Duke University

DURHAM, N.C. – The third-ranked Duke men’s basketball team connected on 11 first-half three-pointers en route to a 89-54 victory over Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Blue Devils (15-2, 7-0 ACC) tallied a season-high 25 assists on 34 made field goals and held the Hurricanes (4-13, 0-6 ACC) to their season low of 54 points.

Kon Knueppel used a career day to lead the Blue Devils’ offense, as the freshman scored a career-high 25 points, propelled by career-high makes from the field (nine) and beyond the arc (six). Knueppel ended the contest 9-of-11 (.818) from the field overall and added three boards and two assists.

Khaman Maluach secured a second double-double in as many games, scoring 12 points and grabbing a career-high15 rebounds, while Cooper Flagg logged a balanced effort with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mason Gillis also reached double-figures, scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep, setting new season highs for points and three-pointers.

On the defensive end of the floor, Duke’s defense limited Miami to a season-low 54 points on 23-of-59 (.390) shooting from the field. The Hurricanes entered the contest averaging 77.5 points per game and shooting 47.8 percent from the field.

The victory is Duke’s 11th consecutive triumph, the longest win streak by the Blue Devils since the 2017-18 season. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Two paint buckets, a layup from Kon Knueppel and a slam by Khaman Maluach, got Duke points on its first two possessions. The Hurricanes quickly knotted the score, 4-4, with back-to-back buckets of their own. Knueppel connected on the game’s first three-pointer and the Blue Devils remained in front, 9-8, at the first media timeout of the night.
• Back-to-back makes from deep, courtesy of Knueppel and Mason Gillis, forced a Miami timeout with 14:05 on the clock and Duke leading, 15-8. Two more three-pointers, again from Knueppel and Gillis, triggered another Hurricanes timeout exactly 60 seconds later.
• Sion James and Isaiah Evans also added a three-pointer, making it a 18-2 extended scoring run for Duke, and the Blue Devils’ lead expanded to 17, 27-10, at the halfway mark of the opening frame.
• The barrage from deep continued for Duke, with Gillis drilling his third of the game with just over five minutes before halftime. An alley-oop dunk by Maluach, his third of the half, and a Knueppel layup pushed Duke’s scoring run to 14 unanswered. The margin stood at 27, 44-17, forcing Miami to call its third timeout of the first half.
• The Hurricanes scored seven straight, pulling within 21, 47-26, before Cooper Flagg made Duke’s 11th three-pointer of the first half to send the Blue Devils into the break in control, 50-26.
• Miami scored five of the first seven points of the second half, leading to a Duke timeout with 17:26 on the clock. Knueppel made his fifth triple shortly after the timeout, giving the freshman 21 points and a new career high for made three-pointers in a game.
• Duke’s defense limited Miami to a stretch of 1-of-9 shooting to remain in control, 65-38, at the under-12 timeout. Maluach finished off his double-double, scoring his 10th point with a tip-in layup Duke led by 32, 78-46, entering the final media break of the contest.
• Duke made four of the final five shots from the field to close out the 35-point victory, 89-54.

NOTES

• Tuesday’s game was the 37th played between the two teams. Duke now leads the series, 27-10, including a 13-3 advantage in Durham.
• Duke has now won 11 straight games, the second-longest active winning streak in the nation.
• The 11-game winning streak is longest by a Duke team under head coach Jon Scheyer. The last time the Blue Devils won 11 games in a row was during the 2017-18 campaign, when Duke won the first 11 contests to begin the season.
• The third-ranked Blue Devils are now 304-92 (.768) in ACC regular-season games when ranked as a top-five team in the country.
• With the win, Duke improved to 42-3 (.933) at home under Scheyer.
• Duke dished 17 assists on 19 made field goals in the first half, and ended the game with a season-high 25 total helpers.
• The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle, 43-22, and have out-rebounded 14 of their first 17 opponents this season. 
• Duke collected 34 points in the paint, compared to 22 by the Hurricanes. The Blue Devils have out-scored the opposition in the paint in 15 of their 17 games and have posted a double-digit margin in that category 10 times this season.
• The Blue Devils held Miami to just nine fast-break points. Duke opponents have logged single-digit fast-break points in all but two games this season. 
• Duke’s defense limited Miami to 54 points, and has held all but one unranked opponent under 65 points. Miami entered the game as a top-50 offense according to KenPom, averaging 77.5 points per game.
• Miami’s 54 points marked a season low for the Hurricanes. The Blue Devils have now held eight of their opponents to a season-low scoring output. 
• The Blue Devils made 11 three-pointers in the first half en route to 17 total for the game, matching the most in a single game for Duke this season, previously set against Army West Point on Nov. 8, 2024. 
• Kon Knueppel had a career day, setting new benchmarks in points (25), field goals made (9) and three-pointers (6). 
• The freshman has made at least two three-pointers in six consecutive games, including four games in that stretch with at least three triples. 
• Knueppel’s six three-pointers matched Isaiah Evans’ six makes from deep against Auburn (Dec. 4, 2024) for the most made threes in a game by a Blue Devil so far this season, and his 18 first-half points equaled Evans’ 18-point first half against the Tigers for most points in the first half by a Duke player. 
• Khaman Maluach logged his second double-double in as many games, scoring 12 points and reeling in a career-high 15 caroms.
• Maluach shot 6-of-7 from the field in 20 minutes of play, and is now shooting 27-of-32 (.844) from the field in conference play. 
• Maluach’s 15 rebounds are the most by any Duke player in a single game this season, and his six offensive rebounds matched two other instances this season when a Blue Devil finished a game with six boards on the offensive glass. 
• Cooper Flagg contributed across the board, scoring 13 points, while adding seven rebounds and six assists. 
• Flagg has now had at least five dimes in four of his last five games, and is averaging 4.3 helpers in conference play. 
• Mason Gillis made three first-half three-pointers en route to four total makes from deep, his most in a Duke jersey. Gillis finished the night with 12 points, also setting a season high. 
• Sion James blocked a season-high three shots and dished five assists, while adding five points and two rebounds.
• Isaiah Evans contributed eight points off the bench, connecting on 3-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-6 from long distance.

QUOTES

• “Really proud of our guys for the effort tonight. I could go down the line of each of them and what they did. Khaman [Maluach]: 15 rebounds, six offensive, I thought that was a big thing. Then, just different guys stepping up. One of the things with Maliq [Brown] being out, we wanted to continue to find something new about our team. I am just going to mention two guys off the bench. I thought Mason Gillis was incredibly sharp with everything that he is doing right now. Then Caleb [Foster], in the first half, I don’t think he scored, but he had such an impact on the game with his rebounding, his defense, and I think he had three assists in the first half. For him to see the ball going in in the second half was great, because those two guys are key guys for us. Really proud of that effort. Then, the 25 assists, the way we shared the ball throughout the entire game. It didn’t matter the score, didn’t matter the time. I’m just so proud of these guys that they play for each other.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
• “We wanted to play to our standard tonight. I thought we did a good job of doing that. I thought our defense could’ve been a little better tonight, but I thought we did a good job on that end, for the most part. We want to play a whole 40 minutes, so keeping the same intensity, it’s tough to do, but we talk about not playing the score. We tried our best not to do that tonight. A lot of unselfishness leads to a lot of open shots, and I thought we did a good job of making the extra pass tonight. It’s beautiful basketball when almost all of your field goals are assisted, and it’s really fun to play that way. I think everybody enjoyed that tonight.” – Duke freshman guard/forward Kon Knueppel
• “I would say I’ve improved in all parts of the game. I feel like I get better each and every game. I’m having a great time at Duke, playing with these guys. Being able to do it with such a great group of guys, and being able to have fun each and every game.” – Duke freshman center Khaman Maluach

UP NEXT

• No. 3 Duke hits the road for its next conference matchup, traveling to Boston College on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Blue Devils (15-2, 7-0 ACC) and Eagles (9-8, 1-5 ACC) are scheduled to tipoff at 8 p.m., on ESPN

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “DukeMBB”.

  

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