No. 2 Duke vs Miami: Preview, prediction and odds (February 25th, 2025)

Modified Feb 25, 2025 16:58 GMT

NCAA Basketball: Sentinel One Classic-Duke at Illinois - Source: Imagn

Two teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils and the Miami Hurricanes will face each other on Tuesday.

The visiting Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) are on a four-game winning streak, coming off of victories against the Virginia Cavaliers and Illinois Fighting Illini last week.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes' conference play has been brutal as they continue to be at the bottom of the league standings. Miami (6-21, 2-14) lost to the Florida State Seminoles and Virginia Tech Hokies in its last two matchups.

Duke vs. Miami: Preview, prediction and odds

The Watsco Center in Florida will host the showdown between the Blue Devils and Hurricanes. Basketball fans can also catch the action by tuning in to ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.

Duke vs Miami: Game preview

The Blue Devils average 82 points per game on 48.9% shooting (38.3% from beyond the arc), beating opponents by a convincing margin of 21 ppg.

Cooper Flagg will be bringing chaos to the Hurricanes' defense. He averages 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, four assists, and 1.7 steals per game and is shooting 48.6% from the field.

Other players who could help the Blue Devils in this matchup are Kon Knueppel (13.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg), Tyrese Hunter (12 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg) and Khaman Maluach (8.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg).

Miami is averaging 74.6 ppg on 46.4% shooting (31.9% from 3-point range) as it loses to opponents by 5.1 ppg.

Duke's top defensive task would be keeping Matthew Cleveland in check. He leads the Hurricanes with 16.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg on 50.7% shooting.

Two other players who can help Miami are Lynn Kidd and Brandon Johnson. Kidd averages 11.3 ppg and 7.2 rpg. Meanwhile, Johnson averages 7.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 1.9 apg.

Duke vs. Miami: Prediction

This matchup will be difficult for Miami, despite having home-court advantage. The Hurricanes will already be busy enough keeping Cooper Flagg in check, on top of Duke's high-level offense. If their own offense can't keep with one of the best in the country, count the win in favor of the visitors.