Duke Blue Devils blow by Virginia on Sunday

Men’s Basketball

Blue Devils Blow By Cavaliers 79-54

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s brief run at No. 1 is nearly over. But if the Blue Devils keep playing like this, they’ll probably be back on top soon enough. Gerald Henderson scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half to lead top-ranked Duke past Virginia 79-54 on Sunday.

Nolan Smith added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the ACC-leading Blue Devils (19-2, 6-1). They wrapped up what surely will be a one-week run as the nation’s top-ranked team with a dominating effort that helped them bounce back from a final-seconds loss to Wake Forest.

Jon Scheyer finished with 11 points for Duke, which never trailed, shot 46 percent and forced 23 turnovers — 17 in the first half. And for a while, at least, its tough defense frustrated star freshman Sylven Landesberg in his first visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Landesberg recovered from a rocky start and scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half. After turning it over three times on his first six trips downcourt and picking up two early fouls, he wound up leading the Cavaliers in scoring for the 11th time in 20 games while hitting the 20-point mark for the 10th time — the most by a freshman in school history.

*****from theacc.com*****