Duke stayed perfect in ACC play and handed Virginia Tech its first conference loss with an 82-58 thrashing of the Hokies Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils drained seven 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game to help build a 27-point halftime cushion and coasted the rest of the way to an easy victory.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Get Matt Jones going: After an uncharacteristic two-point outing Wednesday at Wake Forest, Jones returned to form against Virginia Tech. The junior guard scored 13 points and shot 3-of-5 from long range, and also finished with three steals on the defensive end. Jones was not the star of the game by any means, but it was the type of solid performance that Blue Devil fans are accustomed to seeing from one of the team’s most consistent players.
- Avoid turnovers: The Blue Devils did not take care of the ball as well as they did against the Demon Deacons—when they only committed six giveaways—but they still only turned it over 13 times, eight of which came during their hot-streak to start the game. Derryck Thornton was responsible for five of these miscues, a number that was mitigated by a career-high seven assists for the freshman point guard. Most importantly, many of Duke’s turnovers resulted in dead-ball situations and the Hokies had just two steals, which limited the fastbreak opportunities that were critical in their upset of Virginia Monday. Virginia Tech had just eight points off turnovers Saturday after tallying 26 points off 16 turnovers by the Cavaliers.
- Beware of the transfers: The Blue Devils held Maryland-transfer Seth Allen in check all day, as he scored just three points on 1-of-9 shooting—well below his average of 14.5 points per game entering the contest—and coughed up five turnovers. South Florida-transfer Zach LeDay is the Hokies’ leading scorer and bested his average of 14.7 points per game with 18 against Duke, but 16 of his points came after halftime when the game was already decided.
Three Key Stats:
- Virginia Tech shoots just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc: With Duke on fire from long range to open the game, the Hokies could not keep up and never found a rhythm of their own from long range. Sophomore guard Justin Bibbs entered the game third in the nation knocking down 59 percent of his shots from deep, but missed both of his 3-point attempts and finished the contest with just three points on 1-of-4 shooting. Freshman Justin Robinson finally connected with 4:12 remaining in the game after Virginia Tech misfired on its first 11 triples.
- Brandon Ingram gets a career-high six blocks: Ingram used his length to his advantage on defense, getting a hand on six shots after swatting away four Wake Forest attempts Wednesday night. The freshman forward has been a matchup nightmare all year on offense because of his height and athleticism, but his versatility is becoming a valuable asset for Duke on defense as well.
- Duke outrebounds Virginia Tech 42-33: A game after struggling to keep Devin Thomas and the Demon Deacons off the glass, Duke matched up much better with a Hokie squad that’s tallest starter is 6-foot-8 and controlled the boards all afternoon. Marshall Plumlee reached double figures in rebounds for the fifth time this season while Ingram pulled down nine of his own, and Grayson Allen contributed as well from the backcourt with seven boards.
Three Key Plays:
- 12:57 remaining, first half: With everything going right for the Blue Devils, Ingram blocked a jumper by LeDay and Kennard pushed the ball down the floor before zipping a pass to an open Jones in the right corner. The DeSoto, Texas, native swished the 3-pointer to conclude Duke’s opening flurry of seven triples and stake the Blue Devils to a 24-7 lead.
- 7:44 remaining, first half: Robinson penetrated and seemed to have an open lane to the basket for Virginia Tech, but freshman center Chase Jeter stepped out of the restricted area and took a charge to earn an exuberant exchange from head coach Mike Krzyzewski during the ensuing media timeout. Jeter has struggled all season to adjust to the speed and physicality of the college game, but this moment was a small step in the right direction for him.
- 5:35 remaining, second half: Allen drove down the middle of the lane to draw the defense away from the hoop before dishing the ball to Plumlee under the basket for a two-handed slam. The dunk brought Plumlee to 19 points to set a new career-high.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Marshall Plumlee
The graduate student posted a career-high in scoring for the second time in as many games and led the Blue Devils with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Plumlee spent most of the afternoon lurking in the holes at the bottom of Virginia Tech’s 2-3 zone and slamming home any passes that came his way. After a perfect performance from the field and the charity stripe Wednesday night, the Warsaw, Ind., native was nearly as efficient against the Hokies, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. He was also a force in the middle on defense, communicating all game as an experienced leader and blocking two shots while only picking up one foul in 32 minutes.
And the Virginia Tech game ball goes to… Zach LeDay
None of the Hokies came ready to play for the first 20 minutes of the contest, and LeDay was no exception, scoring just two points in the first half as Duke built an insurmountable lead. But the redshirt junior forward calmly picked apart the Blue Devils' defense in the second half, finishing consistently around the basket to score 16 points after the break. He also led the team with nine rebounds and dished out two second-half assists to help Virginia Tech outscore Duke 35-32 in the period. If the Hokies want to stay near the top half of the ACC, LeDay must be a difference-maker for all 40 minutes of future games.
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