With their Feb. 22 win over Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils accomplished their first goal of the year-to win the ACC's regular-season title.
Today No. 3 Duke (27-3) will have the chance to start on its second at Greensboro Coliseum. The Blue Devils will meet Miami at noon in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, to begin their quest for their seventh ACC Tournament crown in eight years.
Although Duke suffered two-straight conference loses to close out the season, its 14-0 start in the league secured the Blue Devils the No. 1 seed.
After a late-game comeback, the eighth-seeded Hurricanes (16-14) narrowly defeated Clemson, 66-63, in the first round Thursday to earn the chance to face the Blue Devils.
"I didn't want it to end," Miami guard Robert Hite said after his team's win Thursday. "I didn't want to go out today. I want to keep playing. I just wanted to come out here, give a good effort and help my team come away with a win."
After trailing 48-36 with 12 minutes left to play in the second half, Miami turned the game around and outscored the Tigers 30-15 to close out the contest.
"I thought we showed tremendous resiliency and just kept after it," head coach Frank Haith said. "It wasn't like a big run to win the game-we just kept chipping away, kept chipping away. We missed four free throws in a row. We kicked the ball out of bounds, but we just stayed with it. That's why I'm so proud of our kids and how we came back and fought through it."
The Hurricanes-who lead the conference in scoring defense-capitalized on a switch to man-to-man Thursday to help pull out their three-point win over the Tigers.
"Defense really was the key," Haith said. "We were able to stop them, and when we went man we did a nice job of containing them and not letting them get to the rim."
Haith said his team created scoring opportunities using its man-to-man scheme by forcing loose balls and scoring in transition. Before the switch, the Hurricanes struggled with the execution of their zone defense, which often left Clemson players open in scoring positions.
Miami's determination on the floor is something that Duke, which has struggled defensively in the last few games, will need to match. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils have not exhibited good defense since their first and only matchup this season with the Hurricanes Feb. 19 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I don't think we've played very well defensively in the last few weeks," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the team's game against North Carolina March 4. "I thought we played very well [against Miami]. The thing that hurt us that day was our offense. We turned it over, and they scored because we had poor offense."
In the 83-76 win against Miami, J.J. Redick led the Blue Devils with 30 points to become the team's all-time leading scorer. Although Redick has struggled with his shot over the past four games, he said he has just put too much pressure on himself and is looking forward to relaxing once postseason play begins.
The game will mark the first time Duke faces Miami in the ACC Tournament, and the first time the Hurricanes-now in their second season in the ACC-have advanced past the first round.
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