Coral Gables, FL- The Miami Hurricanes lose big at home to #2 Duke Blue Devils Tuesday night with a final score of 97- 60. Kon Knueppel led all scoring with 20 points, shooting 6 for 8 from the field and added 5 for 6 from three-point range.
Overall, Duke shot an eye-popping 60% from three and 56% overall to knock off the struggling Hurricanes. They looked every bit as good as their No. 2 national ranking.
Fellow freshman, Isaiah Evans, added 16 points shooting 5 for 8 from three in 26 minutes of play.
Post game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer praised his freshman and was high on Kon especially, a kid he says does everything, including the little things right.
“Kon is incredibly hard on himself…he understands the value of all those plays (the little things),” Scheyer said post game.
Knueppel said of his own game that it’s really just innate how he plays. “I just play very hard, coaches say a lot of good stuff…so…”.
And so is right. So, so good is what this Duke team was tonight in Coral Gables’ Watsco Center.
“We really worked for our shots, we have a team that can really shoot the ball, but I thought that really set us up well, said Scheyer in explanation of his team’s incredible performance from the behind the arch.
“Isaiah, the way he got it going in the first half, that was big for our team.” Evans credited assistant coach Emanuel Dildy for helping him shoot so automatically.
” Just staying consistent in my preparation, working with coach,” he said, led to his big night from the floor.
Rumors have swirled all week around Miami Basketball and reports from Cane Insight suggested that Duke assistant coach Jai Lucas (son of legendary coach John Lucas) would be the Miami Hurricanes new head coach. Scheyer responded when asked “that’s not our news to tell”.
He then went on to praise his assistant, calling him one of his best friends. “Jai is a special coach; we’ve been through a lot over these past years. He’s a great coach, one of my closest friends in the world. Our friendship will always be here.”
Interim Miami head coach Bill Courtney didn’t have much to say post-game other than offering high praise for the Blue Devils.
“They got guys who are going to be playing in the NBA for a very long time,” he said smiling. “We didn’t score in the second half the way that we did in the first.”
Overall, he said his team didn’t lose for a lack of effort but really expressed his admiration for Duke and their skill level. “I’m not disappointed in their effort, you’re just playing an extremely talented team, you have to play very well to beat them.”
The Hurricanes fell to 6-22 on the season with three games left. A road match up against UNC and Georgia Tech and Senior Night back at home against N.C. State on March 8th.
