Yahoo Movies Duke basketball’s road woes continue. Blue Devils struggle in 81-59 ACC loss to Miami
Duke expended plenty of emotions to beat rival North Carolina Saturday and hoped it had more to pour into Monday night’s game at No. 19 Miami.
That hope proved unfounded.
The Blue Devils’ offense faltered as they fell into a 12-point hole before they made their first shot as Miami rolled to a 81-59 ACC basketball win at Watsco Center.
Two days after beating the Tar Heels 63-57 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke missed 16 of its first 20 shots against the Hurricanes. The Blue Devils (17-7, 8-5 ACC) finished at 40.7% from the field, making just 5 of 19 3-pointers while turning the ball over 21 times. That tied for Duke’s most turnovers in a game this season.
Ryan Young and Dereck Lively each scored 11 points to lead Duke while Jeremy Roach scored 10, a sign of how little production the Blue Devils got from their perimeter game.
The smaller Hurricanes even gained a 38-31 rebounding edge over the Blue Devils, who have a pair of 7-foot freshmen in the starting lineup in Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively.
Miami (19-5, 10-4) shot 47.8% and had four players -- all starters -- score in double figures. Norchad Omier led the way with 17 points, while Jordan Miller added 16. Wooga Poplar scored 14 points and Isaiah Wong tallied 11.
After jumping to a 13-1 lead, Miami led 40-26 at halftime and scored the first nine points of the second half to squash any hopes Duke had for a comeback.
Duke’s struggles on offense were evident from the game’s start as Miami scored the first five points and built a 13-1 lead before the Blue Devils made their first shot from the field.
By the time the teams had played 14 minutes, Duke had nearly as many turnovers (nine) as points with Miami leading 26-10. At that point, Duke had made just 4 of 20 shots, including 1 of 8 on 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, Miami kept pouring it on with its balanced scoring. Miller had 14 points at halftime while Omier scored 10 points and Wong nine.
The Hurricanes’ lead grew as large as 17 points when Wong hit two free throws to put them up 34-17 with 3:33 to play.
A couple of Young baskets helped Duke slice the deficit to 12 points at 36-24. But baskets in the final minute from Miller and Omier gave Miami a 40-26 halftime lead.
