CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia — Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 17 points and 14 rebounds, notching his seventh double-double of the season before halftime, as No. 3 Duke cruised past Virginia 80-62 on Monday night.
The Blue Devils (23-3, 15-1 ACC), who also got 17 points from Kon Knueppel, have won three straight since their lone conference loss Feb. 8 at No. 18 Clemson.
Andrew Rohde had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Cavaliers (13-13, 6-9).
Duke forward Maliq Brown, who grew up in Virginia about an hour from Charlottesville, sustained an apparent left shoulder injury with 1:21 left in the first half. He immediately headed to the locker room and did not return.
Takeaways
Duke: In a business-like win, the Blue Devils shot 9 for 23 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Cavaliers 41-21 to make sure they never threatened. Duke opened the second half with an 8-0 run to help put this one away.
Virginia: The Cavaliers had won three straight and four of five, pointing toward a late-season surge. But they didn’t have the athletes on defense to match up with Duke, which shot 53 percent. Dai Dai Ames scored 15 points, reaching double figures for the fifth consecutive game.
Key moment
Rohde rifled a perfect pass to a cutting Taine Murray for what appeared destined to be a back-door layup for the Cavaliers. Instead, Flagg swatted the shot away. Duke got a 3-pointer from Tyrese Proctor at the other end, part of a 16-2 run that put the Blue Devils ahead 27-14 with 8:19 left in the first half.
Key stat
One of the ACC’s best rivalries over the past decade was no contest on this night. From 2012-23, no Virginia-Duke game had a margin of victory greater than 10 points. That run ended last year at Duke when the Blue Devils rolled 73-48.
Up next
Duke faces Illinois in a nonconference matchup at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night, while Virginia plays at North Carolina.
Story by Mike Barber.
