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Duke Blows Miami Out, 89-54

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Duke Blows Miami Out, 89-54


Remember when Miami was a team you had to take seriously? That Miami could hurt you. That Miami could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. That was not the Miami we saw Tuesday night and frankly we miss that other Miami.

Duke beat this Miami by 35, 89-54, and it was nolo contendere, no mas, no way for the ‘Canes, and that started early.

Miami tied the game at 6-6 and then Duke took over and went on a three point binge.

Kon Knueppel hit two, then Mason Gillis hit two then Knueppel hit another. Then it was Sion James and Isaiah Evans hit a pair. By that time it was 30-15 and the game was effectively over.

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Duke shot 8-12 on threes in the first half and finished the game 17-32 and 53.1 percent on threes is not bad.

Duke’s defense was also imposing. The Blue Devils held Miami to 6-20 on threes (30 percent) and 23-59 overall (39 percent). The ‘Canes only had eight turnovers, but that doesn’t reflect the number of pressured shots, airballs and shot clock violations that Duke pushed them into.

Lynne Kidd was the only real threat Miami had for most of the game and he did surprisingly well against Khaman Maluach, finishing with 20 points and just one rebound.

Austin Swartz got 11 points and that was about it for the ‘Canes. Jalil Bethea had seven; no one else had more than five.

No doubt a lot of people were looking for Cooper Flagg to erupt again after his 42 point game against Notre Dame but that didn’t happen. Flagg finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

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The leading scorer was Knueppel. Playing like he wanted to make up for the end of the Notre Dame game, Knueppel finished with 25 on 9-11/6-8 shooting. He also had three assists.

Tyrese Proctor didn’t score in this one and that followed a three-point outing against the Irish. Prior to that he had 14, 13, 14 and ten in the previous four games.

Sion James finished with five points, five assists, two rebounds and three blocks, including one terrific one in the second half.

Mason Gillis was tremendous too. His role has really expanded in the last two games. He’s just playing at a much higher level.

Caleb Foster played well, scoring nine points on 3-6/2-3 from the floor. He has been working hard to get to the basket lately and that’s a nice complement to the hot outside shooting.

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Duke used Patrick Ngongba for 18 minutes in the absence of Maliq Brown, and he showed some improvement too. He finished with four points and five rebounds and certainly didn’t hurt the team. That’s pretty good for a freshman who was pushed back by injury.

Isaiah Evans played well and aggressively, finishing with eight points and two boards.

Darren Harris got in for eight minutes and also did well. He didn’t score much – just a free throw – but he was comfortable on the court.

You’ve probably noticed that we haven’t gotten to Khaman Maluach yet and that’s because we saved the best for last.

Well, Knueppel was the best tonight. But we could certainly say Maluach was the most exciting thing about this game.

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In the earliest games this season, Maluach was tentative. At times he was almost timid. Those days, if they’re not gone, nearly are.

Maluach is a different player. It’s not his stats though they were excellent. He had 12 points on 6-7 from the floor and 15 rebounds. Maluach was tremendous Tuesday.

What really excited us though was his alertness and confidence. There was no tentativeness. There was no uncertainty. And best of all, there were two plays in a row in the second half where he was near the basket and just took the ball straight up. First time was after a rebound and the second he just went up for a jump hook.

These were things he just didn’t do earlier. It wasn’t a question of ability. It was just a lack of confidence and experience. He’s improving with unbelievable speed.

It’s really one of the most striking things we’ve ever seen at Duke. We’ll have to think about this but who has ever improved like this this quickly?

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With the win, Duke moves to 15-2 and the losses to Kentucky, by five, and Kansas, by three, don’t seem as concerning.

Next up for the Blue Devils is a trip to Boston College Saturday, then three straight Tobacco Road opponents – at Wake Forest, then NC State and UNC at home.

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‘Confident’ Bencic takes out Anisimova, eyes Gauff next in Miami

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‘Confident’ Bencic takes out Anisimova, eyes Gauff next in Miami


A “super clean and confident” performance from Belinda Bencic earned her an upset of one Top 10-ranked American at the Miami Open on Monday night — and she’s hoping that form carries over into another in less than 24 hours.

Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The No. 12 seed led nearly wire-to-wire in a 6-2, 6-2 thumping of No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova to put her through to a 12th career WTA 1000 quarterfinal, and second in Miami after she reached the 2022 semifinals. She’ll face another Florida resident, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, on Tuesday night in the hopes of matching her tournament best from four years ago.

Bencic had good reason to praise her play against Anisimova, in a match that was projected to be a late-afternoon affair but ended up taking the court at 9 p.m. after three of the four matches preceding it on Grandstand stretched to three sets. She landed 87% of her first serves, winning 72% of those points, and hit 19 winners in 14 games to break a 2-2 head-to-head tie against the two-time Grand Slam singles finalist.

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She saved the only break point she faced, too, which came when she was already ahead 6-2, 4-1. 

Bencic next looks to complete a personal Sunshine Double of sorts against Gauff as she eyes back-to-back Top 10 victories on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Though the American has won four of their previous six meetings, Bencic’s most-recent win came in the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open last year.

More to come…

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Miami-Dade trainer helps young athletes chase their next big opportunity

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Miami-Dade trainer helps young athletes chase their next big opportunity


KENDALL, Fla. — With March Madness underway and Division I athletes back in the spotlight, the level of training it takes to compete at the top of college sports is getting plenty of attention.

In Kendall, one coach is working every day to help young athletes reach that level.

Kevin Lopez is the fitness director at D1 Training Kendall, where the focus is helping athletes get stronger, faster and more confident.

For Lopez, the work is personal. His own athletic career started with a similar opportunity growing up in Miami.

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“I got trained by a guy down here in Miami who focused on strength and conditioning, specifically for athletes — for kids that are trying develop, improve and go to college,” Lopez said. “It allowed me to be one of the top receivers in that year for our district, which gave me opportunities to go play at Iowa.”

That experience changed his path and ultimately brought him back home.

Now Lopez says his mission is to give other athletes the same type of chance.

“I want to try and help out as many people as I can, to give them that same opportunity, or at least get them as close as they can to reach that if that’s a goal that they have for themselves,” he said.

Inside the gym at D1 Kendall, the training goes well beyond basic workouts.

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“We focus on lateral movements, we focus on their agility, their quickness, we focus on building that upper body strength as well,” he said.

Just as important, he says, is helping athletes stay healthy and confident.

“A lot of kids are coming in to build their confidence,” Lopez said. “It’s not just to improve their speed, their agility, their quickness to transition over to the field or to the court.”

The gym has also become a place where athletes feel comfortable pushing themselves.

“We’re just trying to build a community around here,” Lopez said. “We’re trying to expand and touch as many people, as many athletes, as many adults as we can.”

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“This is a home for them,” he added. “And they have somewhere they’re going to come, feel at ease, not feel intimidated.”

To learn more about D1 Kendall, visit their website.

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Sebastian Korda stuns world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at 2026 Miami Open | Tennis.com

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Sebastian Korda stuns world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at 2026 Miami Open | Tennis.com


Korda threatened to run away with the second set when he won three games in a row and earned a chance for a double-break lead. Alcaraz held on until it came time for Korda to serve for the match.

Keeping the pressure on, Alcaraz secured a love-break and reeled off five straight games to force a final set.

Undaunted, Korda snapped the streak to get back on the board and weathered some stellar play from Alcaraz to score the first break of the decider.

Down 3-5 for a third straight set, Alcaraz made another brave last stand to force Korda to serve for the match. Korda made no mistake this time, putting away a backhand to set up two match points. Alcaraz saved the first but Korda claimed the second with one last well-struck serve.

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Standing between Korda and a return trip to the quarterfinals will be either No. 14 seed Karen Khachanov or Spanish qualifier Martín Landaluce.



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