Duke is now 1-2 without Zion Williamson, and they will look to get back on track with a bit of home cooking against the struggling Miami Hurricanes.
No one said life without the consensus top pick in June’s NBA Draft would be easy, but Duke may have convinced people it could live without Zion Williamson by winning on the road at Syracuse over the weekend. Tuesday night’s matchup with Virginia Tech offered a reality check, proving how important Williamson is to the Blue Devils’ cause.
The Hokies picked up a 77-72 win over Duke in Blacksburg, getting a big tie-breaking three from Ty Outlaw with 1:28 to go to create some separation in what had been a hard-fought game. The Blue Devils were in the contest throughout, getting solid efforts from RJ Barrett (21 points on 8-15 shooting) and Cam Reddish (17 points on 6-13 shooting), but without Williamson, they simply couldn’t pull away from a gritty Virginia Tech team playing without point guard Justin Robinson.
It’s unclear if Williamson will be back for today’s game, but Duke probably won’t need him to get past the Hurricanes. Miami has had a rough season to date, entering the contest with a 12-15 record, including a dreadful 4-11 mark in ACC play.
The Hurricanes also enter this game off a loss, dropping a 76-75 game at lowly Wake Forest. Miami led this game for most of the way only to see the lead disappear when Demon Deacons’ forward Brandon Childress hit the go-ahead three with 25.8 seconds to go.
How to watch Duke vs. Miami
- Date: Saturday, March 2
- Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Durham, NC
- Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: CBS Sports App
This is the only matchup of the season between the ACC clubs. The Blue Devils won 83-75 in Coral Gables last year.