With students camping outside overnight, a sellout crowd and Dick Vitale calling the game from courtside, Wednesday night’s showdown between No. 1 Duke and No. 25 Miami had all the elements of a big game.
For the Hurricanes, it turned out to be one of the most important in the program’s history.
Paced by hot shooting and stellar defense, UM routed Duke 90-63 in a performance that undoubtedly will resonate throughout the college basketball world.
The victory was the first by Miami (14-3, 5-0) against a top-ranked team and came before a raucous crowd of 7,972 at the BankUnited Center that did a pretty good impersonation of Duke’s Cameron Crazies. UM had lost its five previous games to teams ranked No. 1.
Duke’s loss was the third-worst ever sustained by a No. 1 team.
Wednesday’s game, televised nationally by ESPN, ended with much of the crowd spilling onto the court to celebrate with UM’s players and coaches. Durand Scott and Rion Brown exchanged repeated palm slaps while being held above the court by fans.
“The crowd willed us to win,” UM center Reggie Johnson said. “I’ve never seen a gym like that.”
While the packed house played a major role in the victory, it was the performances of Shane Larkin, Scott and Kenny Kadji that made the biggest difference. The trio combined to make 26 of 39 shots for 65 points. Scott finished with 25 points while Larkin added 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
The game got so out of hand that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski barely rose from his seat on the Blue Devils’ bench for the last five minutes. It was Duke’s worst loss since a 27-point defeat to Clemson in 2009.
“They killed us,” Krzyzewski said. “We didn’t have an answer the whole night.”
Asked if he could take any positives from the loss, Krzyzewski answered: “I can’t think of one right now except the weather is good.”
UM took control of the game midway through the first half, going on a 25-1 run that resulted in a 38-15 lead with 3:28 to go before intermission. Scott and Kadji combined for 10-of-14 shooting and 26 points in the opening 20 minutes for the Hurricanes, who shot 58.6 percent.
Miami finished the game shooting 56.9 percent from the field, including 9-of-19 from 3-point range.
While UM couldn’t seem to miss, Duke (16-2, 3-2) shot mostly blanks. The Blue Devils connected on only 22 of 74 shots (29.7 percent) and made just 4 of 23 3-pointers after entering the game as one of the nation’s best-shooting teams from long distance.
Duke guard Seth Curry — the Blue Devils’ second-leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points — missed each of his 10 attempts from the field and finished with no points.
“Our defense is what really keys us,” Larkin said.
Beyond beating the Blue Devils, the biggest surprise Wednesday came with the appearance of Johnson.
UM’s 292-pound center broke his left thumb in mid-December and was expected to be sidelined 6-8 weeks. Larranaga gave no indication during a news conference Monday that Johnson would play against Duke, hinting strongly that the center was weeks away from returning.
But Johnson entered the game with 14:17 in the first half to chants of “Reggie, Reggie” and, despite limited stamina, gave the Hurricanes a sizable boost. He finished withe two points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Larranaga said he didn’t know Johnson would be available against Duke until receiving a call from his center in the morning saying that he had been cleared to play.
“I felt when I told the guys I was playing, it gave them a lot of energy,” said Johnson, who was averaging a double-double before he was injured.
The Hurricanes return to the court at 6 p.m. Sunday when they face Florida State at the BankUnited Center.
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