Everything about Tuesday’s Duke basketball game against Virginia Tech felt familiar…until it didn’t.
The Blue Devils failed to crack 30 points in the first half in either of their previous two home games, and they only managed five points in the first six minutes against the Hokies. Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] kickstarted the offense with a pair of 3-pointers, drawing a foul on the second for a four-point play and igniting a 17-2 run that turned the game on its head.
All at once, the shots that refused to drop in the opening minutes found their marks over and over again. Duke scored 80 points in the final 32:36, and it made 18 of its 27 shots (and six of its 10 3-pointers) after the midway point.
Virginia Tech never drew closer than nine points from the home team across the second half, and the Blue Devils ended the calendar year with a drama-free victory.
Here are our instant reactions to the seventh consecutive Duke basketball victory on Tuesday evening.
An efficient Cooper Flagg is an unstoppable Cooper Flagg
There aren’t many nitpicks left for a player of Flagg’s caliber, but the biggest one left before Tuesday’s game centered around his offensive efficiency. The freshman made just 38.3% of his shots and 20.0% of his 3-pointers over the previous six games, and last month’s loss against Kansas was the only time he’d made more than half of his attempts.
Well, the Hokies probably feel confounded by that scouting report, because Flagg knocked down everything he looked at on Tuesday. After a 10-day break, he went 9/14 (64.3%) from the floor as he effortlessly found space and lanes through the Virginia Tech defense. He made two of his four 3-pointers, one of them through contact, and made the game look easy. If he’s unlocked another gear offensively, look out.
The 3-point shooting is starting to come around
The Blue Devils brought a ton of shooting talent into the 2024-25 season with at least four players reasonably expected to hover around 40% from behind the arc. While Duke’s interior presence and athleticism opened up plenty of avenues to open looks, the team couldn’t find a rhythm from distance.
Fans who watched the final 30 minutes of Tuesday’s game could see the cobwebs come off in real time. Freshman flamethrower Isaiah Evans continued his excellent from with a four-for-seven performance, and Purdue transfer Mason Gillis went two-for-four for his first multi-3PT game since November 8.
Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor went just 3/12, so this wasn’t Duke’s final form by any means, but the Blue Devils finished 37.9% from behind the arc. Combined with the 10/25 outing against Georgia Tech, the team is in the midst of its best two-game shooting run since the road trip against Arizona and Kansas.
If the offense puts it all together, the ceiling is a sixth title…and it’s starting to
It’s easy to say this after a 23-point win over one of the worst teams in the conference, but it’s hard to not feel like points are the last part of the equation for Duke. The Hokies made 46% of their shots for the game, the third time a Blue Devils opponent finished above 40% this season, and Virginia Tech still only scored 65 points because of 12 turnovers.
Across Duke’s seven-game win streak, the Auburn Tigers are the only team to score more than 65 points, and they only managed 78 despite leading the nation in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency. The Houston Cougars are the only team who held Auburn to a lower total. The defensive numbers just look more staggering by the day, and the offense just scored at least 80 points in back-to-back games for the first time since the openers against Maine and Army.