In a day full of upsets in men’s college basketball, Miami (FL)’s 76-74 takedown of No. 2 Duke takes the cake as the biggest.
It didn’t always look like such a sure bet though.
With the 71-70 lead and under 1:30 to play, Hurricanes guard Isaiah Wong was blocked on a layup. Duke immediately went the other way and Duke’s Paolo Banchero scored on a layup to give the Blue Devils its first lead of the final five minutes.
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To make things worse for Miami, redshirt senior Sam Waardenburg turned the ball over on the ensuing run down the court and Banchero ended up with the ball under the Hurricanes hoop, which he slammed down to give Duke the three-point advantage.
That’s when Miami’s Charlie Moore kicked it into full gear.
Down three points, Moore drove toward the Duke hoop, fell forward and chucked up a hail mary. Not only did it bounce in to cut the Duke lead to 74-73, but Moore, who had four fouls of his own, drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but that only set up Miami’s Kameron McGusty to convert on a two-pointer to give the Hurricanes the 75-74 lead.
As called on UMiami radio: pic.twitter.com/DnkOGTy8sm
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 9, 2022
Duke missed all its final shots, fouling Wong to keep its hopes alive. Wong’s free throw with eight seconds left accounted for point No. 76.
Blue Devils freshman Trevor Keels was able to get off a last-second shot but it missed, ensuring a Hurricanes upset.
Moore was massive for Miami, finishing with a team-high 18 points and seven steals. Teammates Jordan Miller, McGusty and Wong were also huge in getting the win, each finishing with double-digit points.
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The two ACC rivals entered the second half tied, 32-32. The Hurricanes never let the Blue Devils get more than an arm’s length away, with Duke’s biggest second-half lead only being five. Miami had no issue answering.
The Hurricanes dominated in the paint, scoring 52 points. They also earned 17 points off 17 turnovers from Duke.
Miami improves to 5-0 in ACC conference play while Duke falls to 2-1.
