After ending their longest losing streak in nine seasons Saturday at N.C. State, the Blue Devils have little time to gear up for their next challenge—a road tilt against another preseason ACC favorite.
No. 24 Duke travels to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on No. 15 Miami Monday at 7 p.m. at the BankUnited Center for just its second game against a ranked opponent this season. The Blue Devils are a much different team than the one that fell to then-No. 2 Kentucky 74-63 Nov. 17 and the one that played with senior forward Amile Jefferson until Dec. 14, but will look to continue where they left off Saturday against the Wolfpack. Duke played one of its best halves of the season to turn a seven-point halftime deficit into a 10-point win, shooting 71 percent and limiting a hobbled Anthony "Cat" Barber—the ACC's leading scorer—to five points after intermission.
Although sterling performances from guard Grayson Allen and swingman Brandon Ingram—who combined for 53 points—highlighted Saturday's win, the Blue Devils will likely be more focused on slowing down the Hurricane guards with another consistent defensive effort on the perimeter. Senior guards Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan are the focal points of head coach Jim Larrañaga's offense and engineered Miami's 90-74 rout of Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium last season.
The Blue Devils endured a quick Saturday-Monday turnaround last week as well, falling 64-62 to Syracuse on the back end. With very little time to both recover from the win in Raleigh and implement a game plan for the Hurricanes, Duke's depth-strapped rotation will have to buckle down defensively.
"We had a week to prepare for [the N.C. State] game—we only have a day to prepare for Miami, so even more we just have to prepare and use our experience—take what we learned from the three losses and just keep chipping away," junior guard Matt Jones said Saturday.
The Blue Devils (15-5, 4-3 in the ACC) and Hurricanes were picked to finish in the top five in the ACC, but both teams lost two of their first five games in league play. Miami bounced back from losses at Clemson and then-No. 13 Virginia by knocking off Wake Forest and Boston College at home, while Duke dropped another game to Syracuse before its win Saturday, making Monday's game against the Hurricanes even more critical for the Blue Devils to avoid falling another game behind the top teams in the conference.
To avenge last season's loss to Miami (15-3, 4-2), the Blue Devils will need to find an answer for the Hurricanes' penetration. A transfer from Texas, McClellan spearheads the attack, averaging 16.0 points per game to lead nine Miami players who log more than 10 minutes per contest. But Rodriguez—who started his career at Kansas State—will be just as much of a priority for Duke because of his ability to get senior center Tonye Jekiri and sharpshooter Davon Reed involved after attacking off the bounce.
Although Rodriguez is shooting just 40.3 percent from the field this season, the memories of the 5-foot-11 guard torching the Blue Devil defense for 24 points and five assists last season will be cause for concern. Last year's loss prompted Duke to embrace more zone looks defensively for the rest of the season—Saturday, head coach Mike Krzyzewski threw a myriad of defensive schemes at the Wolfpack, including some extended zone.
On the other end of the court, the Blue Devils will pit their four-out, one-in attack featuring Ingram at the power forward position against a defense that ranks 17th in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's defensive efficiency metric. Duke—led by Allen and Ingram—ranks second in the country in offensive efficiency but will only be able to take advantage of its small lineup if it can neutralize Jekiri and forward Kamari Murphy on the glass.
"We’ve got to be in love with doing dirty work, whether that be getting rebounds or getting a stop, and that’s an adjustment we’re making," center Marshall Plumlee said after Saturday's game.
In addition to taxing Duke's limited depth—sophomore reserve guard Ja'Quan Newton ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points in just 21.8 minutes per game—the Hurricanes' veteran squad will test the Blue Devils' maturity. Four of Miami's five starters are seniors trying to leave their mark in a pivotal game for both teams still relatively early in ACC play. The Blue Devils still have two contests apiece against the top two teams in the conference—North Carolina and Louisville—as well as a game against Virginia, meaning a team that has been trying to play well beyond its years will need to come up with a statement win to avoid an even bigger uphill battle in the standings.
"They’re maturing, they’re becoming more men now than boys," Krzyzewski said after the game against the Wolfpack.
Come Monday night, that transformation will need to continue to keep the Blue Devils above .500 in ACC play.
Ryan Hoerger and Seth Johnson contributed reporting.
This story was updated at 2:10 p.m. to reflect the latest edition of the AP top 25 rankings released Monday afternoon.
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