Duke has now lost back-to-back ACC games, what is up with the Duke Blue Devils? Maybe theacc.com has the inside and can tell us what’s wrong with Duke.
Looking to bounce back from their first conference loss, the Duke Blue Devils instead stumbled again.
The Miami Hurricanes beat fifth-ranked Duke for the first time in 45 years Wednesday, scoring 15 consecutive points to build a big lead early in the second half and holding on to win 96-95.
Ranked No. 2 just last week, the Blue Devils (22-3 overall, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost for the second time in four days.
Miami made six of eight free throws in the final 41 seconds to preserve the upset. Duke’s DeMarcus Nelson sank a layup with 2 seconds left to make the score 94-92, but McClinton sank two clinching free throws before Nelson hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Sophomore Dwayne Collins scored a career-high 26 points to help the Hurricanes win their third ACC game in a row. They beat a top-five team for the first time since a victory at No. 2 Connecticut on Feb. 20, 1999.
Sophomore Jon Scheyer scored a career-high 27 points for the Blue Devils, who nearly rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit.
The Blue Devils had a season-high turnover total for the second game in a row, losing the ball 23 times. They struggled shooting from the perimeter against Miami’s zone, and when Duke tried to force the ball inside, the Hurricanes often tipped it away and repeatedly showed more hustle chasing loose balls.
Rich Brenner said on the FOX8 sports last night that N.C. State is now headed to the NIT and the Pack isn’t coming back, not this year anyway, and that the Wolfpack fans can put their Cardiac Pack medicine away.
Tyler Hansbrough had 32 points – including 16 during the decisive 11-minute run – to help No. 3 North Carolina beat rival North Carolina State 84-70 on Wednesday night.
Wayne Ellington added 21 points for the Tar Heels (25-2, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led by 20 points to easily avenge last year’s stunning loss here despite playing yet again without injured point guard Ty Lawson.
Hansbrough finished 11-for-19 from the field and pulled down 12 rebounds, marking his sixth straight game with at least 22 points while giving him his fourth double-double during that stretch. Ellington also came through, scoring 12 points after the break and finishing with three 3-pointers for the game – including one just before halftime that gave North Carolina a 34-31 lead at the break.
That was part of a 31-7 run that reached into the second half, turning a 31-25 deficit late in the first half into a 56-38 lead on Hansbrough’s steal-and-dunk with about 14 minutes to play. The Wolfpack (15-11, 4-8) never challenged after that.
Gavin Grant scored 17 points to lead N.C. State, which couldn’t repeat last year’s 83-79 win at the RBC Center that had the home fans storming the court to celebrate.