GREENSBORO -- Duke can thank Miami for a very valuable object lesson in tournament play. Mired in a first half of sluggish offense, surprisingly slack defense and obsessed with the officiating, the Blue Devils were doing just about everything in their power to keep the Hurricanes in the game.
So what’s there for Duke to thank Miami about after the 77-74 semifinal win? The Hurricanes’ first-half prowess gave Duke a chance to hone its halftime adjustments, and the Blue Devils showed some real aptitude for tweaking their system. The results were spectacular.
Down three at the half after Mike Krzyzewski was hit with a technical foul with 2:17 to go, the Blue Devils exploded in the second half. Kyle Singler, who missed five shots in a row in the first half, hit a pair of quick 3-pointers. Two Miami timeouts later, Duke was on a 21-7 run to open the half. Singler had 11 of those 21 on 5-for-5 shooting.
“I just got the ball in some great spots to score the basketball, pretty much just using our bigs to get open,” Singler said.
That easy?
When you have the kind of talent Duke has, it isn’t about major philosophical changes. It’s about the kind of minor tweaks that make all the difference in the postseason. There are many reasons Duke has won eight of the past 11 ACC tournaments. The ability to identify what’s working and what isn’t on the fly is one of the big ones.
And it would be remiss for ACC fans not to thank Miami as well, for letting freshman guard Durand Scott show off his game this weekend. The New York product got off to a slow start to his rookie season, but he finished about as strongly as possible.
With his slashing drives and hang-in-the-air floaters, Scott established himself as a player to watch next season and brought some flash to a tournament that saw some of its biggest stars go home early.
Not Duke’s trio, though. Singler had 27, Jon Scheyer 16 and Nolan Smith 12. They’ll be back tomorrow looking for another ACC title.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 829-8947 or 
