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The Blue Devils (26-3, 13-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who got coach Mike Krzyzewski his 800th victory last Saturday at North Carolina State, can get him his 17th ACC title by completing a sweep of the Tar Heels on Saturday night at Duke.
Virginia (14-14, 4-11), playing its third game in five days, closed within 12 points with 7:42 to play, but was no match for the Blue Devils' depth.
Sean Singletary led Virginia with 18 points, while Calvin Baker had 15 and Mamadi Diane 12.
Kyle Singler scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half for Duke, while DeMarcus Nelson had 16, Greg Paulus 14 and Jon Scheyer 10. The Blue Devils hit 12 3-pointers and shot almost 51 percent from the field.
The game was largely decided in the first half, which ended with Duke leading 43-31 lead. The Blue Devils salted it away in the second half by pounding the ball inside.
Singler had four of Duke's first five field goals in the second half, all from within a few feet, and the Blue Devils used a 10-2 run to open a 61-43 lead.
Virginia went on a 10-0 run to get within 66-57, but Singler had a putback and Nelson hit a 3-pointer and a putback to rebuild the lead to 73-59 and Virginia was out of comebacks.
The Blue Devils, who beat North Carolina 89-78 in their first meeting on Feb. 6 at Chapel Hill, did it then with Tar Heels point guard Ty Lawson sidelined with a sprained left ankle. Lawson has returned and will play in the rematch at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke trailed 26-22 with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half before switching to a zone defense that baffled the Cavaliers and sparked a 19-5 run into halftime.
Four Blue Devils hit 3-pointers during the burst, which gave them a 43-31 lead, while Virginia was just 1-for-8 from the field with eight turnovers.
[Associated Press; By HANK KURZ Jr.]
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