Analysis: Duke lacked the experience Virginia Tech had. And it showed.
Virginia Tech had what Duke didn’t on Tuesday night and the Hokies walked off their home court at Cassell Coliseum with an impressive ACC win.
No, that statement has nothing to do with No. 20 Virginia Tech having the fully stocked coaching staff No. 19 Duke lacked with assistant coach Chris Carrawell back in Durham with an illness. Nor is it referring to the Hokies having their intact player rotation, unlike the Blue Devils who were missing two players and had a third who was limited.
No, Virginia Tech knew what it needed to do to beat Duke and confidently did it, 74-67.
Duke thought it knew what to do. The Blue Devils are a confident, accomplished defensive team that had hit enough shots to start this season’s ACC schedule with three wins.
But none of those wins came against a team like the one coach Mike Young has built at Virginia Tech. With rugged 6-2, 225-pound sophomore guard Tyrece Radford turning in a sterling performance with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and 6-9 235-pound junior Keve Aluma scoring 17 points with seven rebounds in 35 turnover-free minutes, the Hokies (10-2, 4-1 ACC) exerted their will to open an 18-point, first-half lead.
Sure it’s the middle of January. But in this pandemic altered season, Duke’s freshmen starters like Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward hadn’t played in a game like this -- on the road, in conference play against a ranked team.
“They are really good, Mike’s team is,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They know who they are.”
Duke (5-3, 3-1 ACC) is still figuring it all out.
The need for a healthy Jalen Johnson
Against Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils used their seventh different starting lineup in eight games.
Reserves Patrick Tapé, a 6-9 center, and Henry Coleman, a 6-7 freshman forward, weren’t available due to injury and illness.
Jalen Johnson, a preseason all-ACC pick, was a starter in Duke’s first four games until a foot injury sidelined him. He missed Duke’s ACC wins over Notre Dame, Boston College and Wake Forest.
He’d only been through one practice since being medically cleared to return. Krzyzewski had Johnson in uniform Tuesday against the Hokies but would have preferred to let the freshman forward get in more practice work before making his return Jan. 19 at Pittsburgh.
But Virginia Tech took an 11-2 lead Tuesday night. And Duke needed help. So Johnson entered the game.
“I wish we had amazing plans,” Krzyzewski said. “We are trying to learn. You try different things out, that’s what we are still trying to do. Mike (Young) can have more plans. His team is mature, and they understand their roles and we are still trying to figure that out.”
Averaging 11.9 points in the four games he played earlier this season, Johnson wound up playing just four minutes, all the first half, and scoring two points against Virginia Tech.
“I put him in early to see where that would go,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s not yet ready, for tonight’s game at least. Hopefully, in a week he will be ready for our next game, his shift had little effect on the game I think.”
Blue Devils struggle on offense
The Blue Devils were a step behind over the game’s first 15 minutes as the Hokies led 36-18. Averaging 10 steals per game in ACC play, the Blue Devils had but one while Virginia Tech made 16 of its first 21 shots from the field.
Duke clamped down from there, using its defense to get stops and steals and fuel a rally. The Hokies’ 18-point lead shrunk to 46-34 at halftime.
When Duke made 8 of its first 12 shots of the second half, with ACC leading scorer Matthew Hurt hitting four of them, the Blue Devils trailed just 56-55 with 13:12 to play.
But Duke could never take a lead. While the defense remained solid, the offense fell apart. The Blue Devils made just 4 of their final 22 shots to finish the game at 40% overall.
“It took us a half to get to the level that we should have played at -- our kids ultimately rose to that level,” Krzyzewski said. “You don’t get rewarded with the win when you play a really good team and don’t stay in the game for 40 minutes. It wasn’t like we weren’t ready for this level of play, our kids came ready and had good attitudes. We responded and did a good job in the second half.”
Roach scored 22 points, Hurt 20 and Steward 14 in solid efforts on offense. Though scoring only a point, Jordan Goldwire had four of Duke’s six steals to spur the defense.
It just wasn’t enough against a strong Virginia Tech team playing on its home court.
Krzyzewski intends to build this Duke team to handle such games as the season progresses. Games like Tuesday offer lessons.
Upcoming games at Louisville and at home with Clemson and North Carolina will show what the Blue Devils gained from the experience.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Analysis: Duke lacked the experience Virginia Tech had. And it showed.."