Duke @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2019 ) Miami-Florida 57, Duke 87

Freshman star Vernon Carey Jr. returns to South Florida on Saturday night as No. 2 Duke opens a two-game roadswing at Miami. Both schools are on a roll coming off New Year's Eve wins, with the Blue Devils mauling Boston College 88-49 for their sixth straight victory - and their 300th of the decade -- while the Hurricanes rallied to take down Clemson in overtime for their fifth win in a row.

For the Hurricanes, it's a chance to get a good long look at the prized recruit they wanted so badly but failed to nab after Carey, the son of former Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Vernon Carey Sr., chose Duke over Miami, North Carolina, Michigan State and Kentucky. And Carey is every bit living up to those high expectations, sitting in the top four in the ACC in shooting percentage (61.3), scoring (17.9 per game), rebounding (9.0 per game) and blocks (2.2 per game). Shutting down Carey and a Blue Devils offense ranked seventh in the nation and first in the ACC with 83.3 points per game will be a tall task for the Hurricanes, but they counter with their own scoring punch as Miami, with Chris Lykes (15.9), Kameron McGusty (15.2) and Dejan Vasiljevic (15.1), is one of just four teams in the country (Oklahoma, Pepperdine and Eastern Washington) with three 15-point scorers. They are the only trio of teammates in the ACC's top 11 for scoring and their combined average of 46.2 points per game is second in the conference, just behind Syracuse's combined total from its top three scorers (46.3).

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT DUKE (12-1, 2-0 ACC): Starting point guard Tre Jones returned to the lineup against Boston College after missing two games with a left foot injury and he responded with a game-high 10 assists and just one turnover but the team's second-leading scorer (14.3 ppg) couldn't get his shots to fall, scoring only five points on 2-of-8 shooting. Led by Carey and fellow freshman starter Cassius Stanley (12), the Blue Devils have averaged a nation-best 7.8 blocked shots per game since Thanksgiving and for the season, they rank fifth in the country with 6.7. Duke is allowing just 60.7 points over its six-game winning streak and the Blue Devils top the nation in scoring margin (plus-20.8) after winning its last three games by an average of 31 points.

ABOUT MIAMI (9-3, 1-1): With a game-high 27 points in the win over Clemson, Lykes hit the 1,000-point mark for his career as the junior guard finished one shy of his personal best in points and field goals while playing a career-high-tying 41 minutes in the OT contest. Vasiljevic totaled 15 points and seven rebounds in a career-best 43 minutes in the OT win, while McGusty scored 15 points as the bench contributed just nine points for the game. The Hurricanes will need to boost their presence on the boards as they are only averaging 25 defensive rebounds per game and they will battle a Duke team ranked eighth in the nation with 14.23 offensive boards per contest.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Duke owns a 20-7 record against Miami after winning the last meeting 87-57 last March, but the Hurricanes are 5-5 under ninth-year head coach Jim Larranaga.

2. The Hurricanes were 0-10 in true road games last season but they are 3-0 thus far this year.

3. The Blue Devils have held their last two opponents - BC and Brown (75-50) - to 50 points or less, the first time they have turned that trick since 2010.

PREDICTION: Duke 85, Miami 79