The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils traveled to Coral Gables and routed the Miami Hurricanes 97-60 on Tuesday night. When the best team in the ACC plays the worst team in the conference – what else could one expect? The Watsco Center saw its biggest crowd of the season, and the Durham presence was felt as most of the crowd was wearing Blue.
The freshman trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Isaiah Evans were outstanding. Knueppel was Duke’s leading scorer with 20 points. Evans, who played a season-high 26 minutes, dropped all 16 points of his points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Over the last three games, Evans is averaging 16.7 PPG while shooting 68.4% from three and 66.1% from the field. Flagg also recorded 16 points.
🏀 Duke freshman Isaiah Evans last 3 games…
@ Miami (W): 16 points. 5-10 FG. 5-8 3P.
Illinois (W): 17 points. 5-8 FG. 3-5 3P.
@ Virginia (W): 17 points. 6-7 FG. 5-6 3P.In the 13 games Evans has played 15+ minutes, he is averaging 11.8 points shooting 53.2% 3P on 6.1 attempts. pic.twitter.com/VUvtozGhtf
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) February 26, 2025
It was obvious that Duke was the better and more complete team when they opened the game on a 15-2 run. Their defense was just suffocating and after a couple of great shots around the perimeter, the game seemed to be slipping away from the Canes just over six minutes in.
If you are a Miami fan, there were some positive takeaways. Jalil Bethea knocked down some incredible deep shots as he dropped 11 points in the first half. He finished the game with just 13, though. Lynn Kidd led Miami with 17 points. Both had to step into larger scoring roles with the absence of Nijel Pack, who has been dealing with a foot injury that has had him sidelined for most of his senior season. Matthew Cleveland, Miami’s leading scorer on the season, was also inactive due to a leg injury.
Simply put, Duke was the more physical and faster team. Bill Courtney’s team could not compete with the talent and depth of Duke’s complete roster.
“They [Duke] are very very good, that’s my statement,” Courtney said postgame. It really was that simple. It’s not as if anyone who has been around college basketball this season was arguing differently or that Miami was expected to win.
Duke is now 25-3 on the season while Miami falls to 6-22. Both teams have just three games left as the Blue Devils will travel back home to face the Florida State Seminoles while the Hurricanes will fly to North Carolina, but this time to face the Tar Heels.