The teams with the two longest active winning streaks in the ACC square off Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium when No. 2. Duke welcomes Miami with first place on the line.
The Blue Devils enter on a five-game winning streak, while the Hurricanes storm in having won eight in a row. Saturday’s game marks the first time Duke and Miami are meeting with each team undefeated in ACC play, not including an ACC season opener.
Duke has had a balky start to 2022 as games versus Clemson (Dec. 29) and Notre Dame (Jan. 1) were postponed due to the University’s health and safety protocols. The team had just one day of practice on Jan. 3 before beating Georgia Tech, 69-57, on Tuesday.
About Duke
- Duke is averaging 84.0 points and out-scoring opponents by 20.2 points per game, both lead the ACC and rank top 10 nationally.
- The Blue Devils lead the conference and are top 25 nationally in a number of other offensive categories, including field goal shooting, assists, assist/turnover ratio, turnover margin and fewest turnovers.
- Additionally, Duke leads the ACC in fewest fouls per game and blocks, is third in steals, third in field goal defense, third in scoring defense, fourth in three-point defense and fourth in free throw percentage.
- One of the nation’s best ball-handling teams, Duke ranks third in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (+1.84), eighth in fewest turnovers (9.4), 16th in turnover margin (+5.3) and 17th in assists (17.2).
- The Blue Devils have posted a positive assists-to-turnover ratio in each of the last 10 games after starting minus-1 in the opener against Kentucky (eight assists, nine turnovers).
- Duke has assisted on at least 44 percent of its field goals in every game since the opener (eight assists, 25 field goals vs. Kentucky) – and has been 64 percent or better six times this season.
- Duke is forcing 15.6 turnovers, averaging 9.5 steals and owns a +131 margin in points-off-turnover scoring for the season.
- Junior Wendell Moore Jr., is second in the ACC in assists (4.8), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (+2.58), eighth in scoring (16.3) and fourth in field goal percentage (.556) — Moore and Wake’s Alondes Williams are the only players ranked in the top 10 in each category.
- Saturday’s game matches up four of the ACC’s top 10 leading scorers in Duke’s Moore and Paolo Banchero (17.1, 6th) and Miami’s Kameron McGusty (18.3, 5th) and Isaiah Wong (16.3, 7th).
- Banchero leads all power conference true freshmen in scoring at 17.1 points. The Seattle native is sixth in the ACC in rebounding (7.5), 11th in field goal percentage (.487) and 12th in free throw shooting (.767).
- Over Duke’s five-game winning streak, freshman AJ Griffin is averaging 12.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, while shooting .645 from the field, .500 (8-of-16) from three-point range and .800 at the free throw line, with five blocks, 10 assists and one turnover in that span.
- One of the nation’s best ball-handling teams, Duke ranks third in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (+1.84), eighth in fewest turnovers (9.4), 16th in turnover margin (+5.3) and 17th in assists (17.2).
- Duke ranks fourth in the ACC in free throw shooting and have made an ACC best 54 more free throws than opponents have attempted.
About Miami
- Miami is 15-4 in its last 19 games after going 7-17 in the prior 24, owns eight straight wins for the first time since a 10-0 start in 2017-18 and is 4-0 in ACC play for the second time ever.
- Miami is the first team with 88-plus points in three straight 88 ACC regular season games since Duke from 2/25/20-3/7/20.
- After going 43-69 (.384) in ACC play from 2004-11, Miami is 95-90 (.514) in Jim Larrañaga’s 11 seasons, good for the fifth- 95 most ACC wins of any team in the league over that stretch.
- Through 15 games, the Hurricanes have made 233 free throws, 13 more than their opponents have even attempted.
- Since Jim Larrañaga arrived in 2011-12, Miami (6-7) is one of four programs with at least six wins over Duke and one of five with multiple road victories. Miami and North Carolina are the only teams during that stretch with multiple 15-point wins over Duke and the only two with three 10-point victories.
- Hurricanes rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat Syracuse. Down 18 in the final minute of the half, Miami went on a 24-4 run, shooting 6-of-6 from deep, in 5:36 to take the lead, en route to a 37-11 extended surge to go up by eight. This is the second year in a row Miami won a game it trailed by 18-plus, as it overcame a 20-point deficit to top Purdue on 12/8/20.
- Charlie Moore score a team-high 25, while Kameron McGusty added 19 with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
- Isaiah Wong averages 16.3 points to rank seventh in the conference.
- Kameron McGusty leads the team in scoring at 18.3, which is fifth in the ACC. Only three players nationally have been to the free throw line more than McGusty’s 72 attempts this season.
- In the win over Syracuse, Charlie Moore became the eighth player this season to post 25 points, six assists and five rebounds versus a Division I foe without committing multiple turnovers.
- Miami has forced 203 turnovers and committed just 147, good for a +3.73 margin, third-best in the ACC. Only twice have the Hurricanes logged more turnovers than their opponent and they own a 229-150 edge in points off turnovers, a +5.27 margin. Miami is No. 12 nationally in offensive turnover percentage (14.1), per KenPom. In the victory against Syracuse, the Hurricanes logged 14 steals, tied for their second-most ever in an ACC game.
- Surging Miami brings an ACC-leading eight-game winning streak into Saturday’s game, and the Hurricanes sit atop the conference standings at 4-0 along with Louisville (4-0) and Duke (2-0).
- The Canes are 4-0 in ACC play for just the second time in program history. The 2012-13 squad opened 13-0 en route to winning the ACC.
Duke vs Miami
- Duke is 22-8 all-time versus Miami in a series that dates back to the 1962-63 season. Coach K is 22-7 vs. Miami.
- In ACC regular-season games, the series favors Duke 16-7 and Duke won both ACC Tournament meetings (2006 and 2010).
- The Blue Devils are 11-2 versus the Hurricanes at Cameron Indoor.
- Miami escaped with a 77-75 victory in Coral Gables last season as Duke was unable to get a shot off before time expired.
- Last year’s game featured five ties and 20 lead changes. Matthew Hurt scored 21 to lead the Blue Devils, while Wendell Moore Jr., added 18 on 7-of-9 shooting with six rebounds and three assists.
How to Watch
Time: 8:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ACCN (Jay Alter, Malcolm Huckabee)
Stream: Watch ESPN
Radio: Blue Devils Sports Network (David Shumate, John Roth)
Per Release