Jan 11, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer calls a play during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images 

The Duke Blue Devils take to Coach K Court tonight to take on the Miami Hurricanes in ACC play, and on Episode 681 of the Duke Basketball Roundup, we have a special preview of the matchup against the Canes. There’s also a flurry of Duke news that is also covered.

First, the Blue Devils will have to play basketball for the next several weeks without forward/center Maliq Brown after he suffered a sprained knee against Notre Dame. How will Duke deal with not having their defensive savant available for the foreseeable future? The answer could be the call for Mason Gillis and Patrick Ngongba to be the next guys up. Next, there’s a discussion about Cooper Flagg’s genius on offense and how that was paramount in Scheyer’s roster construction plans during the offseason. He wanted to maximize the offense that Cooper Flagg could create, and that roster construction – which included some tough decisions – has proven to be successful thus far.

It’s then that the discussion shifts to the Miami Hurricanes, who have struggled a ton this season. They lost their coach when Jim Larrañaga, the winningest coach in their program’s history, abruptly resigned on December 26th. Interim head coach Bill Courtney has attempted to hold everything together, but the Canes haven’t found an answer. They’ve lost 12 of their past 13 games after starting the season 3-0, and they need a boost to get back on track. The Blue Devils hope to keep the Canes on the losing end of things, and they’ll have to step up in the absence of Maliq Brown to continue to provide excellent defense and turn that into points on the other end.

To end the show, Coach K on a recent episode of his SiriusXM show, Basketball and Beyond, mentioned that he has an idea to help raise the level of basketball in the ACC: partnering with the Big East to create a basketball megaconference. Is it a feasible idea? Would it help Duke and the ACC get back to quality basketball games and does it make sense for the conference’s bottom line? We get into a quick discussion about the ramifications of a hypothetical partnership.

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