It shouldn’t be close Tuesday night when last-place Miami hosts No. 2 Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest.
Duke (24-3, 15-1 ACC) has won four straight and is led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, projected to become the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft this June.
Miami (6-21, 2-14) has lost three straight and is having its worst season in 31 years. The Hurricanes were routed by Duke 89-54 on Jan. 14, and the Blue Devils are favored by 23 1/2 points in the rematch.
Duke is coming off a 110-67 demolition over Illinois at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to jump one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, even though previous No. 2 Florida did not lose a game last week. Flagg had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in just 23 minutes.
Flagg took only 10 shots, impressing ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.
“He’s just different,” Greenberg said. “A guy of his talent, he could chase shots. But he plays with poise, lets the game come to him. Then he makes one of those plays where you go, ‘Whoa!'”
For the season, Flagg leads Duke in scoring (19.5), rebounding (7.7), assists (4.0), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.1).
Duke starts two other freshmen in 6-7 guard Kon Knueppel and 7-2 center Khaman Maluach. Knueppel is averaging 13.2 points and scored 25 against Miami earlier this season. Maluach is averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Duke’s other two starters are 6-6 junior guards Sion James (8.3 points per game) and Tyrese Proctor (12.0).
On Saturday, all five starters scored in double figures as Duke piled up 28 assists against the Fighting Illini.
“The guys are sharing the ball,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, “and they’re playing with confidence.”
Miami is coming off an 81-68 home defeat to Virginia Tech on Saturday.
“We tried everything,” interim coach Bill Courtney said. “We couldn’t get stops when we needed them. We didn’t get out to the shooters. We didn’t communicate. We lost our man.”
Indeed, the Hurricanes led by six points early in the second half, but they wilted without their top two starters.
Matthew Cleveland (16.3 points) missed his first game of the season with an injured left leg. His status for Tuesday is uncertain.
Fifth-year point guard Nigel Pack (13.9 points) has been out most of the season and the Hurricanes miss his experience, play-making and deep shooting. He has 121 career starts.
Courtney has been unable to gain any traction after taking over for longtime head coach Jim Larranaga in December.
Miami still has some veterans — 6-10 center Lynn Kidd, 6-8 forward Brandon Johnson and 6-5 shooting guard A.J. Staton-McCray.
Kidd averages 11.3 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds. Johnson contributes 7.9 points and 6.6 boards and Staton-McCray is averaging 7.6 points.
All three are coming off solid performances against Virginia Tech. McCray scored a team-high 21 points, making 4 of 6 3-pointers. Kidd scored 16 points on 5-for-5 shooting, adding a team-high nine rebounds. Johnson had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers.
Multiple media outlets reported this weekend that Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas is expected to become the Hurricanes’ next head coach.
–Field Level Media
