The Blue Devils have been hot since dropping their last contest Jan. 28 at Notre Dame, but they will need to avoid another trap game to keep the win streak going.
No. 4 Duke will head to Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday to face off against Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum with tip off set for 9 p.m. The Blue Devils are looking to extend their winning streak to eight games before returning home for their final two home games of the season. Duke is currently riding a seven-game win streak against the Hokies having not suffered a loss to Virginia Tech since Feb. 26, 2011.
“It’s been a matter of us taking care of business over the past few years,” assistant coach Jon Scheyer said. “But [the Hokies] are going to play their butts off, and we’ve got to get ready to go for this game.”
With the success that the Blue Devils (24-3, 11-3 in the ACC) have had recently against the Hokies (10-17, 2-12), it could be easy—particularly with a younger team—to overlook the weaker Virginia Tech squad for the upcoming rematch at home against Syracuse Saturday.
The last time the Orange played at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim infamously removed his jacket in disgust as forward C.J. Fair was called for a charge against Duke forward Rodney Hood and was subsequently ejected from the contest.
The course of events of the last meeting at Cameron between the Orange and Blue Devils coupled with Duke’s come-from-behind win on the road against Syracuse Feb. 14 could provide a distraction for the young Blue Devil players when they step onto the court Wednesday to face the Hokies, but Scheyer said he doesn’t believe it will.
“For us it should be easy from the beginning [to stay focused],” Scheyer said. “Our guys are experienced now where they know that anybody can beat you. We have big goals so winning [Wednesday] is a big part of that, and I don’t see any way they won’t be focused.”
Duke was forced to play without freshman superstar and probable No. 1 overall draft pick Jahlil Okafor in Saturday’s win against Clemson, but his health is steadily improving. The team is optimistic that Okafor will be able to lace up against Virginia Tech, but it does not want to push Okafor before he’s ready to return and risk re-injury, Scheyer said.
In his absence Saturday, fellow freshman Justise Winslow and senior Quinn Cook stepped up to provide the offense for the Blue Devils. Cook finished the contest with a game-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting and Winslow added a double-double of his own with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hokies—though they rank outside the top-200 nationally in both points per game and points allowed—are not without promise. Junior guard Adam Smith leads Virginia Tech in scoring with 13.6 points per game and can be a nightmare for teams on the perimeter. The Jonesboro, Ga., native is shooting 43.3 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Duke will need to focus on defending Smith along with fellow Hokie guard Justin Bibbs, the only other member of the Virginia Tech squad that averages double digits in scoring with 12.6.
“[Virginia Tech] has so many shooters on the floor,” Scheyer said. “Their main guy is Smith, he’s very quick and can penetrate, but he’s a great shooter…. They get mismatches a lot by moving guards to the four.”
The Blue Devil guards should be up to the task of defending their Hokie counterparts after having plenty of experience defending guard-heavy teams so far this season.
After losses to N.C. State and Miami—two teams dominated by quick and talented guards—Duke has been able to learn from its failings and has beaten No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 2 Virginia who also feature an array of talented backcourt players.
If Okafor is unable to go Wednesday, it will be up to forwards Winslow and Amile Jefferson, along with back-up center Marshall Plumlee, to protect the interior and get the offense going in the paint.
Against Clemson, Jefferson and Plumlee combined for just five points and three rebounds, but unless Winslow is able to repeat his 20 and 13 performance, both of the Duke big men will need to improve upon Saturday’s performance.
With only four games remaining in the regular season and Virginia two games ahead of the Blue Devils in the loss column in the ACC standings, Duke needs to get a win in Blacksburg to keep alive its hopes of grabbing its first regular season ACC title since it shared the title with Maryland for the 2009-10 season.
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