Miami Hurricanes shock No. 2 Duke 76-74 on the road, extend win streak to nine
University of Miami guard Charlie Moore (3) led the Hurricanes with 18 points and 7 steals in a 76-74 road upset of No. 2 Duke.
The Miami Hurricanes traveled to Durham, North Carolina, seeking respect and an upset against No. 2 Duke on Saturday night.
Despite entering the game atop the ACC and riding an eight-game win streak, the Hurricanes were 15-point underdogs against the Blue Devils. They didn’t play like it in a 76-74 victory that surely will turn heads and get them into the Top 25.
The veteran Miami team with four sixth-year seniors came in fearless and confident and stunned the Blue Devils and the sea of blue and white clad Cameron Crazies. Miami improved to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
“That game showed what kind of team we are, we love dogfights, and it shows we’re not a team to play with anymore,” said guard Kameron McGusty, who scored 14 points and made the game-winning shot with 20 seconds left. “We’re the real deal and I think everybody saw that tonight. We can compete with anybody, and we can beat anybody.”
McGusty, a 24-year-old sixth-year senior, returned to UM for a final season after initially entering his name in the NBA Draft last spring. He was motivated by the opportunity to turn around a team that won only 10 games last season and went 4-15 in the conference.
In the first week of January Miami has already exceeded last year’s win totals.
“It’s finally good to see all that hard work paying off,” McGusty said. “As a program these last two years we’ve really gone through it. We had to stay down for the come up and it feels great to actually see all the work come together. I’m so happy for my guys, for Coach L (Larranaga), for the Miami fan base, the City of Miami. I’m just so happy for everyone right now and happy we could prove people wrong.”
The Hurricanes made up for their lack of size with aggressive, tenacious defense. They blitzed, trapped, tried to get their hands on every Duke pass, got 15 steals and forced the Blue Devils into a season-high 17 turnovers. Miami scored 17 points off turnovers and Duke scored two.
The 15 Miami steals tied a program best in ACC play.
Point guard Charlie Moore led the Hurricanes with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and had seven steals, more than any player in UM history in an ACC game. He was one of four players in double figures. Jordan Miller scored 17 and Isaiah Wong had 15 – 10 in the second half.
“We played a fast, good and older team tonight,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is retiring at the end of this season after 42 years at the school. “The story of the game was the turnovers. We played well at times and had an opportunity to win, but you have to finish tough and we didn’t finish.”
The Canes had proven they have offensive firepower as they averaged 90 points in the previous three wins over Wake Forest, North Carolina State and Syracuse. The question was whether they could defend Duke’s big men. Freshman Paolo Banchero is a projected NBA lottery pick. Mark Williams is 7-1 and AJ Griffin is a force inside.
Williams threw down a ferocious dunk in the opening minute on an assist by Banchero and it looked like maybe the Hurricanes would be in for a long night.
But McGusty got Miami on the board, Moore made two shots and Wong hit a three and a layup to give Miami an 11-6 lead that stretched to 14-6 after a trio of Moore free throws. Duke went on a 13-0 run and the Canes went cold, missing 14 of their next 15 shots and the Blue Devils pulled ahead 26-18.
The Hurricanes then scored 10 in a row, tied the game 26-26 on a dunk by freshman Wooga Poplar, and took the lead on a shot by Miller. Duke went ahead by four, but Miami caught up and the score was tied 32-32 at halftime.
The teams traded leads the entire second half. Every time it seemed UM got a little cushion Duke battled back and took the lead. By the end of the night Miami had led for 18:53 and Duke for 14:17.
Among the surprising stats: Miami outscored Duke 52-38 in the paint.
Banchero led Duke with 20 points and seven rebounds. Williams had 12 points and seven rebounds.
“That was an exciting game from start to finish,” said Larranaga, who is 7-7 against Duke since taking over at Miami. The Hurricanes were 2-15 against Duke before he got there.
“Both teams exchanged punches in the second half, and when they went ahead by three (late) it didn’t look good for us, but Charlie Moore made a sensational move to the basket and layup and then Jordan Miller came up with an offensive rebound and Kam hit the game winner,” Larranaga said. “Duke has certainly earned their high ranking. I’m really, really proud of how my guys executed the game plan.”
Larranaga said because his team was undersized the plan was “trying to limit how many times they dunked the ball on us.” They relied on deflections, steals, and team defense. And trust in each other. Larranaga, McGusty and Moore all mentioned the word “trust” when explaining how they pulled off the upset.
Asked where the victory ranked in his career, McGusty didn’t hesitate.
“Woooo! I’m not going to lie, this is No. 1 without a doubt,” McGusty said. “I had my Dad in the stands. Just beating Duke. Not too many kids or young adults get to say they beat a blueblood and make a game-winning shot. It’s a blessing.
“Duke has a heck of a program. Coach K is a heck of a coach. Their players they bring in every year are good. Their crowd is always good. This is dream come true for a kid. When you’re six, seven years old watching the NCAA Tournament or watching Duke playing North Carolina, you dream of being in this game, being able to win a gym like that. I’m speechless. I’m so thrilled right now.”
The Hurricanes are back on the road Tuesday at Florida State.