Winning vibes: Duke basketball versus Miami prediction

A Duke basketball letdown against Miami feels unlikely.

Thursday's 96-69 victory over Pitt extended the Duke basketball win streak to seven games, setting the stage for an ACC Tournament semifinal bout against Miami at 7 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN2) in Greensboro. The winner will play for the title at 8:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) against Friday's nightcap winner between Clemson and Virginia. 

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With Selection Sunday only two days away, the Duke Blue Devils and Miami Hurricanes are projected as No. 5 seeds in ESPN's updated Bracketology for the NCAA Tournament. Both stocks are on the rise.

The ACC Tournament's top-seeded Hurricanes (25-6, 15-5 ACC) have lost only once across their past 10 outings. As for the No. 4 seed Blue Devils (24-8, 14-6 ACC), in addition to their season-best win streak, they're fresh off tallying season-high marks in points, assists (27, an ACC Tournament record), and field goal percentage (62.1).

Top plays from the win over Pitt pic.twitter.com/fKlPZd4JDC

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 10, 2023

Whichever team prevails will likely be the favorite to cut down the nets on Saturday night.

Although Duke and Miami split their two regular-season meetings, the Hurricanes outscored the Blue Devils 147-127 altogether by recording an 81-59 blowout at home in their most recent clash. But that loss led to a players-only meeting in Durham. And that meeting seems to have catalyzed the impressive late-season growth.

So who has the advantage in the momentum department on Friday?

Duke. Not only are the young Blue Devils firing on all cylinders under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer, but they're doing so with an air of confidence that resembles more-seasoned Duke basketball squads from yesteryear. Their celebrations following big-time plays — countless instances of those lately — have been increasingly mild.

In other words, the unselfish bunch is acting like it's been there before.

And they're protecting the ball better, a key to preventing Miami from excelling in transition. Consider that Duke committed 21 turnovers in its loss at Miami; compare that to only 10 in the win in Durham a few weeks earlier.

Whether enjoying a lopsided win like last time out or grinding out a victory in a tightly contested battle (7-2 in games decided by five points or less this season), these Blue Devils look cool, calm, and collected, a testament to their buy-in and Scheyer's brilliance.

Prediction: Duke 72, Miami 66

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