The Blue Devils have finally heated up in the new year, getting to above .500 in conference play for the first time this season after losing two of their first three games.
No. 18 Duke will seek its first conference road win against Miami 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the BankUnited Center after coming off a dramatic four-point victory against Virginia Jan. 13 and a 35-point blowout against N.C. State Saturday.
“We won and we played hard [this week],” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Sometimes you just get beat, and so we’re a developing basketball team. I thought we played more together and harder than we’ve ever played this week and we were fortunate to get two wins.”
Although Duke (14-4, 3-2 in the ACC) put up 95 points on the Wolfpack in a fantastic display of offense, the Blue Devils' defense was an enormous factor in the game—Duke notched 33 points off turnovers.
Leading the way for the Blue Devils in steals was senior guard Tyler Thornton with four. Freshman forward Jabari Parker added three more steals to the turnover tally and tacked on 23 points. The 21 total turnovers this game was enough to give Duke a win that Krzyzewski called the Blue Devils' best effort of the season as a team.
Duke will try to continue the defensive triumphs they had against N.C. State when it face Miami (10-7, 2-3)—the lowest-scoring offense in the ACC—in their only regular-season matchup this season.
Miami has averaged 55.2 points per game in conference play and will have to rely on its defense to slow down the Blue Devils. After installing a matchup zone defense and nearly upsetting then-No. 2 Syracuse—a noted zone-defense program—the Hurricanes have continued to use the strategy in ACC play. Miami held Georgia Tech to just 42 points in a road win last week, as the Hurricanes forced the Yellow Jackets to shoot 29.5 percent from the field. Miami—which boasts the ACC’s fourth-ranked scoring defense—will face its stiffest test yet as it takes on the ACC’s leading offense—Duke enters the contest averaging 82.6 points per game.
While the Hurricane offense has been far from potent this season, head coach Jim Larranaga remains optimistic about his offense's improvement. Miami freshman guard Manu Lecomte has also shown signs of improvement and led the team in scoring with 16 points against Georgia Tech.
While both teams have had freshman step up in the early going in Miami's Lecomte and Duke's Parker, it has been the addition of talented transfer players that have assisted each squad at the forward position this season.
Forward Donnavan Kirk—a senior who started his career with the Hurricanes, transferred to Depaul for two years, and transferred back to Miami this year—scored 21 points against Florida State Jan. 15 and had a 14-point performance against the Yellow Jackets, showing signs he might be finding his groove.
“I had never seen Donnavan play at DePaul, I didn’t see him at all until we started practice," Larrañaga said. "I’ve been impressed with his size and length and great work ethic, and I think he’s getting more and more comfortable as the season wears on. Because my staff and I are getting to learn his offensive game better, I think he’s feeling more comfortable about the opportunities that he’s getting with the offense.”
Duke forward Rodney Hood—a Mississippi State transfer—has also shown signs of improving his play. After leading Duke in scoring through the first three ACC contests, the redshirt sophomore found other ways to contribute against the Wolfpack, helping the defensive effort with three steals of his own.
“I just think his confidence has grown, and he’s become more vocal. Part of it is that when he started the season, he didn’t play last year and didn’t play for Duke," Krzyzewski said. "He’s trying to learn his role while helping others.... The main thing for Rodney is that he shows up every day as an example of how players should show up every day and practice.”
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