CORAL GABLES, Fla. — With a steady din coming from the sea of orange behind the visitors’ basket, No. 1 Duke had a tough time making a shot.
The Blue Devils went more than 8 minutes without a field goal in the first half Wednesday night, and a sellout became a blowout for No. 25 Miami, which delighted a boisterous crowd with a 90-63 victory.
The defeat was the third worst ever for a No. 1 team. The last time Duke lost a regular-season game by a bigger margin was in January 1984.
“It wasn’t demoralizing; they played better,” Blue Devils guard Rasheed Sulaimon said. “I believe we have them on the schedule again.”
“We expected them to be terrific, and we have to match terrific, and then you have a terrific game,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “What you had was a terrific win for them, but not a terrific game.We didn’t hold our end of the bargain.”
Miami (14-3, 5-0) beat a No. 1 team for the first time, taking control with a stunning 25-1 run midway through the opening half. The Blue Devils missed 13 consecutive shots despite numerous good looks, while four Hurricanes hit three-pointers during the run that transformed a 14-13 deficit into a 38-15 lead.
Duke (16-2, 3-2) fell to 0-2 when playing on an opponent’s court. The Blue Devils’ other loss came at North Carolina State, a defeat that cost them the No. 1 ranking.
They regained the top spot this week but seemed rattled by the capacity crowd, only the 10th in 10 years at Miami’s on-campus arena. Students began lining up for seats outside the arena almost 24 hours before tip off, a rarity for the attendance-challenged Hurricanes.
“I don’t know how you can sit outside for a basketball game for that long,” Miami guard Durand Scott said. “That made me want to win for them even more.”
The Hurricanes, who are alone atop the league standings, won their sixth consecutive game. They beat Duke for the second time in a row but only the fourth time in the 19-game series.
Miami had been 0-6 against No. 1 teams. Coach Jim Larranaga also beat a No. 1 team for the first time.
Scott scored a season-high 25 points for the Hurricanes, and Kenny Kadji added a season-high 22. Shane Larkin had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and Durham, N.C. native Julian Gamble had 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Cleanthony Early scored 17 points, Carl Hall added 15 and No. 20 Wichita State rallied for a 62-52 victory over host Missouri State. Missouri State, behind freshman Gavin Thurman, used a 19-1 run to take a 33-25 lead with 16:13 remaining in the game. The Shockers (18-2, 7-1), who were playing just days after upsetting then-No. 12 Creighton, remained in first place in the conference. Thurman had 21 points to lead Missouri State (5-15, 3-5). ... Ramon Galloway went the length of the court for the winning basket with 2.7 seconds left to send La Salle to a 54-53 victory over No. 9 Butler in Philadelphia. Fans stormed the court in a wild celebration for the biggest victory for La Salle (13-5, 3-2) in 33 years. There was some confusion after Galloway’s basket and fans were ordered off the court. Butler had attempted a last second heave that was way off the mark. Officials huddled with both coaches and they decided the final score stood. It was mayhem again as fans rushed the court for the second time in minutes. ... Victor Oladipo scored 19 points and Yogi Ferrell added a season-high 15 to help No. 7 Indiana (17-2, 5-1) rout Penn State (8-11, 0-7) 72-49 in Bloomington, Ind. ... Jared Swopshire scored 16 points to lead Northwestern to a 55-48 victory over No. 12 Minnesota in Evanston, Ill. The Wildcats (12-8, 3-4 Big Ten) made just enough shots down the stretch to beat a ranked opponent for the second time in three games while sending the Gophers (15-4, 3-3) to their third consecutive loss. ... Tony Snell scored 23 points and No. 15 New Mexico (17-2, 4-0) held off a late Colorado State (15-4, 2-2) rally for a 66-61 victory in Albuquerque, N.M. ... E.J. Singler scored 19 points and No. 16 Oregon rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Washington State 68-61 in Eugene, Ore. Singler scored 14 points in the second half for the Ducks (17-2, 6-0 Pacific-12), who trailed 39-29 at halftime before pulling out their eighth consecutive victory. ... Richard Carter scored 20 points and Drake (9-10, 3-5) stunned No. 17 Creighton 74-69 in Des Moines, Iowa. Doug McDermott had 21 points to lead Creighton.
Sports, Pages 23 on 01/24/2013