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The No. 8 Duke Blue Devils came into Tuesday night’s meeting with the Miami Hurricanes having lost two consecutive games. They left their cozy confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fourth straight win over UM.
That’s because the Canes were once again crushed by the Blue Devils, 89-59. Miami was down by as much as 33 Tuesday and have fallen by an average of 31 points in their last three games in the head-to-head series. It’s the second defeat Jim Larrañaga’s program has suffered at the hands of the Durham blue bloods this month, after falling 95-62 in Coral Gables on Jan. 4. The loss is also UM’s third in a row and their fifth in six games.
Miami fell to 10-8 and 2-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while Duke got back in the win column after losing to Clemson and No. 6 Louisville.
The Blue Devils outshot UM 53.1-30% from the field and 44-22.2% from beyond the arc. Such massive statistical pitfalls doomed the Canes chances in the game, with Miami additionally getting out-rebounded 39-35.
Only six Canes scored Tuesday. Chris Lykes only managed nine points on an evening where Miami needed more from the point guard, while Rodney Miller and Kameron McGusty shared a team-high 13 points each. Vasiljevic logged 12 points on 2-6 3-point shooting, while Isaiah Wong and Anthony Walker added eight and four points.
Miller’s career-high nine rebounds nearly gave him a double-double, which would've been his first as a Hurricane.
Matthew Hurt led the Blue Devils with a game-high 22 points, while Tre Jones and Vernon Carey also boasted a double-figure outing with 16 and 11 points respectively. Javin DeLaurier had a team-high nine rebounds for Duke.
Miami was down by 29 before even getting to halftime and being able to ponder the margin. Heading to intermission, UM was doubled in points, 48-24. It was the lowest scoring first half for the Canes this season.
Lykes was scoreless after the first 20 minutes, going 0-7 from the field. As a team, the Hurricanes made just one of 10 3-point shot attempts in the opening half.
UM stays in the Research Triangle for the remainder of the week, facing the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center 12 p.m. Saturday. Miami returns home in time for their next matchup at the Watsco Center on Jan. 28 against Virginia Tech.