A win is a necessity for the Duke basketball team on Tuesday night and the Miami Hurricanes could be just what the doctor ordered for the struggling Blue Devils.
The sky is falling in Durham as the Duke Blue Devils have lost two straight games.
Last week, the Blue Devils fell to the Clemson Tigers on the road and the then No. 11 Louisville Cardinals in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
As the panic button strikes every time Duke loses a basketball game, the alarms have been sounding throughout the country despite the shorthanded Blue Devils only dropping to No. 8 in the AP Poll and picking up its second and third losses in a down year throughout the country.
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The Blue Devils will try and get back on track with a win over the Miami Hurricanes, a team Duke just saw, and dominated, two weeks ago.
Tuesday night will be the first time Duke has played an opponent twice this season and if the first matchup is any indication, the Blue Devils need to play Miami right about now to get its mojo back.
Back on January 4, No. 2 Duke handed the ‘Canes a 33-point loss and Miami had absolutely no answer for Vernon Carey Jr., who went for 24 points and nine rebounds in just 25 minutes.
Carey Jr. has seen a significant amount of double teams in recent games, and the freshman has struggled, but the Florida native was able to dominate the Miami defense and the traps they threw at him.
The offensive game-plan should be simple for the Blue Devils in this one: Feed Vernon Carey Jr. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it Miami shows no signs of slowing down the Duke freshman center in the first matchup.
One difference in this game will be that Duke will not have Wendell Moore as he broke a bone in his hand in the first matchup between the two teams, requiring surgery two weeks ago.
This sets up as a ‘get-right’ game for Duke and the Blue Devils will try and snap its losing streak at 9:00pm EST on Tuesday night on ESPN.
PREDICTION: Duke 88, Miami 65