Duke opens up ACC play with victory over Miami

Posted On: January 2, 2011 By: Cliff Comments: (zero)

Duke opened up the 2011 ACC Conference season with a 74-63 victory over the visiting Miami Hurricanes on Sunday night. Things didn’t look good from the start as the Blue Devils were cold on the offensive end and were picking up fouls left and right on the defensive end.

Things quickly turned around however when Senior guard Nolan Smith was called for an offensive foul at mid-court that he did not think should have been a foul. Nolan showed some emotion after the whistle but calmed down quickly and then got hot from beyond the arc as he scored the teams next 13 points. Smith finished with a team high 28 points and stepped up big when the team needed him the most.

Smith got helped out by Andre Dawkins who scored 16 points and Kyle Singler who chipped in with 14 of his own. It wasn’t a hot shooting night for the Blue Devils but they did enough to secure the victory while the defense picked up the rest.

Duke got pretty lucky that Hurricane player Reggie Johnson was in foul trouble most of the game. Johnson played great with the ball as he led Miami with 22 points. Had the Canes been knocking down their three point shots (1 of 10) this game could have been much different.

It wasn’t pretty but I’ll take a conference win any way they will come by. This just assures the team that they need to come out and play with high intensity and emotion no matter who the opposing team is. Look for a better effort on Wednesday as the Blue Devils face off against UAB.

- Cliff @justdukecom on Twitter

Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes