Duke bounces back from NC State loss, storms past Virginia Tech
It’s hard enough playing Duke after a Blue Devils loss.
But after a 22-point loss?
Virginia Tech had the unenviable task Saturday of facing the sixth-ranked Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first game after Duke’s thorough beating at N.C. State. The result was in many ways predictable.
The Blue Devils, who showed little fight in the loss to the unranked Wolfpack, ripped the Hokies 88-64. The Devils (23-4, 13-3 ACC) had their game faces on from the playing of the national anthem — senior forward Jack White ever so stern as the two teams faced each other before the game — and then put on a basketball clinic.
“We were angry,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “And I was angry at them. But in order to change you have to be angry at yourself. They took responsibility right away.”
Cassius Stanley, on target from the start, had 21 points and Vernon Carey Jr. and Matthew Hurt 16 each for the Blue Devils.
“We laid a goose egg on Wednesday night,” Hurt said. “I think just coming in, having a hard practice Thursday ... we just had to lock in on the scouting report and who we’re playing and play good defense.”
Duke’s Tre Jones hit a 3-pointer from the key to open the game. Moments later, Jones hit another. The Blue Devils were off and flying, working hard at both ends of the court, knocking down shots, active on defense, showing spirit, enjoying themselves.
In other words, doing all the things they didn’t do against N.C. State.
Stanley drained a pair of 3’s and when Carey stepped out and swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Young had seen enough. The Hokies used a timeout, trailing 28-14, but it didn’t get any better for Virginia Tech (15-12, 6-10 ACC).
“They were ready to go,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. “They played an awfully fine game. They blitzed us early and often.””
By halftime, the Blue Devils led 51-25. Stanley had hit four 3’s and had 16 points. After going 4-for-17 on 3’s in the 88-66 loss to the Wolfpack, Duke was 8 of 15 in the opening half and 10-22 on two-point shots.
Defense? Virginia Tech scored .694 points per possession in first half. Against N.C. State Wednesday, Duke allowed Wolfpack to score 1.16 points per possession — Duke’s worst defensive efficiency for a single game this season.
And one
Duke’s Carey credits Justin Robinson, a 6-9 senior, with helping him develop his post play. Krzyzewski agrees, saying he might find a place on his staff for Robinson, keeping him at Duke after he completes his graduate work.
“J-Rob has done that for everybody,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s the ultimate team guy. J-Rob is a guy who really understands the game. In addition to understanding the game, he understands people.”
ICYMI
In one first-half sequence, Duke’s Hurt chased down a loose ball on defense near the sideline and raced up the court. He scored on the fast break, drawing a foul. It also had Krzyzewski up and clapping for the hustle from the freshman, who he said played one of his better games.
“Our guys played really well tonight,” Krzyzewski said. “They played hard, they played outstanding defense, they cared for the ball, they rebounded.”
Hurt had his first college double-double, leading the Devils with 10 boards.
Personal foul
There were few blemishes for the Blue Devils this night but the Hokies had a few.
Landers Nolley II, a 6-7 freshman forward, was averaging a team-best 17.3 points a game. Nolley did not score in the first half, missing all five shots from the field and finished with three points as Tyrece Radford led the Hokies with 16 points.
It was a tough situation for Virginia Tech, which has lost seven of its past eight games. The Hokies put in a three-overtime game Wednesday against Miami, losing 102-95 after leading by seven points with five minutes left in regulation.
“I don’t think that game against Miami had any effect on our team. I thought Duke was that good,” Young said.
The Blue Devils topped the Hokies 77-63 in the game Dec. 6 in Blacksburg, Va. But Duke trailed at halftime and needed a 21-4 run in the second half to break it open.
Making sense of the numbers
1,000 — Krzyzewski said he prefers not to look back or contemplate the records he has set but he added another milestone Saturday: his 1,000th win with a ranked Duke team. The record now is 1,000-226.
“It’s hard to believe,” Krzyzewski said. “I think I’ve coached over 1,300 games here and almost 90 percent of them has been as a ranked team. To have a thousand wins as a ranked team is kind of mind-boggling.
“For me, because we don’t look back, it’s hard to believe that’s happened. It’s taken a lot of years and a lot of really good players. But that’s something we’re very proud of. Consistent excellence, I guess is what you would call it, and hopefully we will continue to pursue that.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 10:07 PM.
