Some early feistiness from the players on both teams culminated in a technical foul on Duke's Andre Dawkins midway through the first half.
Dawkins made a 3-pointer and then said something to Virginia Tech's Dorenzo Hudson as he ran up the court. Minutes before that, players from both teams came together after the Hokies were unhappy with a Duke foul.
An ordinate amount of off-the-ball fouls were called, especially in the first half. Seth Curry, Tyler Thornton, Miles Plumlee and Dawkins each had two fouls by halftime as 11 first-half fouls were called on the Blue Devils.
That's not to suggest all the calls went against Duke, by any stretch; the Blue Devils benefitted from a missed shot clock violation in the middle of its 13-2 run in the first half.
Ryan Kelly seems to do some of his best work when he is replaced in the starting lineup. He scored a career-high 21 points against Georgia Tech after beginning the game on the bench. After starting the next two games, he scored 20 points against Wake Forest while coming off the bench. Replaced by Josh Hairston in the starting lineup Thursday, Kelly led the Blue Devils with nine points in the first half and finished with 15.
