HALFTIME: Duke 32, Virginia Tech 20

The ACC's last place team had trouble keeping up with the Blue Devils right from the start, turning the ball over on 28.1 percent of their possessions. Duke built a 20-point lead by the 9:50 mark by taking advantage of the Hokies inability to hold onto the ball, but the Blue Devils hit a cold streak from there—scoring just two points in the next six minutes.

Observations from the first half of play:

• In the first few minutes Duke opened up cold from outside the arc, missing four of its first five 3-point attempts, but the Blue Devils scored seven of their first nine points off turnovers and second-chance points.
• The Blue Devils came out with full-court pressure from the start, forcing the Hokies—who average 12.9 turnovers per game— into nine giveaways in the half.
• Virginia Tech took four minutes to score its second bucket, during which the Blue Devils racked up two steals and three blocks.
• The Hokies did not score a third field goal until another seven minutes later at the 7:28 mark.
• Duke finished the half, posting just a 23.5 3-point field goal percentage and a 36.1 field goal percentage overall, but thanks to their defensive performance, that has been more than enough.
• Virginia Tech had one 7-0 run coming near the end of the half against a lineup of Matt Jones, Quinn Cook, Rodney Hood, Josh Hairston and Marshall Plumlee.
• Despite their woes, the Hokies were able to manage three blocks on double-double machine Jabari Parker.