Boston College vs. Duke: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

No. 2 Duke started off conference play in the ACC this season on a positive note with a dominant 85-62 home win over the Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Star center Jahlil Okafor made—get ready for this—14 of 17 free throws en route to a career-high 28 points. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman noted his poor track record coming into this contest:

Okafor was excellent on defense as well, picking up eight rebounds and a game-high four blocks.

Point guard Quinn Cook scored 15 points for the Blue Devils, while guard Rasheed Sulaimon popped up for 11 points off the bench.

Boston College was led by star shooting guard Olivier Hanlan, who finished with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting. The Eagles bench quartet was atrocious in this one, combining for a measly five points. Duke improved to 13-0 on the season, while the Eagles dropped to 7-5.

It's Duke's third straight victory by at least 17 points. The Blue Devils beat Toledo, 86-69, on Monday and crushed Wofford, 84-55, on Wednesday. Rather than dismiss those opponents, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski credited them with preparing his team for conference play.

"We're excited. We all go to 0-0," he said prior to the game, via The Associated Press (h/t FoxSports.com). "Four of these guys have never been on this journey so they'll be surprised at how rigorous it is. But these two games have really gotten us in conference mode."

The Chronicle provided a look at the opening tip:

Boston College's first and only lead of the game came right at the start with the score, 2-1. The Fayetteville Observer's Stephen Schramm noted Duke is pretty unfamiliar with trailing in games this season:

The Blue Devils naturally fed Okafor the ball early and often in this contest, and the Eagles responded by doubling him in the low post and making him work for every bucket. Normally a very poor free-throw shooter, Okafor's excellent work from the charity stripe in the first half would go a long way toward establishing Duke's dominance in this game.

The Blue Devils took a 10-6 lead into the game's first media timeout.

Lance King/Getty Images

Boston College worked hard to get the ball in the hands of Hanlan, its premier player. The hyper-athletic guard had six of his team's first 10 points, all of them coming on layups.

Joedy McCreary of The Associated Press noted Hanlan had little help in the first half:

Center Dennis Clifford did shoot well from inside and finished with eight points and five boards.

Boston College's quick ball movement around the perimeter also opened up shots from long range. Alas, the Eagles were ice cold from downtown in the opening half, making just one of eight three-point attempts, much to head coach Jim Christian's chagrin.

Lance King/Getty Images

The poor outside shooting early on allowed Duke to open up a 25-18 lead at the seven-minute, 50-second mark.

Duke forward Justise Winslow carved up Boston College with a few stunning displays of athleticism in the first half. Lauren Brownlow noted his ability to finish plays:

With Duke up, 28-20, and just over five minutes remaining in the half, Winslow again made his presence known with a scintillating coast-to-coast slam.

ESPN's C.L Brown's noted Duke's double-digit lead and the Eagles' lack of options on offense:

The dynamite dunk came in the midst of a 13-2 Duke run to close out the first half. Six of those points came from Okafor, the question Boston College didn't have an answer for throughout this game. The Blue Devils were in complete control on Coach K Court and took a 38-22 lead into the locker room.

Boston College came out strong in the second half, getting a nice eight-point burst in just over two minutes from guard Dimitri Batten. Still, the Eagles couldn't contend with the power and athleticism of Duke and could do little more than rapidly trade baskets with the Blue Devils as they extended their advantage to 48-31 with 16:51 left on the clock. 

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

A surge from Hanlan would bring Boston College within 10 after a media timeout, but Sulaimon stepped up the defensive effort for Duke, and that stretch of play would be the last time the Eagles looked competitive in any way in this one. With the score 53-43 Duke, the Blue Devils went on a 14-0 run to stretch the lead to 63-47 with 8:58 remaining.

The Chronicle noted Duke fans started to look far, far ahead in this game:

Okafor continued his dominance in the second half, getting to the free-throw line often, throwing down overpowering dunks and tossing in the occasional jumper. Fans on Twitter couldn't help but praise Okafor:

"

Jahlil Okafor is the best player in the nation and it's not even close

— Sean Mullins (@smullins20) January 3, 2015"

Clifford, doomed to defend Okafor from the start, fouled out of the game with 5:22 remaining. He drew a flagrant foul earlier in the game for an elbow to Okafor's chin.

Duke would control things down the stretch and cruise to a convincing 85-62 victory.

The Blue Devils have talent at every position, and Okafor is clearly one of the best players in the nation, but they can't count on an ACC title just yet. Virginia is still undefeated at 12-0, while the likes of Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina State all figure to provide immensely tough competition in the latter half of the season.

Boston College has a true talent in Hanlan, but they are doomed to be an also-ran this season. The loaded ACC could be the conference to watch this season in men's college basketball.