Miami facing monumental challenge against No. 2 Duke

It shouldn’t be close Tuesday night when last-place Miami hosts No. 2 Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest.Duke (24-3, 15-1 ACC) has won four straight and is led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, projected to become the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft this June.Miami (6-21, 2-14) has lost three straight and is having its worst season in 31 years. The Hurricanes were routed by Duke 89-54 on Jan. 14, and the Blue Devils are favored by 23 1/2 points in the rematch.Duke is coming off a 110-67 demolition over Illinois at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to jump one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, even though previous No. 2 Florida did not lose a game last week. Flagg had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in just 23 minutes.Flagg took only 10 shots, impressing ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.”He’s just different,” Greenberg said. “A guy of his talent, he could chase shots. But he plays with poise, lets the game come to him. Then he makes one of those plays where you go, ‘Whoa!'”For the season, Flagg leads Duke in scoring (19.5), rebounding (7.7), assists (4.0), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.1).Duke starts two other freshmen in 6-7 guard Kon Knueppel and 7-2 center Khaman Maluach. Knueppel is averaging 13.2 points and scored 25 against Miami earlier this season. Maluach is averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds.Duke’s other two starters are 6-6 junior guards Sion James (8.3 points per game) and Tyrese Proctor (12.0).On Saturday, all five starters scored in double figures as Duke piled up 28 assists against the Fighting Illini.”The guys are sharing the ball,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, “and they’re playing with confidence.”Miami is coming off an 81-68 home defeat to Virginia Tech on Saturday.”We tried everything,” interim coach Bill Courtney said. “We couldn’t get stops when we needed them. We didn’t get out to the shooters. We didn’t communicate. We lost our man.”

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