Duke Bounces Back With Blowout of Virginia Tech
Duke bounced back from a lopsided loss at NC State on Wednesday with a lopsided home win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
The Blue Devils led from wire to wire by as much as 30 before cruising to an 88-64 win. The victory moved Duke to 23-4 on the year, 13-3 in the ACC and clinched the Blue Devils a double-bye into the quarterfinals of next month’s ACC Tournament.
“They had a bad night (Wednesday) and they didn’t have a bad night (tonight), so we’re 1-1 this week,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Tre Jones hit back-to-back threes to open the game, and Cassius Stanley followed with back-to-back treys a short time later as Duke made five of its first six shots from long range topping the four shots (in 17 attempts) Duke made from outside on Wednesday. Duke also assisted on four of its first six baskets and very quickly eclipsed the six assists they managed in Wednesday’s loss.
Jones finished with 14 points and four assists, while Stanley had 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three. Vernon Carey added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Matthew Hurt had 16 and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Duke was also able to shut down Virginia Tech’s leading scorer. Landers Nolley II, Carey’s main competition for ACC Freshman of the Year and the Freshman scoring title, managed just three points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Duke dominated the boards, getting 49 rebounds to Tech’s 31. The Blue Devils also blocked nine shots on the night.
