ATLANTA -- Thanks to a late turnover by Virginia Tech, Duke escaped with a narrow win Friday night, but the 60-56 win raised as many questions as it answered for the Blue Devils.

Namely, who knew Ryan Kelly was so important to Duke?

Sure, the 6-foot-10 forward from Raleigh can stretch defenses with his 3-point shooting ability, and he's averaging 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds, but it turns out his mere presence in Duke’s forward rotation is absolutely and unquestionably essential. The rest of it is a bonus.

DURHAM -- About five minutes after North Carolina put the finishing touches on its 88-70 win over Duke on Saturday night, the Blue Devils players made their way back onto the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Miles Plumlee addressed the remaining crowd, thanking the Duke students for their support during his career. He then said the Blue Devils would make amends for its disappointing performance against the Tar Heels by reaching the Final Four.

Such a promise required a bit of a leap of faith after Duke’s miserable effort in the first half against UNC. But if the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (26-5, 13-3) have shown nothing else this season, it’s that they have the ability to defy expectations in both directions.

Updated 9:34 p.m.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Wedged around Duke’s memorable wins over North Carolina and N.C. State, there will be little that will stand out about the Blue Devils’ 75-50 triumph over Boston College when folks are reminiscing about this season.

Duke is good. Boston College isn’t.

The Blue Devils played well. The Eagles didn’t.

And that was pretty much that.

No. 10 Duke had a strong second half Saturday afternoon, maintaining its momentum from Wednesday’s win over North Carolina with a 73-55 victory against Maryland at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

From Miles Plumlee’s monster effort on the glass (22 rebounds, an all-time high for a Mike Krzyzewski-coached team) to Seth Curry’s steady offensive performance, there were a lot of things the Blue Devils had to like about the win.

Here are three of the more encouraging things Duke can take from the victory:

DURHAM -- A few final thoughts and observations after Duke’s 61-58 victory over Virginia late Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium:

1. The Plumlee brothers were critical in Duke’s win

After Virginia’s Mike Scott dominated the Blue Devils in the first half, Duke switched its defense and put Miles and Mason Plumlee on the Cavs’ forward. Both brothers tried to put a body on Scott at all times, and the result was that Scott only had seven points in the second half.

“The Plumlees, I thought, were the key to the game,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Their physicality and then our defense – we played much better defense on Scott in the second half. That was both Mason and Miles.”

CHARLOTTE - A year ago, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, the Blue Devils' system was tailor made for starting post players Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek.

Duke's physical, half-court style fit Thomas and Zoubek, who were best known for defending and rebounding. When reserves Mason and Miles Plumlee came off the bench, though, they didn't quite fit in as well because their skills are more suited for an uptempo game.

At the ACC's operation basketball media day tipoff this afternoon, Krzyzewski said the Plumlees are better off in a fast-paced system like the one Duke will use this season now that 2009-10 seniors Thomas and Zoubek are gone. Krzyzewski plans to pressure in the full court or three-quarters court on defense after baskets, and play at a fast tempo on offense.

"The way we use our perimeter this year is really good for the Plumlees," Krzyzewski said.

DURHAM — Duke’s three freshmen didn’t register in the game but each had a moment in front of soldout, nearly full, Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd late in the win over Presbyterian on Monday that could boost their confidence for future games. Like today's 9 p.m.game against Georgia Southern

Miles Plumlee, who started but played 13 minutes, made a noisy block with 2:12 left. Olek Czyz put down a power dunk on a baseline drive off of a Greg Paulus pass. And Elliott Williams executed a 360-degree spin and dunk at game’s end.

Listen to Williams and Czyz talk about why it was important to end strong after suffering from nerves all night.

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DURHAM — The theme for the 2008-09 Duke basketball season is “Our house, our court.” ACC Now is taking that to mean the Devils promise not to lose at home this season.

The Devils didn't have to worry about that on Saturday. The Blue-White scrimmage ended at Cameron, telling the story that the Duke basketball team will be fast, it can be deep, and its freshmen will have roles on this team.