After getting a wake-up call in their first two ACC road games, the Blue Devils will return home looking to bounce back.
No. 4 Duke will host a dangerous Miami squad Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium coming off a narrow win at Wake Forest and its first loss of the season Sunday at N.C. State. Just like the Wolfpack, the Hurricanes are led by a pair of dynamic transfer guards—Kansas State transfer Angel Rodriguez and Texas transfer Sheldon McClellan—who can heat up in a hurry, so the Blue Devils will look to fix the defensive breakdowns that let N.C. State rack up 87 points.
"We know being in the ACC, you need to rebound very quickly," assistant coach Jon Scheyer said. "We’re disappointed with the loss. We need to get better and we need to respond. In the ACC, every win is so important, so we really need to bounce back and play defense and come together and get this win."
The duo of Rodriguez and McClellan leads the way for the Hurricanes by averaging 30.0 points per game, but head coach Jim Larranaga's squad also relies on the 3-point shot to put up points. Miami (11-4, 1-1 in the ACC) averages more than eight triples per game and has six players who have made 10 or more shots beyond the arc this season, led by Rodriguez, McClellan and the third starting Hurricane guard, Manu Lecomte. The Belgian sophomore shoots 42.2 percent from long range and provides floor spacing when Rodriguez and McClellan attack off the bounce.
"They have a scorer's mentality," Scheyer said. "Anytime you make a mistake, they’re going to always attack. They’re guys who can miss three in a row and still have that confidence where they’re going to shoot the fourth one with no hesitation."
After letting Wolfpack star Trevor Lacey heat up and nail five 3-pointers Sunday and N.C. State go 10-of-16 to pull off the upset, holding Miami closer to the Duke opponent average of 27 percent from distance will also be key for the Blue Devils (14-1, 2-1) to get back on track.
If Duke can settle its defense, it should be able to successfully play through freshman center Jahlil Okafor and control the tempo of the game. The Demon Deacons and Wolfpack had success doubling the Chicago native on the catch with a second big man, but regardless of what strategy Larranaga chooses, he will need strong play from 7-foot center Tonye Jekiri to slow down the Preseason AP National Player of the Year.
Jekiri averages 7.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest and will look to find the same real estate in the paint against Okafor and company that Wake Forest's Devin Thomas and N.C. State's BeeJay Anya exploited. On the other end, Jekiri averages 1.7 blocks per game and will need to anchor the Hurricane defense when Miami is caught rotating and gives up dribble penetration.
"[Jekiri's] old. He’s a veteran who knows who he is," Scheyer said. "He complements those guys very well. He’s a great screener, he rolls to the basket very hard [and] he’s always on the offensive boards. He’s a great energy player and we’re going to need to contain him because he’s always moving and he plays very hard."
Duke shot 27 three-pointers and made just seven Sunday and had 10 shots blocked, so showing more patience and not letting the defense dictate shot selection will be the primary goal on offense for the Blue Devils.
"We had some good looks when they doubled [against N.C. State], it’s just a matter of taking advantage of it," Scheyer said. "Jahlil’s doing a good job of handling the double teams and finding open guys, but we just need to make them pay for it."
Regardless of any adjustments Duke makes with its schemes, it has seen the competitive spirit needed to win ACC games and hopes it can get back to playing with an edge.
"We should never come out of a game where we say the other team wanted it more, they were diving for loose balls when we weren’t or going harder for rebounds," Scheyer said. "Those are things that we can control. Every game, that should never be a question."
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