Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs. Virginia Tech

No. 6 Duke (23-6, 12-4 in the ACC) pulled away late from visiting Virginia Tech (9-18, 2-13) Tuesday night for a 66-48 victory. Rodney Hood led the way for the Blue Devils, scoring 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Duke started the game off hot, pushing to a 24-4 lead with 9:43 remaining in the first half. The Hokies, though, never let up. Virginia Tech fought to be down just 12 at the half, and kept the game close until about four minutes remaining. The Blue Devils now must wait until March 5 for their next showdown, as they take to the road at Wake Forest.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

  • Stay on Task: The Blue Devils seemed to have the Hokies number from the start, as Duke pushed to a 9-2 lead with 16:22 to go after a Jabari Parker breakaway dunk. Almost seven minutes later, with the Blue Devils leading 24-4, it appeared that Duke would coast for the remainder of the night. A Virginia Tech 12-2 run later, and the game looked anything like a walk-through. After letting down their guard, the Blue Devils struggled to pull away for the remainder of the night, once allowing the visiting Hokies within seven. Though the final score shows otherwise, tensions remained high for Duke until about four minutes remaining.
  • Make the free-ones: In the first-half, it was not a matter of converting at the line for Duke, but rather simply getting there. The Blue Devils only took three shots at the line in the first half, converting on two of them. Rather than driving to the basket and getting looks inside during the half, Duke settled for 17 shots from behind the arc, converting on just four of them. The second-half wasn’t any different. More than 10 minutes into the second half, only sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon had taken two attempts from the stripe. Luckily for the Blue Devils, their mere 8-of-11 from the line on the night did not matter, as their plus-13 field goal attempt difference gave them the extra scoring that they needed to pull away late.
  • Limit Second Chances: After Virginia Tech’s first basket came off an offensive rebound, it looked as if the Hokies may have their way with the Blue Devils on the glass. Duke, though, wouldn’t let such a thing happen. Virginia Tech’s rebounding prowess was non-existent Tuesday night, as the Blue Devils out-rebounded the Hokies 36-30. Most importantly though, Duke limited Virginia Tech to just four boards on the offensive glass for the night. The Blue Devils, led by Jabari Parker, were the enforcers on the offensive glass. Duke had 14 offensive rebounds on the night, Parker with five of them. But the high-flier of the night was Marshall Plumlee, who threw down two monster put-back jams to electrify the crowd.

Three key plays:

  • 5:36, first half: With Virginia Tech in the midst of an 8-0 run, Jabari Parker stole an inbound pass and took it the length of the floor for a one-handed jam. The Blue Devils went up 26-12, and helped to regain the slipping momentum.
  • 12:08, second half: Rasheed Sulaimon drove right into the lane and put a floater over the middle of the Virginia Tech 2-3 zone. Marshall Plumlee soars over two Hokie defenders and throws down his second two-handed put-back jam of the night, pushing the Blue Devils to a 51-36 lead.
  • 3:50, second half: Sulaimon catches a pass from the top of the key and quickly throws a laser chest-pass to Jefferson at the right elbow. Jefferson, noticing that he is not guarded, quickly turns and drives right for a layup off the glass to effectively put the game out of reach.

Three key stats:

  • Blue Devils shoot 10-for-33 from 3: The Virginia Tech 2-3 zone gave Duke opportunities from long-range all night. After starting fast from three, the Blue Devils quickly cooled off and were unable to pull away despite their uncontested looks. If Duke is going to be successful going forward, then they need to better convert from beyond the arc.
  • Duke has 24 field goals on 19 assists: All night, the Blue Devils did a great job of picking apart the Virginia Tech zone. Whether it was driving into the paint or finding a forward at the high post, Duke got the ball where it needed to in the half-court. Tyler Thornton posted seven assists on the night, and Rodney Hood got into the action with four dimes. The great ball movement shown Tuesday night is certainly encouraging with ACC tournament play coming right-around the corner.
  • Virginia Tech is limited to four offensive rebounds: Not enough can be said about Duke’s efforts on the defensive glass. The Blue Devils prevented second-chances all night for the Hokies, which helped Duke keep a double-digit lead even when they were struggling to score the basketball. If the Blue Devils can be effective on the glass and knock down the shots as they are known to do, there is no telling how far Duke can go come tournament time.

And the Duke game ball goes to… Rodney Hood

Hood came out strong and, unlike the Blue Devils, never slowed down. The versatile forward had six of the first 15 points for Duke from two long range tries, and then showed-off his athleticism minutes later. As senior Tyler Thornton caught a pass on the right wing, Hood snuck behind the Virginia Tech zone to catch a high arcing lob for the dunk, putting the Blue Devils up 21-4 with 10:35 remaining in the first-half. The lefty sharp-shooter finished the game with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, much of the shots coming off of catch-and-shoot opportunities from the middle of the Hokies’ 2-3 zone. To top off the night, Hood dished out four assists, showing another dimension to his game not as often seen throughout the season.

And the Virginia Tech game ball goes to… Trevor Thompson

One of the lone offensive bright spots for Virginia Tech on the night was forward Trevor Thompson. Thompson showed glimpses of aggression and resilience in the first-half for the Hokies, as he led the visitors back from a 20-point deficit to 12 at the end of the half. The 6-foot-11 freshman ended the game 6-for-9 from the field with 15 points, and added six rebounds on the night.

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