HALFTIME: Duke 33, Miami 21

In one of the slowest-pace games Duke has played this season, the Blue Devils managed to secure a 12-point lead going into halftime, due to the stellar play of Jabari Parker. Parker, who struggled in both of Duke's ACC road contests this season, led the team with eight points and seven rebounds during the first half. The freshman, along with Quinn Cook, carried the Blue Devils offensively, as the point guard tallied eight points, including six off two successful 3-points. Miami, meanwhile, was paced by forward James Kelly, who notched seven points. Big man Tonye Jerkiri, standing at 7'0", added six points for the Hurricanes while collecting a team-leading three boards.

Observations from the first half:

• A number of high-profile NBA players are in the house: LeBron James and Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat, joined by teammates and former Hurricane James Jones. Injured Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant is here too, as are former Blue Devils Shane Battier (Heat) and Ryan Kelly (Lakers). Wade, James, Bryant all played for Coach K on Team USA.
• Duke won the turnover battle, forcing Miami to commit eight while only giving up four themselves. Although freshman Matt Jones was the only starter to not score a point, his tight defense allowed the Blue Devils to hold the Hurricanes to 21 points, the second lowest output for a Duke opponent in the first half this year. Elon scored only 18.
• After a quiet start, Rodney Hood caught fire to close out the half, dunking twice on consecutive possessions in 21 seconds.
• The slow pace of play was only dragged out even more when Josh Hairston was called for a blocking call, that after a lengthy delay was changed to a double foul.