Duke, despite losing three straight to unranked teams, isn’t out of the running for top spot in the league, either. Grayson Allen can knock down shots as well, plus Brandon Ingram might be the best overall player on the floor and will need to have a big game if Duke is going to win.
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“I can’t have loose ball drills”, he said. “We’re fighting like insane”.
No. 24 Duke trailed for the final 24 minutes Monday night, made a late charge that fell short and lost to No. 15 Miami, 80-69.
“That kind of defense was what separated us when the game was tied at 48 and they couldn’t get as many easy baskets as they did in the first half”. “There was no other option”.
“We’re trying to encourage them”, Larranaga said. “That’s where we won the game, just not going whacky”.
Shooting 70.8 percent in the second half didn’t hurt Duke’s cause, either.
The Blue Devils displayed both on Saturday, exploding for 52 second-half points on 71 percent shooting after intermission.
“What was the whole key to the game, offensively, we had 24 assists and seven turnovers”.
But this Blue Devils team isn’t like the last one or any in recent memory.
“The emphasis this week was on our preparation”, he said.
No. 15 Miami has been profitable for bettors as a home team in 2015-16 and will play host to No. 20 Duke tonight at 7:00PM ET on ESPN. The redshirt senior point guard also tallied three assists and three rebounds to go with his 11 points in the first half. Davon Reed added 14 points, and Tonye Jekiri had 10 rebounds, six offensive.
Out of the break Miami held to form in dominating in the second half as the Canes used a 10-4 run to extend their lead to 45-35. “We have to suck it up”.
“We played with a lot of energy”, McClellan said, “and it starts on the defensive end”. The coach said he was particularly pleased with Duke’s 31-28 rebounding edge.
Abu and guard Caleb Martin each scored 14 points, guard Cody Martin added 13 points and guard Maverick Rowan had 12 points for the Wolfpack. Jefferson wasn’t wearing a boot Saturday but Krzyzewski said there’s “still no timetable” on his return.
N.C. State made only 2-of-12 3-point shots in the second half against mostly a zone set-up from Duke.
Jones scored 10 first-half points to lead Duke. It was a different A-Rod – point guard Angel Rodriguez – who stole the spotlight, finishing with 13 points and 11 assists to lead the Hurricanes (16-3, 5-2).
“I thought I wasn’t as aggressive in the first half as I was in the second half”.
NOTES: Duke leads the all-time series 144-99….
Not too long ago Miami beating Duke was a big deal, now though, it’s just the expectation. There were a few thousand empty seats because of the after-effects of a winter storm and the governor’s pleas for fans to stay home and watch on television….
The bench isn’t contributing much, which is a concern against a Miami team that usually goes nine or 10 deep.
Duke: Jones hit two 3-pointers during the 14-0 run….
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Duke’s schedule set up favorably: four days off, game at N.C. State Saturday, game at Miami Monday, seven days off. So Mike Krzyzewski pushed his team hard leading up to the game against the Wolfpack with the hope that the momentum could carry over into Monday’s game as well.
