HALFTIME: Virginia Tech 39, Duke 37

BLACKSBURG, Va.—Jahlil Okafor made his return to the court Wednesday night, but the Blue Devils are getting all they can handle from the Hokies.

No. 4 Duke trails Virginia Tech 39-37 at Cassell Coliseum. Six straight points from sophomore Devin Wilson late in the half brought the Hokies all the way back from a 15-4 deficit to grab the lead after the Blue Devils led for most of the first half.

In the opening minutes, the Blue Devils looked to be well on their way to eighth straight win against the Hokies. Virginia Tech grabbed an early 4-2 lead, but Duke rattled off the next 13 points to claim control.

After scoring 17 first-half points Saturday against Clemson, Winslow came out of the gates firing again in Blacksburg. The Houston native got a couple of deflections, hit a 3-pointer and then finished a fast break with a dunk to stake the Blue Devils to a 9-4 lead by the first media timeout. Winslow combined with classmates Okafor and Tyus Jones to score 18 of Duke's first 24 points.

Virginia Tech fought back to within 22-16 after a pair of corner 3-pointers by Adam Smith and Justin Bibbs. From there, freshman Jalen Hudson took over. The 6-foot-5 guard scored nine straight points for the Hokies to cut the deficit to one.

First-year Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams employed a man-to-man defense to begin the game, but quickly switched to zone as Duke compiled its early lead on the big run.

Here are some observations from the first half:

• Okafor returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the Feb. 22 victory against the Tigers. The Chicago native has points in the first half and hasn't looked too bothered by the sprained ankle suffered Feb. 18 against North Carolina.
• Duke again utilized some extended pressure in the first half, picking up the Hokies at about three-quarters court. The pressure created some turnovers early, but Virginia Tech began to break it with relative ease later in the half.
• Grayson Allen took a spill after a Hokie dunk and came up lame. The freshman got his ankle taped and returned to the floor following the under-8 TV timeout.
• Known to perspire, Williams' suit jacket came off early in the first half.