It was clear from the opening tip that Virginia was going to do what it took to prevent Cameron Boozer from feasting in the paint. They've been extremely physical with the Duke superstar freshman, and Boozer went 0-of-4 from the field as a result.
Of course, Boozer still found a way to make an impact by getting to the free-throw line and connecting on 11-of-12 from three.
But with the Cavaliers packing the paint, Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils have done a disproportionate amount of their damage from the three-point line instead.
In building a 41-26 halftime lead over No. 11 Virginia, the top-ranked Blue Devils hit 8-of-13 (62%) from three.
Isaiah Evans got the party started early, scoring Duke's first nine points by going 3-of-3 from downtown. He finished the first half with 14 points and hit 4-of-6 from three. But he wasn't alone.
Darren Harris came off the bench and hit both of his attempts. Even Dame Sarr and Patrick Ngongba II got in on the act with a triple each.
Duke's 3-point shooting against Virginia is a ceiling raiser
The type of defense Virginia is playing against Duke is the type of defense the Blue Devils can surely expect in the NCAA Tournament next month. Teams are going to try to force them to score from the perimeter and keep them out of the paint.
Scheyer can't count on his team shooting 60% from deep every game, but the threat of this kind of three-point shooting changes the calculus of how teams can defend the Blue Devils.
Duke isn't a bad shooting team, but they've knocked down just 34.9% from deep this year, a mark that ranks 126th in the country, per KenPom. It's a stat that needs to improve slightly going into March Madness, so the first-half performance against the Hoos is a welcome sight for the Duke faithful.
Duke's defense makes them tough to beat regardless of what they do offensively. If shots are falling from three, well, good luck.