Duke Rolls Over Miami By 30

Tre Jones can’t dunk.

But he sure can defend. Just ask Chris Lykes, Miami’s star point guard, after Jones held him scoreless for 28 minutes, keying Duke to an 87-57 win Saturday afternoon.

The win improves Duke’s mark to 13-3 ACC, 25-4 overall, while dropping Miami to 4-12, 12-16.

This was just the kind of low-drama game Duke needed, after a run of high-profile games, NBA stars, entourages, exploding basketball shoes.

It was never close, unless you consider 11-8 close. Duke never trailed and broke it open in the first half, outscoring the visitors 29-8 over the final 10 minutes of the first half.

It was 47-19 at intermission.

And that was even with Jones missing a fast-break dunk. It was contested and for the record, Jones said he was not fouled.

Miami coach Jim Larranaga said his team could not control its emotions early.

“Their pressure defense really bothered us from the start. It was the first time all season that our emotions were a little bit out of control. We couldn’t calm ourselves down to make a free throw or a shot, make a good pass or a good decision. The score in the first half is an indication that we just didn’t have it today.”

Jones said he could sense that.

“Coach mentioned that we wanted to play at our pace. A team like Miami wants to slow it down and we wanted to play like we want to play.”

Lykes, Miami’s lightning quick 5-7 point guard, came into the game averaging almost 17 points per game.

Jones said Duke’s plan was to make Lykes uncomfortable.

“We came out real sluggish last game. We wanted to come out with energy and get back to playing how we know we can play. That starts with me out top, playing defense. Our plan was to try to force him into tough shots.”

Lykes was 0-for-8 from the field in the first half, with three turnovers.

“Tre Jones is an outstanding on ball defender,” Larranaga conceded. “He can press you full court or half court. Chris is a much, much, much better player than what we saw. He just had a bad day. Tre gets some credit for that.”

“It was great,” R.J. Barrett said of Jones’s defense. “He picked him up all over the floor and never gave him an inch.”

Krzyzewski credited the defense.

“We finally had some practice. We had two really good days of practice, especially our defense. Our defense was outstanding. Everyone helped us. However, Tre’s defense of Lykes was the starting point. We scored on defense. We had transition and it lent itself to guys getting shots. Overall, it was the defense that set the tone.”

Duke had more balance than the R.J. Barrett-Cam Reddish show, although both did their parts, 19 points apiece, 13 points each in the first half. Both Marques Bolden and Alex O’Connell each had nine first-half points.

And yes, Jack White broke out of his slump, 3-for-3 on three-pointers.

“I was really happy for him,” Barrett dead-panned. “But I had to get back on defense, so I was thinking of that.”

Duke and Miami basically traded baskets in the second half. Miami had a four-point possession and Lykes finally scored, a layup off a Duke turnover. But when Duke locked in, they continued to dominate the Hurricanes, forcing three consecutive turnovers about five minutes into the second half. The second-half lead never dipped lower than 21 points, with 32 the largest.

NOTES

Barrett, Reddish, Bolden (15) and O’Connell (11) scored in double figures, with White adding nine. Bolden and Barrett each had 10 rebounds, Barrett seven assists. Barrett easily could have had another triple double had Duke finished some layups in the second half.

Jones had five assists and six steals.

Lykes ended up 1-for-15 from the field, 2-2 from the line, four points, four turnovers. Ebuka Izundu and Anthony Lawrence led Miami with 15 points each.

Duke outrebounded Miami 45-29. Each team had 16 turnovers.

Zion Williamson?

Mike Krzyzewski offered the same glass-half-full, glass-half-empty explanations we’ve had since he injured his knee. There was never a chance he was going to play today. He’s getting better and moving well. It’s still a question of when, not if. But he hasn’t practiced yet, there are no time pressures and Duke isn’t going to play him until he’s 100 percent.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Final home game Tuesday night, against struggling Wake Forest.

• Duke men’s basketball gets back in the win column with blowout against Miami
• Duke’s RJ Barrett slams in two in victory over Miami
• No. 3 Duke wallops Miami behind Barrett, Reddish
• Duke’s Zion Williamson misses third consecutive game
• Duke’s Jack White endured 28 consecutive missed 3-pointers. The streak’s end brought relief
• Miami basketball suffers worst loss of Jim Larranaga era at Duke
• Third-ranked Duke-- minus Zion Williamson -- blows out Miami
• MBB: Miami Postgame Press Conference
• MBB: Coach K Postgame Press Conference - Miami
• MBB: Top 5 Plays - Miami
• Box Score (PDF)
• Season Stats (PDF)
• Postgame Notes (PDF)
• Coach K Quotes
• Duke Player Quotes
• Miami Quotes
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• From the Boards: Post-Game Discussion and Advanced Stats