CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — 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.
The junior transfer from Syracuse had two points, two assists and a rebound in 10 minutes.
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%. Dai Dai Ames scored 15 points, reaching double figures for the fifth consecutive game.
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.
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.
Duke faces Illinois in a nonconference matchup at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night, while Virginia plays at North Carolina.
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