No.1 Duke Crushes Cavaliers 100-54; Spartans Take 10 in Big 10

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--The best start to a season in Duke history was never in jeopardy last night as the top-ranked Blue Devils overwhelmed undermanned Virginia 100-54 for their 19th straight victory.

The Blue Devils (24-1, 12-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), led by 19 at halftime and extended their lead throughout the second half. Duke is bidding to become the first team in league history to go through the 16-game schedule unbeaten.

With only six scholarship players available, every game is an endurance test for Virginia (13-12, 3-9), and the Cavaliers simply had no chance against a steady, relentless stream of well-rested, blue-chip Blue Devils.

William Avery, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette each scored 15 points for Duke, which out-shot Virginia 58.7 percent to 27.4 percent, made 11 3-pointers to the Cavaliers' two and out-rebounded Virginia 58-26.

Chris Carrawell added 14 points for Duke, while Trajan Landgon had 12 and Nate James 11. Brand had 12 rebounds, while James and Maggette added 10 each.

Willie Dersch and Chezley Watson paced Virginia with 12 points each.

A 17-2 run gave Duke a 19-6 lead, but Virginia rallied, out-scoring the Blue Devils 19-12 over the next seven minutes to pull within 31-25 with five minutes left in the half.

No. 5 Michigan St. 61, Illinois 44

EAST LANSING, Mich.--Thomas Kelley had 10 points to lead a balanced scoring attack and No. 5 Michigan State tied a school record with its 10th straight Big Ten victory, 61-44 over Illinois last night.

The Spartans (21-4, 10-1) won 10 straight league games in 1956-57 and 1989-90. They lead second-place Ohio State by two games.

Cory Bradford led Illinois (10-14, 2-10) with 13 points, but the Big Ten's leading freshman scorer was only 4-for-17 from the field.

Jason Klein finished with nine points, all in the first half, for Michigan State, while A.J. Granger added eight.

The Spartans dominated the first half in taking a 33-14 lead.

Michigan State's stifling defense held the Illini to 6-for-25 shooting in the first half and forced Illinois into 10 turnovers that the Spartans converted into 13 points.

Michigan State opened the game with a 15-2 run that was capped by two straight baskets off steals by Kelley. Another 11-2 spurt, keyed by seven points from Klein, gave Michigan State its biggest lead of the first half, 30-8, with just over five minutes remaining.