Duke's men's hoops keeping it going

Miami the latest victim

On paper Duke’s home game against Miami was one of the easiest ACC games of the season.

In reality, it was easier than that. Try 89-54 and unlike the Pitt game, Jon Scheyer called off the dogs. It could have been worse.

We talk about NIL and the transfer portal as a way to build or rebuild a program. Look at Louisville.

But it can work the other way. Just two years ago Miami’s Nijel Pack was the poster child for NIL. Holdover Isaiah Wong was ACC Player of the Year and Miami made the 2023 Final Four. Duke’s win over Miami in the 2023 ACC Tournament was epic.

But it’s a what-have-you-done-lately universe. The NIL money didn’t keep up, Jim Larranaga gave up and Miami is one of the worst power-conference teams around. Their loss Tuesday night dropped them to 0-6 in the ACC, a ghastly 4-13 overall.

That’s one part of the equation blow-out.

The other part is that Duke is really good and just getting better and better and it’s still the middle of January. Duke is 7-0 ACC, 15-2 overall, owners of an 11-game winning streak, a handful of possessions away from 17-0.

Had South Carolina (against Auburn) and Texas Tech (against Iowa State) taken care of business from the foul line last Saturday, Duke would be ranked number one nationally.

Duke never trailed against the Hurricanes. It was tied and was close for five minutes or so. Duke led 9-8 when Kon Knueppel hit a triple, then Mason Gillis, then Gillis again, then Knueppel again, four 3-pointers in a two-minute span and it was 21-8. A 14-0 run later in the half and it was 44-17.

Duke led 50-26 at the half.

Duke’s second-half lead never dropped below 19 and peaked at 36.

“You have to earn a big lead,” Scheyer said. “You have to earn separation. And then, once you do, for us, we talk about having a killer instinct, having our foot on the gas. These guys have always responded. We talked about last game. I thought they showed great maturity.”

In other words, no more Notre Dames.

Duke’s dominance was total. Miami made 6 of 20 from beyond the arc. Knueppel was 6 for 8, Duke 17 for 32.

“A lot of unselfishness leads to a lot of open shots,” Knueppel said “and I thought we did a good job of making the extra pass tonight. It’s beautiful basketball when almost all of your field goals are assisted, and it’s really fun to play that way.”

Duke outrebounded Miami 43-22. Khaman Maluach had 15 for Duke, in only 20 minutes. He added 12 points, making 6 of 7 from the field.

“I’ve always been aggressive,” Maluach said of his rebounding. “I would just say that I’ve been learning more on how to get rebounds, not jumping for blocks I’m not supposed to jump for, and being able to stay and get it. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Patrick Ngongba added five rebounds in 18 minutes. That means Duke’s two posts almost matched Miami’s entire rebounding total.

Perhaps most impressively, Duke assisted on 25 of 34 made field goals. Sion James had five assists in 19 minutes.

“I think we have found out how good we can be when we share it,” Scheyer said. “I think our guys have fallen in love with that, and we continue to do it. Cooper's passing, I thought, was terrific. He also had some plays where he knows he has to be stronger and tighter, but I think he’s a big reason [for our ball movement].

“I thought all of our guys [passed well] even though it doesn’t translate to assists. Tyrese had two assists, but I thought he had a lot of passes that led to something good, and that’s something we try to emphasize: It’s not just the assists, it’s making the right basketball play.”

Duke did all this without a transcendent performance from Cooper Flagg. Oh, he was good, 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists. But those six turnovers are sub-optimal.

Knueppel ended with 25 points.

And the bench. Mason Gillis (12), Caleb Foster (9) and Isaiah Evans (8) combined for 29 points, hitting 8 for 15 from beyond the arc.

Foster came in for special praise from Scheyer.

“For him to see the ball go in in the second half was great.”

So did Ngongba.

“I thought he gave us some really good minutes. He’s still working through stuff and I thought he gave us a big lift.”

Yes, Duke will miss Maliq Brown somewhere down the line. Maybe. But not last night. Probably not Saturday night at Boston College either.

Duke not only is 7-0 in ACC play, but six of those wins are by double digits, five by at least 23 points.

And still getting better.