No. 3 Duke men’s basketball hit the road for a matchup against Virginia in the John Paul Jones Arena. After 20 minutes of play, the Blue Devils head into the locker room with a 43-29 lead:

The last time the Blue Devils visited John Paul Jones Arena, an incorrectly adjudicated foul call led to a disappointing 69-62 overtime loss. Two years later, the team returned to an entirely different environment. Though the Cavalier faithful roared as Virginia went shot-for-shot in the opening minutes, Duke had established a seven-point lead just halfway into the first 20 minutes. By the time the Blue Devils went back to the locker room, they had established a 14-point stiffarm.

Both teams shot rainbows early on in the half, with Duke 3-for-4 and Virginia 2-for-3 from the 3-point line after just over nine minutes of play. Kon Knueppel led the charge early on for the Blue Devils, but Isaiah Evans soon stepped in to shoot a perfect 3-for-3 on his 3-point attempts for the half. The Cavaliers’ Andrew Rohde made both of the treys he attempted, while McKneely matched Knueppel with two triples beyond the arc. Both teams shot at or above 50% from deep in the half with 11 combined threes. 

The Blue Devils and Cavaliers also had some fun around the rim. Blake Buchanan’s early dunk was one of many in the half, with Khaman Maluach and Maliq Brown each slamming one in for Duke. Anthony Robinson thundered up to the net at one point for Virginia, but his attempt bounced out and into the hands of Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils also crashed the boards en route to a 24-8 rebound advantage, earning 14 unanswered second-chance points as the half ticked down. The only worry for Duke came with the exit of Brown due to an apparent shoulder injury with just over a minute remaining.

---