Miami will battle it out against Duke to advance to the ACC Championship
The Matchup
The first ACC tournament semifinal matchup is set as the number one seed Miami Hurricanes will battle against the fourth-seeded Duke Blue Devils.
Duke is the all-time winningest program in the ACC Tournament with 108 wins. They’re on the verge of making it to its 35th title game and adding to their current conference record of 21 ACC Tournament titles.
However, ten years ago Miami won the school's first tournament title here in Greensboro and has not returned to the final round since.
The Hurricanes improved to 19-17 all-time in the ACC Tournament, including a 12-7 mark in Greensboro. Miami has reached the semifinals for the second consecutive year and the fifth time since joining the ACC in 2004-05.
This year Duke and Miami’s season series is tied at 1-1 with Duke taking the first matchup 68-66 at home. The second matchup in Miami was a different story as Miami crushed the Bluedevils 81-59.
“They Kicked our ass last time,” Dereck Lively II said. “We’re in a position to get at them again.”
Quarterfinals
Duke rolled over Pittsburgh 96-69 in the Quarterfinal round as Kyle Filipowski led in all scores of the game with 22 points.
Filipowski overcame an early ankle injury at the start of the game but returned and continued his dominance against Pitt.
“My Ankle is good I kinda just re-tweaked it way back from the Virgina game,” Filipowski said. “It’s nothing serious I’ll be nice and ready for tomorrow.”
The Blue Devils scored on their first four possessions, bolting to a 12-0 lead with Filipowski knocking down 3s from the right corner and left wing.
Dereck Lively II finished with 13 points while Guard Tyrese Proctor added 11 points and 10 assists.
Blue Devils, shot a season-high 62% from the floor en route to their seventh straight win. It’s the longest active streak of any ACC team.
“The way we shared the ball was beautiful. I was told it's an ACC Tournament record,” Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer said in the post-game Press conference. “It's a reflection on these guys for how they've grown together as a team and just making the right play. Really some beautiful plays. We know we have to move on quickly. Doesn't matter what you win by. But happy to beat a really good Pitt team.”
Jordan Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds for No. 14 Miami, which held off Wake Forest's comeback for a 74-72 victory in the quarterfinals.
ACC player of the year Isaiah Wong had 17 points and five assists and Norchad Omier had 14 points and 10.
“I feel like I bring a lot of great experience going into this, my fourth time in the tournament. It just helps.” Wong said.”I feel like it helps the team more, being more composed and taking the pressure.”
Wong was magical with setting up teammates for quality shots when he wasn't scoring nearly at will.
Miami is now 12-2 in the tournament when playing a lower-seeded team and 5-9 in quarterfinal games.
Who has the Edge?
This was a dominant effort from everyone on the Blue Devils roster and should raise some eyebrows from around the country as they begin to march toward the NCAA Tournament.
Duke looks like the early favorite with them having the home crowd here in NC however, The Hurricanes can beat a team in so many ways whether it’s offensively or defensively.
Safe to say the winner of this matchup has a good chance of winning the entire tournament.
