Duke basketball advances to varsity level of ACC Tournament in blowout

Duke basketball advanced in the ACC Tournament with a blowout victory over Boston College. 

The junior varsity round of the ACC Tournament is over as the Duke basketball team demolished the Boston College Eagles (4-16, 2-11 ACC) to advance to the varsity level of the conference tournament, 86-51.

Duke (12-11, 9-9 ACC) led by 14 points at halftime and just poured things on to leave no doubt in its first-ever appearance on a Tuesday at the ACC Tournament.

The Blue Devils were led by 17 points from freshman guard DJ Steward on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-8 from three-point range.

Steward was one of the many guards from Duke that thrived in Greensboro as the trio of Jeremy Roach, Jordan Goldwire, and Steward combined for 37 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the floor.

ALSO READ: Clear reasoning for recent Blue Devil struggles

Roach posted eight points, four rebounds, and five assists while Goldwire set a career-high from beyond the arc with 4-of-6 shooting from downtown, totaling 12 points for the game.

Freshman center Mark Williams continued his impressive stretch with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting but was only able to grab one rebound in the victory.

Matthew Hurt had his small struggles but still managed eight points and seven rebounds on 2-of-6 shooting.

Duke had its best shooting game of the season, going 32-of-61 from the field (52.5-percent) and 15-of-32 from downtown (46.9-percent).

The Blue Devils also had 22 assists on their 32 made baskets.

On the other end, Boston College was just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Duke basketball should be rested for next game

No Blue Devil played more than 27 minutes (Hurt), which is important for a team looking to play five games in five days.

Mike Krzyzewski saw positive contributions from his bench, such as Joey Baker and Henry Coleman, which will be important for Duke going forward.

ALSO READ: Duke players earn high honors despite disappointing year

The Blue Devils will get another rematch with the Louisville Cardinals, who won both games against Duke this season, most recently in an overtime battle in Durham.

Tipoff between the No. 10 seed Duke and No. 7 seed Louisville is at 6:30pm EST Wednesday (ACC Network).