ESPN Men's Basketball

 
DURHAM, N.C. -- Quick thoughts on No. 3 Duke’s 79-76 victory over No. 5 Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night.

Overview: Ryan Kelly, in his first action in more than a month, exploded in the first half. The senior, whose status was “questionable” prior to tipoff, scored 20 points before intermission. He didn’t play like a guy coming off a foot injury.

Duke’s defense wasn’t exactly impenetrable. The Hurricanes shot 47 percent from the field before the break. Durand Scott easily penetrated and Kenny Kadji hit big shots, too. The duo combined to score 18 points in the first half.

But Kelly was the difference-maker. His performance and appearance enhanced the Cameron atmosphere. Kelly was 7-for-10 (5-for-7 from the 3-point line) while the rest of the team’s starters went 4-for-15 in the first half. Miami took a 36-34 lead into the second half, which was filled with back-and-forth action, brief lead changes, ties, 3-pointers, floaters and an eardrum-bursting vibe.

Turning point: Really, the moment Kelly returned. More specifically … the matchup turned toward the end of the second half. The Blue Devils were down 56-55 when Kelly connected on a 3-pointer off Quinn Cook's assist. That play kicked off a 10-5 run that saw the Blue Devils take a four-point lead (65-61) with 5 minutes, 50 seconds to play. This was a very tight game. That brief separation was enough to help Duke (25-4, 12-4 ACC) finish strong and secure the victory. But it wasn’t that easy. Trey McKinney Jones hit a 3-pointer with 57.2 seconds to go.

Cook then stepped out of bounds on the inbounds -- and followed that up by committing the foul on Shane Larkin's turnaround layup attempt. Larkin missed the first free throw but made the second with 53.6 seconds to go. Duke had the ball and a 78-76 lead when Mason Plumlee tossed a full-court pass to Seth Curry that ultimately sailed out of bounds. But Miami (23-5, 14-2) responded with a turnover on a potential go-ahead possession. With the Blue Devils still up two with 31.1 seconds to play, Curry missed the second of two free-throw attempts, giving Miami a chance to tie. Larkin missed one 3-point try and Rion Brown missed another as the Blue Devils secured the 79-76 victory.

But the true turning pointing was the second that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski decided to play Kelly.

Key stat: Kelly missed 13 games. And in his first game back, he finished with a career-high 36 points.

Key player: Kelly. That’s all. The senior came up huge as the Blue Devils avenged their 27-point loss to the Hurricanes on Jan. 23.

Next game: Duke will host Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Miami will host Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

Player of the Night -- Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
Noel posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in Kentucky’s win against South Carolina, as the Wildcats matched a season high with their fourth straight victory. Noel and Anthony Davis are the only Kentucky players with multiple games of at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks over the past 15 seasons. Noel leads the country with 4.6 blocks per game this season.

Clutch Performer of the Night -- Michael Snaer, Florida State
Snaer did it yet again. For the third time in the past two weeks, he made a game-winning shot in the final seconds -- this time a layup at the buzzer to defeat Georgia Tech. Snaer is now 6-for-11 over the past two seasons on game-tying and go-ahead shots in the final minute of the second half or overtime, including 4-for-7 on 3-point attempts.

Stat Sheet Stuffer -- Bobby Capobianco, Valparaiso
Capobianco came off the bench to contribute 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a win against Illinois-Chicago. He’s the first player to put up those numbers off the bench since UMass’s Chris Lowe had 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in March 2008 against La Salle. As a team, Valparaiso put on a shooting clinic. It was the first time the Crusaders shot at least 60 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line and 90 percent on free-throw attempts since a December 2007 win against Detroit.

Bench Player of the Night -- Rion Brown, Miami (FL)
Brown came off the bench to score a game-high 22 in Miami’s win against Boston College. The 22 points match Brown’s career high, which he also scored off the bench exactly a month earlier. Over the past 15 seasons, Brown is the only Miami player to score at least 22 off the bench twice. The only other players to do it once are Guillermo Diaz, Marcus Barnes, Johnny Hemsley and Darius Rice.

Defender of the Night -- Eric Stutz, Eastern Kentucky
Stutz had quite the stat line, totaling 13 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and two blocks in just 17 minutes in a 97-31 win against Crowley’s Ridge College. Stutz is the seventh player in the past six seasons to post those numbers in a game. The others are Harvard’s Jeremy Lin, DePaul’s Mac Koshwal, Florida State’s Chris Singleton, Cleveland State’s D’Aundray Brown, Jacksonville State’s Ronnie Boggs and Appalachian State’s Nathan Healy. Stutz is the only player in the past 15 seasons with at least seven steals and two blocks while playing no more than 17 minutes.

Rion Brown's 22 points led No. 8 Miami to a 72-50 home victory over Boston College; the Hurricanes are now 9-0 in the ACC.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Monday, the day after North Carolina lost its ACC season opener at Virginia, coach Roy Williams asked his assistants to identify the team’s main problem.

They all gave different answers. And the same thing happened when the question was posed to the players.

Thus, it isn’t surprising that Williams himself offered a lengthy list of improvements he wants his 10-4 squad to make, preferably beginning with Thursday night's game against Miami.

“I’d like to have more inside scoring," he said, “and I’d like to get to the free throw line more. I’d like our big guys to turn it over less. I’d like us to be more consistent shooting the ball from the outside. I’d like to handle dribble penetration better.”

Miami, which has been tested by one of the nation's toughest schedules, will in turn test all of those things. The 10-3 Hurricanes will continue to be without big man Reggie Johnson, who is expected to miss another six weeks with a broken thumb. But they are now 3-2 since he was injured, and are trying to replace his double-double average with a plethora of players.

“The whole key for us offensively is to just have good balance, to have different guys step up and make shots for us," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “The other day against Georgia Tech it was Rion Brown. Often is the case [that] Shane Larkin and Durand Scott are our leading scorers. But Kenny Kadji can really shoot the ball well, and in Julian Gamble's first start against Hawaii he scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds. … Trey McKinney Jones is shooting the ball very well. He's been in double figures most games.

“If we can get four or five guys in double figures, then I think we're in good shape offensively.”

A few things to watch as the Hurricanes attempt to start league play 2-0 for the first time since joining the ACC, while the Tar Heels try to avoid 0-2:

Miami’s backcourt

Scott, a senior, and Larkin, a sophomore, are combining for 27.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.6 points per game. And they rarely take (or give defenses) a breather, averaging more than 35 minutes apiece per game.

“They’re a difficult team to guard because Durand can take the ball to the basket so well and get fouled, get to the rim and he can make some 3s, too," Williams said. “We tried to go under the screen down there a couple of years ago and he makes three 3s in the first eight minutes.

"Larkin is really, really playing well. He’s really aggressive and he’s doing a good job. That gives them two point guards that have good assist-error ratios.”

Reggie Bullock

UNC’s junior wing has had the hot hand of late, averaging 17.7 points over his past four outings. During Sunday’s loss at Virginia, Bullock, who is trying to take on more of a leadership role, scored 22 points on nine shots, and Williams wants his team to do a better job of recognizing who has the hot hand -- and work on getting him the ball more often.

“What we’ve got to do is be aware; it’s not an equal opportunity," Williams said during his Monday night radio show. “Some guys can shoot better than others, some guys can score better than others, and we’ve got to figure that crap out. And we’re pushing them in a direction to figure it out, but still, they’ve got to do it out on the court. We need to work harder, when someone’s as hot as Reggie was [Sunday] night, we need to work harder to get him shots.”

And Bullock’s shooting may be counted on even more Thursday, if reserve guard Leslie McDonald -- who is averaging 8.4 points and 17.9 minutes, and is making 40.2 percent of his 3-pointers -- can’t play. McDonald “tweaked” his right knee, and did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday.

Defense

The Hurricanes rank 18th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding foes to 37.4 percent shooting per game.

The Tar Heels have held opponents to 39 percent shooting for the season, but have often been inconsistent and failed to communicate on defense when it mattered most. At Virginia, for instance, UNC allowed the Cavs to shoot 52 percent in the second half.

Player of the Weekend – Trey Burke, Michigan
Burke scored 19 points to go with a career-high 12 assists in the Wolverines' 95-67 win over Iowa. He became the first Big Ten player with 12 assists and one turnover or fewer in a conference game since Drew Neitzel in 2006. Over the past seven seasons, the only other players with 19 points, 12 assists and one turnover or fewer in a conference game were Kendall Marshall and Acie Law IV.

Scorer of the Weekend – Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga
Olynyk scored a career-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds in Gonzaga's 81-74 win at Santa Clara. He became the first Gonzaga player to reach both of those totals in a game since Ronny Turiaf in 2004. Coming off a redshirt season, Olynyk has been a breakout player for the Bulldogs, scoring in double figures in 12 of his 13 games. Olynyk went 12-for-15 from the field in this one, and currently ranks third in the nation with a 67.5 field goal percentage.

Stat Sheet Stuffer – D.J. Cooper, Ohio
Cooper handed out a career-high 17 assists in Ohio's 94-57 win over Marshall on Saturday. He also added 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. Cooper joins Courtney Pigram (2007) as the only players to reach those totals in a game in the past 15 seasons. Cooper now has 811 career assists, which puts him on track for a top-10 all-time total. Matthew Dellavedova (645) is the only other active player with 600.

Strange Stat Line – Quinn Cook, Duke
Cook went scoreless on 0-for-11 shooting from the field, but managed 14 assists in Duke's 80-62 win over Wake Forest. The last player with more assists in a scoreless game was Charlotte’s DiJuan Harris (15) in 2009. Cook came two assists shy of Bobby Hurley’s school record. But he also became the first Blue Devil to go 0-for-11 or worse from the field since Dahntay Jones in 2003.

Bench Player of the Weekend – Rion Brown, Miami (FL)
Brown scored a career-high 22 points off the bench in Miami's 62-49 win at Georgia Tech. That’s more than he’d scored in the previous four games combined. It’s the most points for a Hurricane off the bench against a Division I opponent since Marcus Barnes had 24 against Connecticut in 2001.

Freshman of the Weekend – Javan Felix, Texas
The Longhorns came up short in overtime against Baylor, but that shouldn’t diminish Felix’s performance. He finished with 26 points, nine assists and only one turnover. The last freshman to do that in a game was Chris Paul in 2004.

ATLANTA -- Looking back at the first half against Georgia Tech on Thursday night, Shane Larkin could see why people will question if Miami deserves to be a part of the NCAA tournament.

Miami's freshman guard was front and center for the Hurricanes' putrid first 20 minutes of action at the ACC tournament. He and his teammates shot 6-of-25 (.240) from the field, turned the ball over seven times, had one assist and scored just 19 points. If not for Georgia Tech's equally grotesque first-half performance, the Canes might be doing a lot of self-loathing right about now.

But there are always two sides of a game, and Larkin prefers to focus on the second half -- the half in which Miami trounced the Yellow Jackets in their own backyard. It was a half where the Canes shot 41 percent from the field and suffocated Georgia Tech with its smothering defense.

Miami's utilization of the full-court press stymied the Yellow Jackets, forcing them to make mistake after mistake, leading to 12 of Georgia Tech's 20 turnovers. Larkin, who was benched to start the second half for sloppy, lackadaisical play, awoke to score 10 of his team-high 12 points in the second frame. Guard Rion Brown came off the bench to drain back-to-back 3s that helped spark a crippling 18-0 run early in the second.

The Canes were smarter, tougher and faster and played their way into the field of 68 with the 54-36 victory, according to Larkin.

"I know you have to pass the eye test and if people were watching that, we looked like a terrible team in the first half," Larkin said. "If they watch the whole game, they'll see that we're a very talented team (with) a lot of people who can score the ball, great bigs, and we deserve a chance to play in the tournament."

The Canes entered Thursday's game with an RPI of 51, a strength of schedule of 50 and a 3-10 record against the RPI top 100. Those numbers aren't pretty, and the only things keeping this team alive are victories over Duke and Florida State. That means Miami will likely need to make some sort of run in the ACC tournament.

That run started with its blowout of Georgia Tech, a team counted out of the tournament months ago, and could continue with a win over Florida State on Friday. Miami is 1-1 against FSU, and would get back in the tournament committee's good graces with another win over the 17th-ranked Seminoles.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Miami as one of the last four out, so work needs to be done, but senior guard Malcolm Grant said his team can't worry about brackets and possibilities. Winning will cure everything for Miami.

"[Friday's] a big game for us, but we don't want to go in there thinking that if we win we're definitely in the tournament because we don't want to put added pressure on ourselves," Grant said.

To Larkin, Miami's body of work, which includes 19 wins, isn't the only thing that should send the Canes dancing. He thinks the second-half effort Thursday shows how dangerous and exciting this team could be in the tournament.

Given the chance, Larkin believes Miami would be quite the date for the Big Dance.

"We're a very talented team, can do a lot of things, and we showed that in the second half," he said.

ATLANTA --Miami overcame dreadful shooting in the first half to roll right over Georgia Tech 54-36 in the finale of the first round of the ACC tournament Thursday.

For a team that shot pretty well during the regular season, the Hurricanes were erratic during the first half against the Yellow Jackets. Miami sank just 6 of 25 (24 percent) first-half shots, on its way to just 19 points. The good news for the Canes was that Georgia Tech struggled to find the bottom of the basket as well, scoring just 20 points on 8-of-26 shooting.

Things changed for the better for the Canes in the second frame, as they had outscored Georgia Tech 23-9 halfway through the second half. It helped that the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 20 times, including 12 in the second half.

Miami found a spark off the bench in guard Rion Brown, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second. He helped fuel an 18-0 run for the Canes early in the second half with back-to-back 3s and a scintillating dunk on an alley-oop pass. After that run, the Canes never looked back.

Turning point: The 18-0 Miami run — which started with two free throws from guard/forward DeQuan Jones with 13:14 remaining — did the Yellow Jackets in. The Hurricanes went up 42-27 after hitting eight of nine shots, including two 3s from Brown, during the run, while Georgia Tech missed five consecutive shots and turned the ball over four times.

Key player: Freshman guard Shane Larkin did everything for the Canes. He owned the point, scoring a team-high 12 points, registering 3 steals and 3 assists, and snagging a rebound.

Key stat: Georgia Tech turned the ball over 20 times to Miami's 10.

Miscellaneous: Miami's 19 points and 24 percent shooting clip in the first half were the second-lowest outputs for the Hurricanes in those two categories at the half this season. Georgia Tech scored just 20 points, marking the seventh time this season that the Yellow Jackets have scored 20 or fewer at the half. ... Both teams combined for 14 baskets and 37 misses in the first half. ... Miami entered the game shooting 36 percent from 3-point land, but hit just 3-of-18 (16.7) Thursday night. ... Miami outscored Georgia Tech 35-16 in the second half.

What's next: Georgia Tech's season is over, while Miami will look to enhance its tournament chances with a victory over Florida State on Friday. The Canes are 1-1 against Florida State this season, including beating the Seminoles 78-62 the last time these two got together. Miami still appears to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA tournament, but a win over Florida State would certainly go a long way to helping its chances.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- A quick look at seventh-ranked North Carolina’s 73-64 win over Miami at BankUnited Center on Wednesday:

What it means: The win pushed UNC’s ACC record to 9-2 and kept it in the hunt for the regular-season conference title (although it could use some help from Duke and Florida State, as all three began the day tied atop the conference standings). The loss thwarted Miami’s attempt to beat both Duke and UNC in the same season for the first time, as the Hurricanes are still trying to play -- and prove -- their way into the NCAA tournament.

How it happened: Miami connected on 42.4 percent of its shots -- including five 3-pointers -- in the first half, and few looked overly tough.

UNC, meanwhile, got zero first-half points from its backcourt, as Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Harrison Barnes and reserve James Michael McAdoo accounted for all its points. It was a stark contrast from the last time these two teams played -- last month, when UNC starting guards Kendall Marshall and Dexter Strickland combined for 26 points. This time, Marshall and fellow starter Reggie Bullock were 0-for-7 at the break.

The Tar Heels trailed 35-30 at halftime, then 44-36 early in the second half when Barnes started doing that make-big-shots-at-key-times thing he does. He followed a 3-pointer with a three-point play to cut his team’s deficit to 44-42, teammate P.J. Hairston added two free throws to tie it, and then, after two foul shots from UM’s Reggie Johnson, Barnes buried another 3 to give the Tar Heels a 47-46 lead with 13:06 left.

UNC led by as much as 63-55 on a Bullock 3-pointer, and the Hurricanes tried to keep it interesting when Rion Brown countered with a 3 to cut UNC’s lead to five points. But Bullock’s second 3 of the game gave the Tar Heels a 67-58 cushion with 1:31 left.

Barnes led the Tar Heels with 23 points, Henson added 14 and Bullock finished with 10.

Durand Scott led the Hurricanes with 15 points.

Number to know: The Tar Heels entered the game 6-for-26 from 3-point land in the month of February; they were 5-for-18 on Wednesday.

Injury report: Hairston, who sat out UNC’s win over Virginia on Saturday because of a sore left foot, went through the shootaround Wednesday morning, dressed for the game and checked in with 9:39 left in the first half. He finished with four points.

What’s next: The Tar Heels will play Clemson on Saturday at the Smith Center. The Hurricanes play Wake Forest, also on Saturday.

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.