Duke vs. Miami: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Duke Blue Devils travel to Miami to face the Hurricanes in an Atlantic Coast Conference match-up. The Blue Devils, coming off of a dominant game against Boston College, look to maintain their spot at the top of the ACC with a win today.

TV Schedule: Saturday, January 4th, 2020 / 2:00 PM / ESPN

Location: BankUnited Center in Miami, Florida

The big story for the Duke Blue Devils, in their game against Boston College, should have been a healthy Tre Jones. Freshman forward Matthew Hurt decided it was his time to shine instead. Hurts had a career game racking up 25 points on 10-16 shooting including 5-10 from three-point range. Hurt isn’t a stranger to hitting threes in his first season at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In 13 games, Hurts has hit 40.8% of his three-pointers.

Despite inconsistent performances, Hurts has been more willing to take the ball and score – as he should. He is turning into an elite offensive weapon as evidenced by his 22.1 player efficiency rating (16th in ACC), 122.3 offensive rating (7th in the ACC), and his 8.9 +/- (10th in the ACC). Expect Coach Mike Krzyzewski to demand more shots from Hurts as Duke enters conference play.

The other story is a healthy Tre Jones. Jones missed two games this year with a sprained left foot. The two games he missed were inconsequential wins against Wofford and Brown. Jones was limited in his first game back against Boston College. He was only on the floor for 24 minutes and, although shots did not drop for Jones (2-8 FG), he dished out ten assists which is his second-highest total of the year. Jones sprained left foot is a non-issue. His shots will begin to fall as he plays more minutes and works on his conditioning to get his legs back under him.

The Miami Hurricanes are going to need their trio of guards – Chris Lykes, Kameron McGusty, Dejan Vasiljevic – to play their best games to date. Between the three guards, they are averaging 46.2 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, and 6.2 assists per game. Even more impressive than three guards averaging at least 15 points per game is Lykes stands at only 5’7’’. Lykes has improved his shooting entering his junior year.

In 2018-19, Lykes shot 40.6% from the field and 31.8% from 3-point range. So far, in 2019-20, Lykes has improved his field goal percentage to 47.9% on one less attempt per game and his three-point field goal percentage has improved to 38.6%. It’s obvious Lykes has matured and takes his shots more carefully than in years past. If the Hurricanes have a shot, Lykes and his fellow guards will need to play lights out against Duke.

Duke has the edge in every aspect of this game. Their talent and size dwarf the Hurricanes’. However, you cannot discount Chris Lykes, his competitiveness, maturity, and ever-improving shot selection. Lykes is just one player and one player will not be enough to beat the buzz saw of the Duke Blue Devils. Matthew Hurts will have another great game and Tre Jones will get his shot back against the Hurricanes.

Prediction: Duke 75, Miami 64