Duke basketball: Blue Devils right ship against Yellow Jackets

Duke basketball doubled up Georgia Tech.

A loss on Saturday would have bordered on a Duke basketball disaster. But the unranked Blue Devils (15-6, 6-4 ACC) bounced back from Monday's 78-75 loss at the Virginia Tech Hokies and left Atlanta with an 86-43 victory over the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-13, 1-10 ACC), who have now lost seven straight.

They won big despite being without the services of freshman forward Dariq Whitehead, who warmed up with the team but did not play due to his lower leg injury at Virginia Tech.

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The win at Georgia Tech was only Duke's second in an opponent's gym this season. Under the direction of first-year head coach Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils are now 2-4 in road games.

Duke won the first half, 43-25, via crisp passing (11 assists on 15 made field goals) and hot outside shooting (6-for-13 from three) against the Georgia Tech zone, not to mention quality rim protection on the other end of the floor. The Blue Devils also outrebound the Yellow Jackets, 21-14, and enjoyed a 13-2 run entering the break.

And it's safe to say that Duke's momentum carried over into the second half, outscoring Georgia Tech 8-2 before the first media timeout and scoring 11 unanswered points after the timeout to grow the lead to 34 points at 62-28.

All in all, it was a clinic pretty much from start to finish. The Blue Devils shot 34-for-61 from the field for the game, 9-for-23 beyond the arc, and 9-for-15 from the foul line. They outrebounded the Yellow Jackets for the game, 43-22.

Relentless 40 minutes of Duke Basketball pic.twitter.com/bccFKGDGpx

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 28, 2023

However, Kyle Filipowski's season-best double-double streak ended at four games. But the 7-footer, already a six-time ACC Rookie of the Week, notched his 19th double-digit scoring outing in 21 contests this season with his game-high 18 points against the Yellow Jackets. He added seven rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.

Junior guard Jeremy Roach, who drew his first starting nod since Duke's 84-60 loss at the NC State Wolfpack on Jan. 4, led the 3-point attack, going 4-for-7 from deep. He tallied 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 28 minutes; the captain has played at least 27 minutes in all three games since returning from a lingering toe injury.

Also noteworthy, freshman center Dereck Lively II responded admirably to his first start since the game at NC State, recording arguably his best stat line as a Duke basketball player: nine points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in 24 minutes.

Five Blue Devils scored at least 10 points: Filipowski, Roach, Mark Mitchell (11), Jacob Grandison (10), and Ryan Young (10).

Although freshman guard Tyrese Proctor (seven points) was not among that bunch, his career-high eight assists seemed to set the tone for the team's impressive ball movement.

Next, Duke basketball plays at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday in Cameron Indoor Stadium against the visiting Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-8, 6-5 ACC), who beat the Blue Devils, 81-70, in Winston-Salem on Dec. 21.

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