense (2nd/80.3 points per game) and scoring defense (4th/67.6 points allowed per game). The Blue Devils lead the ACC in scoring margin (+12.7), field goal percentage (.480) and 3-point field goal percentage (.376).

Jared McCain set a Duke freshman record with eight 3-pointers, scoring 35 total points in his last outing, raising his scoring average to 13.8 points per game and his 3-point shooting percentage to 41%. Kyle Filipowski leads the Blue Devils in scoring and is 32 points away from becoming Duke’s 69th 1,000-point scorer in Duke history. Filipowski ranks eighth in scoring (17.0 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.3 rpg), third in blocked shots (1.7 bpg) and ninth in field goal percentage (.497) in the ACC. Jeremy Roach leads the Blue Devils in 3-point field goal percentage at 44.8% and is second on the team in scoring at 14 points per contest. Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor round out the double-figure scoring for the Blue Devils at 12.9 and 10 points per game respectively.

G Jeremy Roach 6’2, 180lbs SR
G Jared McCain 6’3, 197lbs FR
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 197lbs SO
F Mark Mitchell  6’9, 232lbs SO
C Kyle Filipowski 7’0, 248lbs SO

**Tyrese Proctor’s status still unknown

G Bensley Joseph 6’2, 196lbs JR
G Wooga Poplar 6’5, 197lbs JR
G Kyshawn George 6’8, 205lbs FR
G Matthew Cleveland 6’7, 208lbs JR
F Norchad Omier 6’7, 240lbs RSJR

**Nijel Pack’s status still unknown

Scoring:

Kyle Filipowski 17 PPG
Jeremy Roach 14 PPG
Jared McCain 13.8 PPG
Mark Mitchell 12.9 PPG
Tyrese Proctor 10 PPG

Rebounding:

Kyle Filipowski 8.3 RPG
Mark Mitchell 6.4 RPG
Jared McCain 4.9 RPG

Assists:

Tyrese Proctor 3.5 APG
Jeremy Roach 3.2 APG

Scoring:

Norchad Omier 17.8 PPG
Matthew Cleveland 14.0 PPG
Wooga Poplar 13.7 PPG
Nigel Pack 13.7 PPG

Rebounding:

Norchad Omier 9.8 RPG
Matthew Cleveland 5.8RPG

Assists:

Nijel Pack 3.6 APG
Bensley Joseph 3.5 APG

It’s very easy to just look at a teams record and assume that who they were a week ago is who they are and who they will be going forward. It’s a very lazy way of looking at sports as it discounts coaching, practice, rest etc. Jon Scheyer and staff know that kind of firepower that Miami has – even though Nijel Pack is expected to miss the game. 6 players on this Miami squad, including their big man Norchad Omier, shoot 35% or above from 3-point range. The Hurricanes are a very good team at home in the Watsco Center where they boast an 11-3 record. Miami is looking for a reason and an opportunity to explode and if Duke doesn’t come prepared and ready to fight it could go south for Duke – literally.

Duke will most likely be without Tyrese Proctor who is recovering from a concussion and the Hurricanes will likely be without Nijel Pack. Matthew Cleveland is a guard / wing that Duke fans may be familiar with from his days at Florida State – Cleveland in his last two games against the Blue Devils is averaging 17 points. Coming off of 4 loses Cleveland and the Hurricanes are due to have a big game. They will also have a decided size advantage on the perimeter against the Blue Devils. If Duke can take the crowd out of it early, avoid the turnovers that have plagued them the last few games and withstand the early energy then Miami should be a very winnable game.