What you need to know about No. 17 Miami Hurricanes’ road game at Duke on Saturday
A year ago, the University of Miami men’s basketball team showed up at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium seeking respect and an upset against the then-No. 2 Blue Devils.
They got both. Despite entering that game atop the Atlantic Coast Conference and riding an eight-game win streak, the Hurricanes were 15-point underdogs against the Blue Devils. The experienced, fearless UM team blitzed, trapped, and stunned Duke 76-74, silencing the typically boisterous Cameron Crazies.
It is a completely different story heading into Saturday’s noon ESPN game between Miami and Duke. This year, for the first time in the series history, the Hurricanes are ranked, and the Blue Devils are not.
UM is 15-3, ranked No. 17, and in second place in the ACC with a 6-2 league record. Duke is 13-5 with a 4-3 league record and slipped out of the Top 25 after a loss to Clemson last weekend.
The Blue Devils have lost three of their past six games, including one by 24 points to NC State, a team Miami took to overtime. But Duke is 9-0 at home and the Hurricanes are expecting a tough road game. It is the first of a three-game swing away from home.
One thing that hasn’t changed is Duke’s height advantage.
“Last year they had Mark Williams who was 7-1, now they’ve got Dereck Lively, who’s 7-1. They had [Paolo] Banchero 6-10, now they have Kyle Filipowski, who’s 6-10 or 6-11,” said UM coach Jim Larranaga. “Filipowski is a very aggressive offensive player. But last year we played very well at Cameron and were able to come away with a two-point victory.”
Miami got 15 steals against Duke on that day and forced Duke into a season-high 17 turnovers. Charlie Moore led UM with 18 points and had seven steals, a UM record in ACC play.
The Canes also outscored the Blue Devils 52-38 in the paint and four players scored in double figures. Jordan Miller had 17 and Isaiah Wong had 15, 10 in the second half.
This year, covering Duke’s big men will fall largely on Miami’s energetic 6-7 power forward Norchad Omier. One key will be for him to stay out of foul trouble.
“Our other guys need to help [Omier], so he’s not just an island by himself with those big dudes down here,” said UM assistant coach DJ Irving.
Larranaga agreed.
“We have a much different team this year,” Larranaga said. “We’re shorter. We don’t force as many turnovers and don’t defensive rebound quite as well as we need to, and Duke’s team is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. We’ve got to guard Filipowski very well, keep them all off the boards while not letting their guards kill us from the perimeter.”
Duke guard and captain Jeremy Roach has missed the past three games with a toe injury and is questionable for Saturday.
Miller has great memories of the win at Duke last year.
“They’re called the Cameron Crazies for a reason,” Miller said. “The gym’s always electric, a lot of blue…I remember how amped up we were to play there. They were ranked No. 2. Even with Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] gone, they are still a pretty good team. We both have something to prove.”
The Hurricanes were 2-15 against Duke before Larranaga’s arrival. Since he took over, they are 7-8, including 3-4 at Cameron.