Head coach Mike Krzyzewski was unhappy with Duke’s aggressiveness down the stretch in its narrow victory over St. John’s last weekend. Thursday night in Blacksburg, the Blue Devils brought increased intensity to both ends of the floor, defeating Virginia Tech 75-60.
“We had two really tough days of practice and they responded very, very well,” Krzyzewski said. “What they did in practice is what they did again in tonight’s game.”
Ryan Kelly, who was replaced by Josh Hairston in the starting lineup, showed what the extra practice time had done late in the first half. With six minutes remaining in the half and Duke up 23-21, Kelly drove through the lane on back-to-back possessions, finishing with a slam-dunk and tough layup, respectively.
Quinn Cook would enter the game soon after, making his presence felt immediately. Cook made a nifty drive to the basket to score, but had an even larger impact as a floor general. The freshman would assist Kelly and Dawkins on a pair of 3-pointers, contributing to a 13-2 Duke run that extended its advantage to 11, a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.
“I just had to be aggressive,” Kelly said. “Most games we play I can find opportunities if I’m aggressive.”
The Blue Devils kept their foot on the pedal in the second half. Leading 55-39, Kelly would once again be a part of a Duke run. The junior scored twice in a 7-0 stretch, capping it off with a 3-pointer that forced Virginia Tech to take a timeout.
“For 40 minutes everybody fought and all they cared about was winning,” Kelly said. “We made mistakes, but when guys play that hard for 40 minutes we can play really good.”
Seth Curry, who also started the game on the bench, provided an extra tenacity for the Blue Devils in the waning minutes of the second half. With only 5:31 remaining, Curry drove to the basket on two possessions in a row, resulting in two trips to the freethrow line and four points for Duke. The Blue Devils have let big leads slip on numerous occasions this season, which has changed Curry’s play late in games.
“We definitely had those games in the back of our minds, when we let up leads,” Curry said. “We didn’t want to get complacent, so we attacked the rim. If we get to the free-throw line, it’ll help us close out the game.”
Austin Rivers led the team with 18 points and played his most complete game of the season, also racking up five rebounds and five assists. Rivers shot 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range against a talented Hokie defense that had allowed only 62 points per game coming into the contest, a total Duke reached with more than 11 minutes left.
“I think he played a very mature game tonight,” Krzyzewksi said. “He hit big shots, I thought his defense was good. I thought it was the most alert he’s been on defense [this season].”
Aggressiveness on both ends of the court made an obvious impact, but according to Kelly, there is still much more work to be done for this Blue Devil team to have a chance in March.
“We believe we are a very talented team that can win a lot of games,” Kelly said. “But we are not satisfied with where we were and we need to continue to grow, and today was a good step.”
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