No. 21 Duke Holds Off No. 14 Miami to Reach ACC Final

Friday, March 10

Greensboro, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

25-8,14-6ACC

Miami

25-7,15-5ACC

Duke

Miami (FL)

Jeremy Roach celebrates vs. Miami in ACC Tournament

No. 21 Duke Holds Off No. 14 Miami to Reach ACC Final

3/10/2023 10:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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GREENSBORO – A back and forth ACC Tournament semifinal had five Duke players in double-figures as the Blue Devils (25-8, 14-6) defeated Miami (25-7, 15-5), 85-78. With the win, Duke advances to the ACC championship game on Saturday night against Virginia. The Blue Devils' appearance in the championship game on Saturday is their 35th all-time, which ties North Carolina for most in ACC history.

As a team, Duke out-rebounded Miami 36-24, including a 27-16 edge on the defensive glass. Kyle Filipowski led the team with 17 points and recorded his 15th double-double of the season with a game-high 11 rebounds. Joining Filipowski in double-figures was Dariq Whitehead (16), Tyrese Proctor (15), Mark Mitchell (14) and Jeremy Roach (13). Both Filipowski and Proctor finished with a team-high five assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dereck Lively II and Kyle Filipowski opened the Duke scoring with layups from each of the freshmen. Tyrese Proctor connected on a three-pointer and the Duke claimed a slight lead, 9-7, after two free throws by Jeremy Roach following a Miami flagrant foul.
The Blue Devils' defense held Miami to a stretch of 1-of-8 shooting from the field and extended their lead, 14-7, following another shot from deep by Proctor with 13:25 on the clock.
Miami retook the lead after a nine-point run before a layup by Filipowski and a floater by Proctor pushed Duke back ahead, 18-16, with just over nine minutes remaining in the half.
A put-back dunk by Lively at the 1:09 mark capped off a 7-2 run by the Blue Devils and gave them a four-point lead, 38-34. A late three-pointer by Dariq Whitehead gave the freshman eight first-half points and Duke a 41-36 edge at the break.
Out of the break, five quick points by the Blue Devils were countered by back-to-back three-pointers by Miami within the first two minutes of play. Duke responded with three straight makes and led, 52-46, after just over four minutes of second-half action.
Whitehead became the second Blue Devil in double-figures with his second three-pointer of the game, giving the freshman 11 points so far. Filipowski joined Whitehead and Proctor with 11 points, connecting on his own shot from beyond the arc on Duke's next possession.
The two teams traded scoring possessions for the next five minutes of play, with Duke remaining ahead throughout the stretch. Three free throws by Whitehead made it a four-point lead, 69-65, with just over five minutes on the clock.
At the final media timeout of the game the Blue Devils remained in front, 73-69. With less than two minutes, a defensive stop by the Blue Devils led to a three-pointer by Roach to make it a seven-point lead for Duke, 78-71. A three-point play by Miami drew the Hurricanes within four, 8-76, but a free throw by Mitchell made it a two-possession lead with 46.6 seconds remaining.
The Blue Devils closed out the 85-78 victory at the free throw line, going 4-of-4 from the stripe in the final 30 seconds.

NOTES

Duke is now 109-46 (.703) all-time in the ACC Tournament, including 35-14 in the semifinal round – Duke's 109 wins and .703 winning percentage in tournament play each lead the ACC.
Duke has clinched its 35th all-time appearance in the championship game, which ties North Carolina for most in ACC history.
Duke is now 43-18 in ACC Tournament games at the venue and 101-40 in the venue all-time.
Duke finished with 16 assists, a game after a season-high 27 assists in Thursday's win over Pitt. The Blue Devils finished one assist shy of tying the two-game ACC Tournament record for most assists by a team.
Duke's current eight-game winning streak is a season long. In the winning streak, Duke is averaging 77.4 points, shooting .499 from the field, .369 from three-point range, .792 at the free throw line with 131 assists against 75 turnovers.
Duke had four starters score in double figures – the sixth straight game with at least four reaching double digits.
Duke has now connected on at least one three-point field goal in 1,186 consecutive games – the nation's second longest active streak.
Freshman Kyle Filipowski recorded his 15th double-double with a team-high 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds along with a career-high five assists in 31 minutes.
After going 8-of-10 from the field in the quarterfinal round, Filipowski was 8-of-9 (.889) from the field against Miami for the third best field goal percentage in a game by a Blue Devil in the ACC Tournament. Filipowski's 8-of-10 (.800) vs. Pitt now ranks as the fifth best single-game shooting performance by Duke in the ACCT (min. eight attempts).
Freshman Dariq Whitehead's 16 points off the bench were two shy of his career and came on 4-of-8 shooting, 2-of-3 from three-point range and a career-best 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
Junior Jeremy Roach was the fifth Blue Devil in double figures with 13 points, hitting 6-of-7 free throws and drawing a team-high six fouls. The captain's lone three was a key bucket with 1:32 remaining that gave Duke a seven-point lead.

QUOTES

"I just credit these guys so much with the growth and with the mentality to be able to do that. For a minute there, we were playing much different. But the way we were turning it over, to only have four in the second half when they're pressing us the whole time, that just to me showed everything about the development of this group." -- head coach Jon Scheyer
"I felt good. Just on that last play -- the last three I shot, it felt good so I really was trying to get another three up because I knew the next one was probably going to go in. Stick my follow-through and stick to the work and have that confidence that I've always had." -- junior Jeremy Roach on his late-game three-pointer

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