Duke basketball finally flexes its muscle. Blue Devils rout Georgia Tech in ACC road win
After so many stressful games, some tight finishes that went Duke’s way this month and others that didn’t, the Blue Devils put everything together to enjoy a relaxing win on Saturday.
Duke shot a season-best 55.7%, nailed nine 3-pointers and played its usual stifling defense to pound Georgia Tech, 86-43, in ACC basketball at McCamish Pavilion.
The same Duke team that went five games in a row earlier this month without hitting 41% of its shots hit 56% of its shots over the first 27 minutes of Saturday’s game to open a 62-28 lead.
Kyle Filipowski scored 18 points to lead five Duke players in double figures. Jeremy Roach added 12 points and Mark Mitchell 11 while Ryan Young and Jacob Grandison scored 10 points each for the Blue Devils (15-6, 6-4 ACC).
The Blue Devils collected a season-high 24 assists on 34 field goals as they passed the ball as well as they have all season.
“Us sharing the ball, that gives us confidence,” Roach said. “When you see other guys sharing the ball it makes you want to share the ball. When you know the shots coming and the ball is coming to you, you can be more prepared for the shot and more ready to make the shot.”
After losing 78-75 at Virginia Tech on Monday, two days after eking out a 68-66 home win over Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils took an 18-point halftime lead over Georgia Tech. Duke scored the first six points after halftime to open a 49-25 lead and roll from there.
As they have all season, the Blue Devils followed up a loss with a win and have yet to lose consecutive games.
“The way that we’ve responded to a loss or a setback this year,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, “that’s what our program is all about. And the only way you do this if you hate the outcome.”
It’s only the third time in program history Duke has won an ACC road game by 40 points or more. The 43-point win marks the second-highest margin of victory in an ACC road game, with only a 100-54 win at Virginia in 1999 topping it.
The Blue Devils romped over Georgia Tech without 6-7 freshman Dariq Whitehead, who had started the previous five games before suffering a strain to his lower left leg at Virginia Tech. Whitehead was not in uniform for the Georgia Tech game, but was on the court during early parts of pregame warmups, showing his return is not far away.
Roach, who missed three games earlier this month with a toe injury to his right foot, returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the last two games. He hit his first two 3-pointers to key Duke’s opening flourish.
Dereck Lively, Duke’s 7-1 freshman center, started for the first time time since Jan. 4 to produce nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Scheyer senses bigger games to come for the projected first-round NBA Draft pick.
“As I’ve seen and we’ve seen as a staff the last two weeks, he’s had a different level of confidence,” Scheyer said.
Georgia Tech (8-13, 1-10) shot just 30.9 percent while tallying a mere 12 points in the paint due to Duke’s intimidating height advantage.
“Their size overwhelmed us,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said.
Duke hit Georgia Tech with an early flurry of 3-pointers to move in front and kept its offense strong to build a 43-25 halftime lead.
The Blue Devils hit 4 of their first 6 3-point attempts, with Roach hitting two and Filipowski and Lively one each as Duke took a 19-9 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
Georgia Tech’s inability to get open looks inside against Duke’s defensive length prevented the Yellow Jackets from mounting a serious push after that.
The Blue Devils led 22-16 when they scored seven points in a row on a Tyrese Proctor 3-pointer, a Proctor basket following a Lively offensive rebound and a Filipowski basket in the lane.
Leading 30-23, Duke closed the first half on a 13-2 run. Five of the baskets came inside by either Filipowski or Young. Grandison added a 3-pointer as the Blue Devils took an 18-point lead to intermission.
Duke hit 15 of 31 shots (48.3%) in the first half, including 6 of 13 3-pointers. Georgia Tech had just six points in the paint while shooting 34.4% over the game’s first 20 minutes.
This story was originally published January 28, 2023 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Duke basketball finally flexes its muscle. Blue Devils rout Georgia Tech in ACC road win."