Duke basketball suffers UNC hangover during sloppy loss to Miami

David Thompson, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read
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The momentum gained from a dramatic win over North Carolina disappeared 48 hours later for Duke basketball.

The Blue Devils (17-7, 8-5 ACC) came out sluggish at No. 17 Miami and never found their rhythm as a constant stream of turnovers led to a 81-59 blowout loss on Monday night.

The Hurricanes forced Duke into 20 turnovers that led to 20 points and a 26-point second-half lead. The Blue Devils struggled to make shots and allowed their most points since an 84-60 loss to NC State on Jan. 4.

The Hurricanes had four players score in double-figures with Norchard Omier leading the way with 17 points.

Dereck Lively II and Ryan Young led Duke with 11 points apiece.

ACC implications

Miami remained a perfect 13-0 at home this season while Duke fell to 2-5 away from Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Blue Devils, which dropped two games behind Clemson (18-6, 10-3) for first place in the top-heavy Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Hurricanes (19-5, 10-4) entered the week tied in fourth place with NC State (19-5, 9-4) behind Virginia (17-4, 9-3), Pittsburgh (16-7, 9-3) and the Tigers.

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First-half hangover

A UNC hangover was evident in the opening minutes of Monday’s game.

Miami ran out to a 13-1 lead while the Blue Devils missed their first four shots and turned the ball over twice in the opening three minutes. At the 12-minute mark, Duke had 10 points and eight turnovers, trailing 21-10 and hitting just 4 of 17 shots from the field.

Behind 14 points from Jordan Miller, the Hurricanes took a 40-26 halftime lead with a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points and 12 points off Blue Devils’ turnovers.

Up next

Duke will remain on the road for its next game, traveling to Virginia to face the No. 8 Cavaliers on Saturday. This is the first and only regular season matchup before Duke and Virginia this season.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball suffers UNC hangover during sloppy loss to Miami