Cassius Stanley scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half as No. 6 Duke came out firing in an 88-64 demolition of visiting Virginia Tech on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Duke was fresh off Wednesday night's 22-point loss at North Carolina State, and the Blue Devils looked determined to flush that out of their systems in a hurry.
Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. notched 16 points apiece as Duke's top three scorers were freshmen. Tre Jones chipped in with 14 points.
The Blue Devils (23-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) remain a half-game out of first place.
Playing as a ranked team under coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils improved to 1,000-226 all-time.
Tyrece Radford provided 16 points and nine rebounds as Isaiah Wilkins had 11 points for Virginia Tech (15-12, 6-10), which lost for the seventh time in the last eight games. Hunter Cattoor scored all 10 of his points in the second half.
The Hokies were coming off a different type of frustration with Wednesday night's three-overtime setback to Miami.
Carey's nine rebounds left him just short of his 14th double-double.
Jones hit 3-pointers on Duke's first two possessions. Four of the Blue Devils' first six baskets were from long range and they held a double-digit lead for the first time less than six minutes into the game.
When Carey connected on a 3 (his seventh of the season), it was 28-14 and Virginia Tech used a timeout. The spread grew to 44-18.
It was 51-25 at halftime, with Virginia Tech shooting 29 percent from the field. Duke had eight 3s compared to Virginia Tech's nine total field goals.
Duke was 3-for-11 on 3s the rest of the way.
The Blue Devils have won three straight against Virginia Tech, including December's meeting in Blacksburg, Va., and last March's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup in Washington. Duke came back from a double-digit hole in the first clash this season.
--Field Level Media
Virginia Tech | Duke | |
Tyrece Radford 16 | Scoring | Cassius Stanley 21 |
Isaiah Wilkins 5 | Assists | Jordan Goldwire 4 |
Tyrece Radford 9 | Rebounds | Matthew Hurt 10 |
Nahiem Alleyne 2 | Free Throws Made | Vernon Carey Jr. 7 |
Isaiah Wilkins 3 | Steals | Jordan Goldwire 1 |
Wabissa Bede 1 | Blocks | Matthew Hurt 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Virginia Tech | 64 | 37.3 | 8-24 | 6-7 | 13 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
Duke | 88 | 43.5 | 11-26 | 23-31 | 14 | 44 | 9 | 4 | 9 |