When then-No. 1 Duke and Miami met Jan. 23 in Coral Gables, Fla., the Hurricanes handed the Blue Devils a 90-63 drubbing, marking the third-worst loss by a No. 1 team in Division I history. No. 3 Duke exacted revenge against No. 5 Miami in exciting fashion tonight, taking down the Hurricanes 79-76 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Here’s your postgame recap:
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Production from the power forward spot: Will the White Raven fly? Tonight marked not only the return of the White Raven, but also the best performance of his career. To say that senior Ryan Kelly showed no signs of rust when he returned to the hardwood after being sidelined due to injury Jan. 8 would be an understatement. The forward led the team with 36 points and seven rebounds after weeks of not practicing. Josh Hairston had two points and two rebounds while Amile Jefferson didn't see any action.
- Get Mason Plumlee his shots. Recently, Plumlee has been below his season averages of 10.3 field goal attempts and 7.6 free throw attempts per game. That didn't change tonight, as he took nine shots from the field and made just four trips to the free throw line.
- The point guard matchup: Quinn Cook vs. Shane Larkin. Larkin won the point guard matchup as far as scoring is concerned. The sophomore floor general led Miami in scoring with 25 points, while Cook scored 15. Cook doled out five assists, one more than Larkin, and both point guards pulled down four rebounds.
Three key plays:
- 4:57, first half. Sophomore Quinn Cook dished the ball to Kelly, who knocked down a three-pointer to make the score 27-25 Miami. Less than two minutes before, the Hurricanes had a seven-point advantage. After Kelly trimmed this advantage to two with his shot from long range, Miami called a timeout in an effort to regroup.
- 2:08, first half. Cook made a layup, capping a 13-4 run that gave the Blue Devils a 33-31 lead. After Duke rallied back from its seven-point deficit, they never trailed by more than three points for the rest of the game.
- 1:56, second half. Cook converted on a three-point jumper, giving the Blue Devils a 75-65 lead that they would not relinquish. Duke's 10-point advantage was its largest of the game.
Three key stats:
- Ryan Kelly scored 45.6% of Duke's points. With almost half of the Blue Devils' points, Kelly carried the Blue Devils to a tightly-contested victory. Kelly's night ended with a career-high 36 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field—7-for-9 from three point range.
- The Blue Devils shot 47.8% from long range. Duke's sharp shooting from behind-the-arc was key in the win, as 33 of the Blue Devils points came from three-pointers. The three-point percentage was aided greatly by Kelly's 7-for-9 performance. The rest of the team was just 4-for-14. Miami's three-point field-goal percentage, by contrast, was 28.6.
- Miami outrebounded Duke 37-25. Teams have been having their way with the Blue Devils—who were outrebounded 33-21 by Virginia Thursday—on the boards. Rebounding is an area that Duke will need to work on as the postseason draws closer.
And the Duke game ball goes to … Ryan Kelly. The senior forward turned in a career performance tonight, carrying the team with 36 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-14 shooting, including 7-of-9 from long range. He also made nine of 12 shots from the charity stripe. Kelly was undoubtedly the best player on the floor tonight.
And the Miami game ball goes to … Kenny Kadji. The senior was the only player on the floor with a double-double, scoring 17 points—including two threes—and grabbing 10 rebounds.
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