Miami's Shane Larkin (0) was the one who relayed the message to slap the floor on defense to the rest of the Hurricanes. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—After Duke had dispatched of Maryland with a 84-64 win, Quinn Cook called it a “program game.” And he wasn’t the only one who referenced what had happen to Duke in its previous game in Miami.

“Everyone has to look in the mirror and say, ‘what do I have to do?’” Mason Plumlee said of the team’s response to the loss in Coral Gables. “We hate losing, naturally.”

It was the way Duke lost, though, that made the trip especially painful. The Hurricanes embarrassed Duke in a 90-63 win, and, late in the second half, they taunted the Blue Devils, too.

Leading 72-44, the Miami players slapped the floor after the set up on defense, mocking the Duke tradition that dates back several decades. Hurricanes guard Shane Larkin told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Warren Sapp, a Miami legend, had told him to do that while he was shooting free throws on the previous possession.

Larkin said the next day that the Hurricanes didn’t mean to be disrespectful. But it was too late for that.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has seen hesitancy in his shooters lately. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Every Saturday, the News & Observer takes a look around the ACC. That also provides an opportunity to check in with the Blue Devils and look for any emerging trends.

A few minutes after Duke had been run off the court by the Miami students rushing the floor, Mike Krzyzewski couldn’t find any silver linings in the 90-63 loss.

“I can’t think of any, no,” he said when asked.

There really was no sugarcoating the 27-point loss, one of the worst in the Krzyzewski era. Duke shot below 30 percent from the field for the first time since Feb. 21, 2010, but the Blue Devils won that game against Virginia Tech. There was no such solace Wednesday night.

Mason Plumlee has a chance to asset himself against another potential lottery pic in Maryland's Alex Len.

Duke vs. Maryland
When: 1:00 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: CBS/WKIX-102.9 FM
What: Duke has to rebound from a loss. Two players from the 2009 team that lost by 27 at Clemson—Nolan Smith and Gerald Henderson—reflect on that. And Jay Williams talks about a particularly disappointing loss in 2002.

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (16-2, 3-2 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.1 ppg, 6.1 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 15.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Amile Jefferson, Fr., 4.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg

Maryland (15-4, 3-3)
G Seth Allen, Fr., 5.7 ppg, 2.5 apg
G Nick Faust, So., 8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
G/F Dez Wells, So., 11.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg
G/F Jake Layman, Fr., 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
C Alex Len, So., 13.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg

Player to watch:

Mason Plumlee, Duke

Seth Curry never found his shot against the Hurricanes, and he finished with zero points. That's not a recipe for success. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—How did that happen?

Duke rarely loses regular season games by more than 20 points—it’s actually only happened eight times while Mike Krzyzewski has been at the helm. On Wednesday, >No. 1 Duke lost by 27 at No. 25 Miami, 90-63. There’s a link to the game story here, and I also shared a few other postgame thoughts here.

As I said in the story, the reason for the loss was simple: Miami hit a lot of shots. Duke didn’t. On a basic level, the Hurricanes shot 56.9 percent from the floor, a season-high for a Duke opponent. Their shooting performance reminded me of another head scratching Duke loss, Jan. 20, 2010, when an unranked N.C. State shot 58.2 percent in an 88-74 triumph.

A look at the advanced stats reveals even more of a disparity. Miami’s effective field goal percentage—a measure that gives 50 percent more credit for 3-pointers since they account for more points—was 64.7 percent, virtually double Duke’s 32.4 percent (the Blue Devils shot a season-low 29.7 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from deep). The Hurricanes also did a much better job getting to the free throw line, which, in theory, leads to more points. Even though Duke did hold a slight edge in the two other “four factors to winning,” (see the chart below) Miami’s shooting was so superior that it was irrelevant. And, naturally, a team as more chances at offensive rebounds when it misses more shots.

The Blue Devils can only count down the minutes until the game's end in a blowout loss to Miami. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—A few more thoughts and notes from Duke's historic loss at Miami:

***Duke’s loss was the third worst for a No. 1-ranked team and the worst in 45 years. ULCA beat No. 1 Houston by 32 points in 1968, and Kentucky beat No. 1 St. Johns by 41 in 1951. In those respective years, UCLA went on to win the championship, and Kentucky ended the season ranked No. 1.

***The Duke coaches never screamed or stomped their feet on the sideline. They spent most of the game seated. Mike Krzyzewski did get up to tell Mason Plumlee to dunk to ball early in the second half and later appealed to referee Karl Hess, “We’re losing by 30 points, give us some free throws,” after contact was ignored under the basket. But mostly, they just sat and watched. There wasn’t much to say as the shots—most of them coming off of good looks—continued to miss.

Duke was thoroughly beaten—in every sense of the word—at Miami. All Mike Krzyzewski could do was watch. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—Throughout the Mike Krzyzewski era, Duke has routinely routed teams, going on game-sealing runs so fast that the opponent was left wondering how it happened.

Wednesday night, Duke was on the receiving end of one of those head-scratching runs, as the No. 1 Blue Devils lost 90-63 at No. 25 Miami.

It was the Blue Devils’ worst regular season loss since Feb. 4, 2009, when they also lost by 27 points to then-No. 10 Clemson, 74-47. Before that, it was Jan. 18, 1984, when then-No. 12 Wake Forest won by 31 points, 97-66.

“Not much to say after that,” Krzyzewski said. “They were men, we were boys for 40 minutes, and the score and performance reflected that disparity. They were terrific, and we did not hold up our end of the bargain tonight.”

There will be plenty of big men for Duke to attempt to slow in Miami. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke at Miami
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, Fla.
TV/Radio: ESPN/WKIX-102.9 FM
Compelling preview: Miami has plenty of what Mike Krzyzewski considers the most valuable asset in college basketball.

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (16-1, 3-1 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.5 ppg, 6.1 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 16.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F Josh Hairston, Jr., 1.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.4 ppg, 11.5 rpg

No. 25 Miami (13-3, 4-0)
G Shane Larkin, So., 12.2 ppg, 3.9 apg
G Durand Scott, Sr., 13.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg
G Trey McKinney Jones, r-Sr., 9.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F/C Kenny Kadji, Jr, r-Sr., 12.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg
F/C Julian Gamble, r-Sr., 6.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg

Player to watch:

The Blue Devils are on top of the polls once again. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

It took Duke just one week to get back to the top of the polls, as the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls released Monday. It is the fifth week this season that Duke has held the top spot.

The Blue Devils (16-1, 3-1) received 39 of 65 possible first-place votes. Michigan, ranked No. 2, received 11 first-place votes, and the remainder were split between Kansas (seven) and No. 4 Syracuse (8), which tied for the No. 3 spot.

Because there aren't any clear elite teams this year—strong cases could (and have) been made to rank Duke, Michigan, Kansas, Syracuse, Louisville, Arizona and Florida at No. 1—voting is a bit tricky. Seth Davis expounded on this idea in his weekly Fast Break column, which you should read every week, if you don't already:

Duke is now 1-1 without Ryan Kelly. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY.

Every Saturday, the News & Observer takes a look around the ACC. That also provides an opportunity to check in with the Blue Devils and look for any emerging trends.

Duke was eager to take the floor against Georgia Tech. As assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski said earlier in the week, the Blue Devils were 0-1 without injured starter Ryan Kelly, and they had something to prove.

“A lot of people outside the gym think that we can’t be successful without Ryan,” Tyler Thornton said before the game against the Yellow Jackets. “Ryan is a big piece of our team, but we have other guys that our coaching staff recruited here for a reason. We’re all excited just to be able to come in and show what we can do.”

DURHAM—Mason Plumlee was asked about the good looks he had at the basket in the first half of Duke's win over Georgia Tech, and he interrupted the question.

"They were great looks," he said. "Man, I might never get those looks again. I've got to to finish."

Plumlee went 2-for-12 in the first half for six total points. In the second half, though, he found his touch—"You've got to shoot through it," he said—and finished 7-for-20 for 16 points. The 20 attempts were a career high, topping the 16 he had against Marquette as a sophomore.