Duke basketball turns tide, crushes Hurricanes

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—There were countless stars in attendance at the BankUnited Center to watch Duke beat Miami 67-46.

LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Kendall Marshall, Shane Battier, James Jones—even former Blue Devil Ryan Kelly was in the building. Kelly may not be of star caliber yet, having started only 20 games for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he’s played an enormous role in the Duke-Miami rivalry. His performance against the Hurricanes last season—featuring the re-emergence of the White Raven—was, as head coach Mike Krzyzewski said at the time, “one for the ages.”

After sitting out with a foot injury for two months, Kelly shined in his return against then-No. 5 Miami, scoring 36 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes. It also served as revenge for the Blue Devils’ meeting against the Hurricanes earlier in the season, when Miami gave Duke a 90-63 drubbing.

“We got killed, so yeah,” Krzyzewski said when asked if he was thinking about last season’s loss. “But they don’t have the same team.”

After struggling in No. 18 Duke’s first two ACC road games, freshman Jabari Parker tallied a team-high 17 points in 32 minutes on the court. Parker is the best candidate on the current Duke squad to join the superstars in attendance one day as the cream of the crop of the NBA.

“When Jabari takes off full court, I want LeBron to show him that you don’t lose the ball,” Krzyzewski joked. “Those guys [in attendance], they’ve really set a great example of how you should play the game and how you should love the game. I think it’s filtered through all aspects of U.S. basketball now… and it starts with those guys.”

Parker’s double-double was only the beginning for the Duke team as a whole. The Blue Devils’ biggest advantage over the Hurricanes came on the glass, led by Parker’s career-high 15 boards. Jefferson added seven of his own, continuing his hot rebounding streak that can be traced all the way back to Dec. 16 against Gardner-Webb.

“When you see a guy like Amile, who’s playing really well, sometimes you feed off of that,” Krzyzewski said. “Maybe [opponents] are trying to block Amile off, so that opens it up for Jabari. But whatever’s happening, I hope it continues to happen.”

Rodney Hood followed Jefferson with six boards of his own and was the only Duke player besides Parker to score in double figures, with 12 points. Hood started off the game quietly, with only three points in the first 18:44 of play. With only 1:16 remaining in the first half, Hood dunked twice in 21 seconds to send the Blue Devils into the locker room with a commanding 12-point lead.

The rest of Duke’s scoring was fairly balanced—starters Jefferson, Quinn Cook and Matt Jones combined to tally 21 points. Off the bench, Rasheed Sulaimon, Andre Dawkins and Josh Hairston combined for another 17.

Instead of relying on his superstar tandem of Parker and Hood, Krzyzewski needed his entire team to counter Miami’s slow pace. The Hurricanes are known for their long possessions, with their opponents averaging only 58.5 points per game as a result. Syracuse, the first-place team in the ACC, only managed 49 against a 12th-place Hurricane squad.

Duke is first in scoring offense in the ACC, averaging 82.6 points per game coming into Wednesday's showdown. Its 67 points scored against Miami are the most the Hurricanes have given up so far in conference play.

“The zone defense Miami puts up is hard to play against,” Krzyzewski said. “Their possessions are long, and because they play their slow tempo… our depth helped keep up a good level of intensity on defense. Otherwise they’d wear you out.”

As a response to the Hurricanes' defensive intensity, Krzyzewski continued to employ his five-for-five substitution patterns at the beginning of each half. A tactic that for some teams could prevent players from finding their rhythm early in games has proven beneficial for the Blue Devils, allowing the team to tap into its depth early.

“We played really well as a unit,” Jefferson said. “When guys come in the game they’re ready. We don’t lose anything when we do that hockey stuff, and it's great for us to stay fresh and stay focused.”

Duke’s schedule will only increase in difficulty as January comes to a close, highlighted by showdowns at No. 20 Pittsburgh Monday and No. 2 Syracuse the following weekend. After its first road ACC win—a team victory for the Blue Devils—Duke will take its three-game win streak back to Durham before traveling to the Northeast.

“Offensively and defensively, it was a great team win for us,” Jefferson said. “It’s our first road win, and now we just have to keep building up on it.”