BLACKSBURG, Va.—In Duke's final two nonconference matchups, the Blue Devils struggled to find an early rhythm, but managed to still find themselves in tight battles.
This time around, though, Duke finds itself in a deep hole after 20 minutes of play in its first true road game.
Virginia Tech holds a 47-31 advantage at halftime at Cassell Coliseum thanks to a balanced Hokie attack led by 31 combined points from Justin Robinson, Justin Bibbs and Seth Allen. Virginia Tech jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after the Blue Devils started 0-of-7 from the field and the hosts have been in front the entire way in the two sides' ACC opener.
Despite being ranked 10th in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency metric, the Duke defense has given the Hokies plenty of lanes and easy points in the paint. Virginia Tech has used its fastbreak attack to control the tempo—the Hokies average 83.5 points per game and are on pace to hit that number this afternoon.
Virginia Tech is shooting an efficient 58.1 percent from the field with nine second-chance points, taking advantage of the Blue Devils' lackluster effort on the defensive end.
With Grayson Allen suspended, Frank Jackson moved into the starting lineup. The freshman guard picked up three fouls in less than five minutes, however, forcing Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski to use a number of different lineups—none of which feature a primary ballhandler.
Once again, sophomore Luke Kennard has carried the offensive load for the Blue Devils, notching 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. But outside of the Franklin, Ohio, native, Duke is shooting just 6-of-23 from the floor, including a 1-of-7 effort from freshman swingman Jayson Tatum.
Here are some other observations from the first half:
- Freshman Harry Giles scored on his first offensive possession after checking in just before the 13-minute mark and looked confident in the post, hitting on a pair of spinning jumpers and nearly making a third. He finished the half with four points and three rebounds but like his teammates struggled on defense.
- Giles' classmate Marques Bolden also looked more aggressive in his few minutes on the court, grabbing a couple of offensive rebounds but missing twice inside.
- The Virginia Tech student section repeatedly chanted, "We want Grayson," throughout the half.
- The Hokies have seven fastbreak points to zero for the Blue Devils.
- With Jackson's foul trouble and Allen sidelined, freshman Jack White checked in late in the first half with the Blue Devils down 15.
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."