Miami vs. Duke Preview
DURHAM, NC (AP) – With another coaching milestone behind him, Mike Krzyzewski is ready to get Duke focused on the start of ACC play.
As Krzyzewski moves closer to becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history, the top-ranked Blue Devils try for a 23rd straight victory as they begin league play against visiting Miami on Sunday night.
Krzyzewski moved past rival Dean Smith into second place on the all-time men’s wins list with his 880th victory in Duke’s 108-62 rout of UNC-Greensboro on Wednesday. He trails only his former coach at Army, Bob Knight, who has 902 wins.
Current college basketball odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGlobal.com have made Duke -18.5 point spread favorites for Sunday’s game against Miami. Current college basketball public betting information shows that 63% of more than 60 bets for this game have been placed on Miami +18.5.
“I don’t want to take any of that too seriously, but rather say, ‘I’m one of the guys who’s won a lot of games,”’ Krzyzewski said.
There’s a chance Krzyzewski can pass Knight and become the all-time leader this season, but that’s not on his mind as the defending NCAA tournament champions begin their quest for a second straight regular-season ACC title.
“The thing you have to do is stay committed to your team,” Krzyzewski told the school’s official website. “We need to be in their moment … they don’t need to be in my moment. We can start getting ready for ACC play.
“You don’t want to look back. When you do that, it takes away your hunger.”
Krzyzewski has not had to worry about the Blue Devils’ hunger while beating the likes of Kansas State, Michigan State and 2010 NCAA finals opponent Butler en route to a 12-0 start.
Kyle Singler had 27 points and Nolan Smith added 26 with nine assists as Duke shot a season-high 60.9 percent and scored 42 points off 23 Greensboro turnovers Wednesday.
The Blue Devils have won 26 consecutive contests when scoring 80 or more points.
However, Duke has scored 80 once during a three-game winning streak over Miami (11-3) that followed a 96-95 loss to the Hurricanes on Feb. 20, 2008.
Though the Blue Devils have won 13 of 14 versus Miami and are 6-0 against the Hurricanes at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the teams’ last four meetings have been decided by seven or fewer points.
Miami, which has lost nine straight ACC road games, took Duke to overtime the last time it visited Cameron before falling 78-75 on Feb. 7, 2009.
Singler (17.8 points per game) had 27 points in the Blue Devils’ 77-74 win over Miami in last season’s ACC tournament semifinals. The senior forward has averaged 22.0 points and 9.7 rebounds in his last three games against the Hurricanes.
While Singler and Smith (17.8 ppg) pace the Blue Devils, Krzyzewski hopes sophomore guards Andre Dawkins (11.9) and Seth Curry – averaging 12.0 points the last three games – can continue to fill the void left by injured star Kyrie Irving (17.4).
Duke, the only ACC team ranked in the Top 25, will be without the talented freshman for a fifth straight game because of a toe injury.
Miami looks for a fifth consecutive win after beating Pepperdine 94-59 on Thursday. Malcolm Grant had 22 points and 6-foot-10 Reggie Johnson added 12 with 15 rebounds as the Hurricanes shot a season-high 53.8 percent.
Grant averages a team-leading 15.9 points and had 17 against Duke in the ACC tournament last season.
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