Miami Focusing On Rebounding Ahead of Rematch Against Duke

For the second time this season, Miami is set to play against Duke, which narrowly defeated the Hurricanes 68-66 in their first matchup just a few weeks ago.

The Blue Devils held a 44-38 rebounding advantage over UM in the first contest between the two squads. This has been a point of emphasis for Hurricanes head coach Jim Larrañaga in preparation for his team’s rematch, set for Monday at 7 p.m. at the Watsco Center.

“They’re a very big team, and we’re not. So we realized, even during the course of the game, that our help defense has to be at its best, and our defensive rebounding has to be at its best,” Larrañaga said about what he learned from Miami’s first matchup against Duke. “The emphasis is on [rebounding]. The only thing about having smaller team is that’s normally not a strength, so we gotta try to balance the lack of rebounding with forcing turnovers.”

Miami’s lack of size was an issue in this initial matchup. 7-foot forward Kyle Filipowski and 7-foot-1 center Dereck Lively II towered over the much smaller Hurricanes, combining for 24 rebounds between the two freshmen.

Veteran guard Harlond Beverly also stressed the importance of rebounding against Duke and mentioned that UM will have to do a better job guarding the perimeter. The Blue Devils shot 42.9% from deep against the ‘Canes in January’s contest, which is a step above their season average on 3-pointers of 32.6%.

“We learned they’re a very fast-paced team, a very big team,” Beverly said. “They shot really, really well against us from three so we’ll have to really be on our p’s and q’s, just defensively make sure we stop the three, make sure we get defensive rebounds so that they don’t get any second-chance points.”

Miami (18-5, 9-4 ACC)  will also have to find an answer for junior Jeremy Roach, who connected on some important jump shots down the stretch off the bench against the Hurricanes in their first matchup. He finished that game with 14 points on an efficient 6-of-10 shooting clip from the field.

While Roach is expected to be inserted into the starting lineup in his second game this season against Miami, the Blue Devils (17-6, 8-4 ACC) will be without one key contributor. Forward Dariq Whitehead, who previously started against the ‘Canes, will miss his fourth consecutive game with a leg injury, according to a Duke press release.

With a win against Duke, Miami would climb from fifth to fourth in the ACC standings.