Five observations from Duke men's basketball's first half against Miami

Despite the casual look from Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke coaching staff, the Blue Devils were all business Tuesday night.
Despite the casual look from Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke coaching staff, the Blue Devils were all business Tuesday night.

Coming off of two straight losses, the Blue Devils rebounded in style Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium, bullying a visiting Miami team to the tune of a 48-24 advantage. Here are five observations from the opening period.

Stability in the starting lineup

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has consistently emphasized that all 10 members of Duke’s rotation can consider themselves starters, but Krzyzewski has seemingly found his five. For the fourth straight game, Tre Jones, Jordan Goldwire, Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. notched the start. As long as Wendell Moore Jr. remains sidelined with a hand injury, expect this crew to continue to start for the Blue Devils.

It’s raining threes (hallelujah)

After connecting on just 24 percent of its looks from beyond the arc in Saturday’s loss to Louisville, Duke found its rhythm early against Miami, making nine 3-pointers on a scorching 56.3 percent rate. The Blue Devils drained four triples before the under-16 media timeout even hit, building a big lead before the Hurricanes could even adjust to seeing Coach K in a suit and sneakers.

Miami can’t score

With just 24 points at the half, Miami is threatening to match Boston College’s 49-point output for the lowest point total of any Duke opponent this season. The Hurricanes may capture the dubious record thanks to a dismal 27.8 percent clip from the field and all-around inept offensive performance.

Duke’s stars struggle offensively, but it doesn’t matter

The Blue Devils fell to the Cardinals last Saturday due in large part to a subpar first-half effort from Jones and Carey. Well, Duke’s star pair similarly struggled to score Tuesday, with Jones scoring six points on 2-of-7 shooting and Carey scoring six points on 2-of-5 shooting. But this time around, the Blue Devils are sitting pretty with a hefty lead heading into the locker room. Duke’s success largely stemmed from a balanced scoring attack, with seven players notching a point in the period.

Player of the half: Matthew Hurt

Hurt may not be the Blue Devils’ most prolific scorer, but the freshman forward has cemented himself as the early spark for Duke’s offense of late. Hurt scored first against Clemson and Louisville, continuing his streak Tuesday night with a 3-pointer on the Blue Devils’ first possession. The Rochester, Minn., native would knock down another trey on Duke’s next time down the floor, finishing the half with 15 points.

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