ACC Hoops: Duke Takes Care Of Virginia, 80-62

The Duke Blue Devils easily handled the Virginia Cavaliers (13-13, 6-9 ACC) Monday evening, 80-62. The Cavaliers kept the game interesting through the first two TV timeouts keeping the game within two scores. Then the Blue Devils went on a patented run and blew the game wide open.

The Blue Devils took a 43-29 lead into the break . Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg lead the Devils with 10 points each as the Devils went 8 deep in the first half. The second half was another half led by the Duke reserves. The high point of the night came from ShowTime Slim, also known as Isiah Evans, started 5-5 from the three point line and showed his explosive ability. He finished the night 5-6 from three and 17 points overall. Knueppel and Flagg again tied each other’s score line and finished with 17 points apiece. Cooper Flagg almost out rebounded the entire UVA team by pulling down 14 boards. 

Tragedy did strike the Blue Devils in the second half. Defensive stand out Maliq Brown left the game after only 10 minutes of play with a dislocated shoulder. Brown has been a vital piece of the Blue Devils rotation as he gives the Devils multiple matchup options. When 7 footer Khaman Maluach’s movement is challenged with a smaller center, Brown comes in and provides valuable minutes and usually disrupts the entire offensive flow of their opponents. Brown is getting imaging done once the team returns to Durham before the full extent of his injury will be discovered. This will be Brown’s second stint missing extended time as he was sidelined in January with a leg injury. 

Khaman Maluach and Caleb Foster could not recreate the offensive magic they had against the Stanford Cardinal Saturday afternoon. Maluach was only able to get one dunk and four boards as Foster was only able to make one free throw going 0-3 from the field, badly missing most of the attempts. Purdue Transfer Mason Gillis also had a disappointing night going 0-3 for the night and finishing with a goose egg in the scoring column. 

Besides the normal dominant performance from Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba provided a spark to the Blue Devils. Evans tied Knueppel and Flagg’s scoring output and Ngongba led the bigs in scoring with 8 points. The Blue Devils completely dominated the boards and outrebounded the Cavaliers 41-21, including 10 offensive boards.

The reciprocal scoring night spilled over to UVA as they were led by Andrew Rohde and Dai Dai Ames 15 points. Anthony Robinson and Elijah Saunders scored 7. Issac McKneely finished with 14 points going 4-7 from the arc. 

The Blue Devils next game is a February non-conference matchup against the Big Ten and Illinois Fighting Illini (17-9) in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Head Coach Jon Scheyer strategically scheduled this matchup to readjust the Blue Devils play a big-time game in a large arena to get ready for the NCAA Tournament and, hopefully, the larger stadiums that house the Final Four.

The Cavaliers travel to North Carolina to play the Tar Heels as UNC tried to bolster their tournament resume.