Duke Blue Devils at Miami Hurricanes, BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, FL
Sunday, February 13, 2011, 6:45 pm Eastern, TV: Fox Sports Net
Opening Line: Duke -10
Current Line: Duke -9 1/2
Opening Total: 146 1/2
Current Total: 145
Money Line: Duke -525 / Miami +425
After an emotional 79-73 come from behind victory at home against arch-rival North Carolina, Duke travels to Miami to take on a Hurricane team that has won 3 straight. Duke was down by 16 in the second half before mounting an epic comeback to beat North Carolina, led by Nolan Smith with 34 points and Seth Curry added 22 off the bench. Duke is 22-2 overall and 9-1 in the ACC. The Blue Devils are ranked #5 in both polls. Miami is 15-9 overall and 4-6 in the ACC. Duke has losses to Florida St and St. John’s on the season. The Blue Devils have wins over Princeton, Marquette, Kansas St, Oregon, Michigan St, Butler, Miami (both Florida and Ohio), Maryland twice, Virginia, NC State twice, Wake Forest, and Boston College. Duke opened ACC play January 2 at home versus Miami and won 74-63. Miami has additional losses to Memphis, Rutgers, Central Florida, Clemson, Florida St, NC State, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech. Miami has played 8 straight games decided by 4 points or less. Before their current three game winning streak, Miami had lost 4 in a row. Miami beat Wake Forest 74-73 on the road Wednesday night. Miami has additional wins over Ole Miss, West Virginia, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Virginia on the season.
Duke leads the all time series against Miami 14-2, including 3-1 at the BankUnited Center. Duke has won 4 in a row in the series, but Miami is 3-0-1 ATS in those games. All 4 games went over the total.
Duke has been playing without guard Kyrie Irving since early December who is out with a foot injury. Duke has three other players besides Irving who are averaging double digit scoring. Senior guard Nolan Smith is averaging 21.5 points to lead the team, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists to lead the team, and 1.5 steals a game to lead the team. Smith is leading the ACC in both points and assists, something no other player has done in the history of the league for a full season. Forward Kyle Singler is averaging 17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. Guard Andre Dawkins, averages 9.7 points and 2.1 rebounds a game. Guard Seth Curry averages 8.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.3 steals a game off the bench. Mason Plumlee leads the team in rebounds with 8.8 a game and blocks with 1.8 a game. Duke is outscoring opponents 84-65 on the season. The Blue Devils are shooting 48.2% from the field and 39.6% from 3-point range. Duke opponents are shooting 40.6% from the field. Duke makes 73.7% of their free throws. The Blue Devils average 36.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +3.3. The Devils average 14.5 assists and 11.6 turnovers a game. Duke forces 15.6 turnovers a game on defense. Duke averages 4.4 blocks and 8 steals a game.
Miami is healthy right now with no significant injuries. Miami is led by guard Malcolm Grant. He is averaging 15.2 points to lead the team, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists a game to lead the team. Grant is shooting 43.4% from 3-point range. Guard Durand Scott is averaging 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1 steal a game. Forward Reggie Johnson averages 12.5 points, 9.8 rebounds to lead the team and 1.3 blocks a game to also lead the team. Guard Garrius Anderson leads the team in steals with 1.1 a game. Miami is outscoring opponents 73-68 on the year. Miami is shooting 44.6% from the field and 38.2% from 3-point range. Miami opponents are shooting 41.7% from the field. Miami is shooting 73.3% from the free throw line. The Hurricanes average 36.5 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +4. Miami averages 11.4 assists and 13.6 turnovers a game. Miami forces 11.9 turnovers a game on defense. They average 5.8 steals and 3.5 blocks a game.
After such an emotional win, it would be natural for Duke to have a little bit of an emotional let down against Miami, though Duke is clearly the superior team. Miami usually plays Duke tough anyway. Miami is on an amazing stretch of 8 games where every game was decided on essentially the last possession. I see another close game, but Duke wins and doesn’t cover.
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