Duke Blue Devils Overcome History to Secure Victory Against Virginia Tech

In a gym where they’ve experienced plenty of pain recently, the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils singed the nets early in the second half to solve Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum.

The Blue Devils hit 10 of their first 13 shots after halftime to rebuild a double-digit lead and defeat Virginia Tech, 77-67, in ACC basketball on Monday night.

Entering the night, Duke had lost five of its previous six games at Virginia Tech. They reversed that trend with hot 3-point shooting – especially over the first 10 minutes after halftime.

Having built an 11-point, first-half lead, Duke saw Virginia Tech trail 35-29 at intermission only because Duke’s Jeremy Roach hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. While making 10 of their first shot field goal attempts after halftime, the Blue Devils hit 4 of 5 of their 3-pointers. Roach had two of them while Jared McCain and Tyrese Proctor each hit one.

Ryan Young‘s slam dunk with 9:55 left in the game pushed Duke’s lead to 61-51. The Blue Devils never led by fewer than seven points the rest of the game.

Roach led Duke with 16 points, while Kyle Filipowski scored 14, Proctor scored 12, and Young scored 10 points.

Duke shot 55.4%, while making 9 of 17 3-pointers. The Blue Devils won despite committing 14 turnovers.

Virginia Tech struggled from behind the 3-point line, hitting just 6 of 22 attempts. Sean Pedulla scored 12 points but missed all six of his 3-point attempts. The Hokies shot 44.8% overall.

For the second game in a row, Roach was out of the starting lineup. He made four of his five 3-pointers and 5 of 11 shots overall.

The Blue Devils entered Monday night’s game having been out-rebounded in five of their previous seven games. Duke got solid rebounding all over the court to win the rebounding battle, 38-20.

For the third game in a row, Duke built a double-digit, first-half lead. Duke turned the ball over on four of its next five possessions, allowing the Hokies to trail 32-29 at halftime. Roach’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer before halftime gave Duke a 35-29 lead.

This victory marks a significant triumph for Duke, breaking their losing streak against Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum. Coach Jon Scheyer commended his team’s togetherness and highlighted the timely 3-pointers and key contributions from various players.

The Blue Devils now have an improved record of 16-4 (7-2 ACC) and are determined to maintain their momentum as they strive for further success in the ACC basketball.