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Duke at Miami Game Preview

Fresh off a convincing victory over Clemson, Duke will look to knock off Miami in hopes of winning their third straight game. A win would give Duke their second three game winning streak in ACC play this season. Since the Louisville loss, this team seems to have regrouped. Duke will hope to keep the ball rolling in this game.

Miami is a team that is in free fall right now. The team is currently on a four game losing streak, with the average margin of defeat being 18.5 points per game. Their last win came on January 16th where they managed to defeat Louisville. Miami is currently 6-10 overall and sit at 2-9 in ACC play.

What to watch for

Focus level

On paper, this is a team that Duke should be able to handle. However, if Duke falls into the trap of looking ahead to the UNC game, this game could go awry. Duke has to focus on the task at hand. If Duke shows up and brings a high energy level, it will be another sign that the team is trending in the right direction.

Three point battle

This is a matchup where Duke should dominate the battle from beyond the arc. Miami is the worst three pointing shoot team in the ACC. They convert just 28.4% of their attempts as a team. Nationally, they rank 324th in the country in three point percentage. Defensively, it is not much prettier for Miami. They give up the highest percentage of made three point attempts to opponents out of all ACC teams, allowing opponents to convert 37.5% of attempts. Duke should comfortably win the three point battle in this one.

Team assists

Duke’s ball movement was very crisp against Clemson. The team assisted on 20 of their 28 made field goals and turned the ball over just nine times. It was a very clean game for Duke. The ball movement was better than it has been all season. If Duke can put together a similar performance, it would be more evidence that this team may have turned a corner offensively.

Miami injury situation

Miami has been ravaged by injuries. Already without their second leading scorer Chis Lykes since December 4th, their fourth and fifth leading scorers, Elijah Olaniyi and Earl Timberlake, are currently banged up and missed Miami’s last game as well. On top of all this, their leading scorer, Isaiah Wong, exited Miami’s last game with a sprained ankle and did not return. This is a team that has been depleted by injuries. Virtually all of their top options are either out completely or playing at less than 100%, and Duke has an opportunity to take advantage.