DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke is finding center Marshall Plumlee as an ideal option, particularly with a thin frontcourt.

The senior set a career high for points for the second game in a row by scoring 21 as No. 14 Duke drilled Virginia Tech 82-58 on Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"When he does stuff like that and we're finding him and he's dunking the ball, it's great for our team," guard Grayson Allen said.

Plumlee, who had 18 points Wednesday at Wake Forest, was too much for the Hokies to handle in the lane, several times receiving passes after Duke guards drew attention of defenders. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double in the last five games.

"Those guys bring a lot of attention," Plumlee said of his teammates. "That leaves openings for me or someone else."

Duke stuck to a seven-player rotation -- until the final 71 seconds -- that has worked well in dealing with the absence of injured senior forward Amile Jefferson.

In two games this week, Plumlee shot 13-for-14 from the field and 13-for-14 on free throws.

The Blue Devils hit Virginia Tech with an early barrage of long-range shooting in their Atlantic Coast Conference home opener.

"It gives us a lot of energy, especially when you play at home," Allen said. "It gives the crowd the energy and we feed off that.

Forward Brandon Ingram and Allen each added 16 points, guard Matt Jones tallied 13 points and guard Luke Kennard had 11 points for Duke (14-2, 3-0 ACC), which has won five games in a row. The margins in each of those outcomes have come by 16 points or more.

Forward Zach LeDay's 18 points and forward Kerry Blackshear Jr.'s 12 points paced Virginia Tech (10-6, 2-1), which played its first true out-of-state road game of the season.

The Hokies had been a surprise team at the outset of conference play, but coach Buzz Williams said there's no reason to draw too many conclusions from Saturday's loss.

"It's too much of a marathon to get too excited or too down," Williams said. "That's part of it. None of it is a sprint."

Duke hit 3-pointers on its first three possessions for a 9-2 lead. It was 15-4 and the Blue Devils were still without a 2-point basket.

"When you start out hitting 3s like that, 'Boom, boom, boom,' that can knock you back," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We played at a pace that was good for us."

The Hokies missed their first 11 shots from 3-point range before hitting their last attempt. Complicating matters for Virginia Tech was retrieving only one first-half offensive rebound.

The gap grew to 50-23 by halftime, an astounding total considering four Virginia Tech opponents this season finished with 53 points or less.

"We were overwhelmed. They were way better. They were way tougher," Williams said. "I thought we were better in the second half. But I think a large part of that is that it was such a rout."

Duke made eight 3-point shots in the first half, while the Hokies were 0-for-8 from long range in the opening half.

Through 20 minutes, Duke was 8 of 17 on 3s and 8 of 15 on 2s. Duke entered the game with 8.4 3-pointers per game, though the Blue Devils were 1 of 7 in the second half.

Blackshear shot 4-for-9 in the first half as he was the only Virginia Tech player with more than one field goal. He scored four points in the second half before fouling out with 2:56 left.

NOTES: Duke has won nine consecutive games in the series, improving to 45-8 all-time against the Hokies. ... Virginia Tech began 2-0 in ACC play for only the second time. It was 3-0 in league action in 2006-07. ... Virginia Tech was aiming to knock off a nationally ranked team for the second time this week after stunning No. 4 Virginia on Monday night. ... Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera attended the game, sitting in the front row behind the scorer's table. ... A pregame moment of silence was observed in memory of former Duke coach Bill Foster, who died Thursday. ... Duke's 1996 Final Four team and the school's 1991 national champions were honored at halftime. .. Virginia Tech plays Wednesday night at home against Wake Forest. ... Duke has a road game Wednesday night against Clemson.