No. 7 Virginia at Duke, 4:30 p.m. ESPN
After taking care of the rival Hokies, 67-49, on Tuesday, the hot Cavaliers, winners of seven straight, travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a date with an unranked Duke squad needing big wins to pad its NCAA tournament resume.
UVa almost found itself in a tie for first place in the ACC after Tuesday's action, because North Carolina was on the ropes at winless-in-the-conference Boston College. But the Tar Heels pulled out a close win, even after coach Roy Williams left the game after falling down because of vertigo. He later said he was fine. UVa and UNC both have three conference losses. They face each other in the only regular-season meeting of the season Feb. 27 in Charlottesville.
Getting to first place and possibly winning another ACC regular-season title makes this a big game against the Blue Devils for the Wahoos. They also haven't won in Durham since 1995. But the game is bigger for Duke, which will probably make the tournament, but a couple more big wins would lock in its spot. Normally, this would be a huge opportunity for Virginia -- and it still is. But this is not a win it needs. It would simply be another great notch on their resume as the Cavs set their sights on a No. 1 seed in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments, if they can keep winning. The Blue Devils haven't been themselves this season, having already lost two games at home to Notre Dame and Syracuse. They also lost on the road in the ACC to Clemson and Miami. They've been hobbled without senior forward Amile Jefferson, who has been out with a foot injury since early December. He was averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds. Nevertheless, Duke has rebounded recently, winning three straight after losing four of five. Here's more on the Blue Devils:
Record: 18-6, 7-4
Scorers in double figures: Sophomore guard Grayson Allen (20.8), freshman guard Brandon Ingram (16.9), freshman guard Luke Kennard (12.5), junior guard Matt Jones (11.6)
Leading rebounders: Senior center Marshall Plumlee (8.3), Ingram (6.7), Allen (4.6), Kennard (3.5)
Assist leaders: Allen (3.6), Jones (2.7), freshman guard Derryck Thornton (2.7)
Notable: Duke is talented, but young and not deep this season. With Jefferson out, only six players average double-figure minutes, and all of them are playing at least 25 mpg. Plumlee averages 8.2 points, and Thortnon 8.3.
Best win: The Blue Devils just picked it up Monday, 72-65, at home over No. 13 Louisville. It was actually Duke's first victory over a ranked foe this season.
Worst win: Tough call. A two-point win over fringe NCAA-bubble team Georgetown in New York, and a pair of struggling victories over N.C. State don't look great, but I'll go with the win over barely-.500 Georgia Tech on the road, 80-71. The Yellow Jackets led the Blue Devils, 40-36, at the half.
Other wins: Siena, Bryant, VCU, Yale, Utah State, Indiana, Buffalo, Georgia Southern, Elon, Long Beach State, Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech
Best loss: Even though it is a loss by double digits, the setback at Miami, 80-69, also represents the highest currently ranked foe the Blue Devils have lost to so far.
Worst loss: Losing to a Clemson team in a "road" game (Clemson's arena is being renovated, so its home games are in Greenville, S.C.) that is now just 14-10 overall is bad, but something tells me coach Mike Krzyzewski might think giving up 95 points at Cameron Indoor to Notre Dame in a 95-91 loss is worse.
Other losses: Utah, Kentucky, Syracuse
What Duke does well: The Blue Devils are superb offensively. They rank tied for eighth in points per contest (84.3), 31st in field goal percentage (47.7), 19th in 3-point percentage (39.3), and 70th in free throw percentage (72.7). They also take care of and move the ball pretty well, ranking 36th in assist-turnover ration (+1.36). They love the 3-ball and shoot it often. Allen is their biggest weapon at 44 percent from beyond the arc, but Ingram can shoot it as well at 40.7 percent. Jones actually shoots the most from 3, and is just a tad below 40 percent. Thornton is at 39 percent but shoots a lot fewer than those three. Kennard is at 32.7 percent but will also launch it.
What Duke doesn't do well: The Blue Devils are deficient in defense, giving up 71.3 ppg (170th in the nation) and a 43.6 field goal percentage (195th). They are also just so-so rebounders, ranking around 100th in the rebounds per game and rebounding margin.
Despite no wins in this place in 20 years, it seems as if the recipe is right for Virginia to snag victory this time around, and it actually would be an upset according to Vegas, where Duke is a 2.5-point favorite. Certainly though, with the way UVa has been rolling, I don't think any analysts would be shocked to see it win in Cameron this year, especially facing a young Duke team that has taken its share of lumps this season. Virginia has held four consecutive opponents to 50 points or fewer. UVa never held more than two in a row under that mark last season. It's tough to see that streak continuing, but the 'Hoos have a good chance to more than hang today.
The cool thing is, though, like I said, a loss will hurt UVa's chances of winning the ACC regular-season title, but it wouldn't be this huge blown opportunity it could've been a few weeks ago, when UVa was struggling to just get impressive wins -- and any sort of win on the road. Even if UVa falls two games behind UNC in the loss column, the Tar Heels still have to play Duke twice and they come to JPJ in a couple weeks, so chances remain for UVa to surpass the Tar Heels in the standings.
The two biggest obstacles today to a UVa win are, in my opinion, 3s and refs. Duke can really shoot the ball, and even though things have been better lately, UVa has been susceptible to 3-point shooting this year. If the Blue Devils get hot, that could spell trouble, especially if UVa isn't being efficient itself on offense. And the zebras can, of course, sometimes be questionable at Cameron. How do they let the game flow? Do they call it tight? The refs seemed to have eased up a little recently on freedom of movement fouls. If that trend continues, that will bode well for UVa. This won't be as big a deal as long as fouls are called on both teams. Duke is great at the line, but UVa is even better. Also, Virginia has been successful enough the past few years where it is getting more respect from refs anyway.
Bottom line, even when UVa was struggling a few weeks ago, it showed up for big-time opponents like Syracuse and Louisville. The Cavaliers haven't shied away from the spotlight, as evidenced by a 4-0 record vs. top-25 teams. Duke isn't ranked, but you have to think that psychologically, this is like playing a ranked team. It doesn't get much bigger for a college player than playing at Cameron on ESPN. This is the 'Hoos' chance to show the nation what they can do and to leave their mark on the UVa program as one of the few teams that have won in Durham. I think UVa shows up and gets it done.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
After taking care of the rival Hokies, 67-49, on Tuesday, the hot Cavaliers, winners of seven straight, travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a date with an unranked Duke squad needing big wins to pad its NCAA tournament resume.
UVa almost found itself in a tie for first place in the ACC after Tuesday's action, because North Carolina was on the ropes at winless-in-the-conference Boston College. But the Tar Heels pulled out a close win, even after coach Roy Williams left the game after falling down because of vertigo. He later said he was fine. UVa and UNC both have three conference losses. They face each other in the only regular-season meeting of the season Feb. 27 in Charlottesville.
Getting to first place and possibly winning another ACC regular-season title makes this a big game against the Blue Devils for the Wahoos. They also haven't won in Durham since 1995. But the game is bigger for Duke, which will probably make the tournament, but a couple more big wins would lock in its spot. Normally, this would be a huge opportunity for Virginia -- and it still is. But this is not a win it needs. It would simply be another great notch on their resume as the Cavs set their sights on a No. 1 seed in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments, if they can keep winning. The Blue Devils haven't been themselves this season, having already lost two games at home to Notre Dame and Syracuse. They also lost on the road in the ACC to Clemson and Miami. They've been hobbled without senior forward Amile Jefferson, who has been out with a foot injury since early December. He was averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds. Nevertheless, Duke has rebounded recently, winning three straight after losing four of five. Here's more on the Blue Devils:
Record: 18-6, 7-4
Scorers in double figures: Sophomore guard Grayson Allen (20.8), freshman guard Brandon Ingram (16.9), freshman guard Luke Kennard (12.5), junior guard Matt Jones (11.6)
Leading rebounders: Senior center Marshall Plumlee (8.3), Ingram (6.7), Allen (4.6), Kennard (3.5)
Notable: Duke is talented, but young and not deep this season. With Jefferson out, only six players average double-figure minutes, and all of them are playing at least 25 mpg. Plumlee averages 8.2 points, and Thortnon 8.3.
Best win: The Blue Devils just picked it up Monday, 72-65, at home over No. 13 Louisville. It was actually Duke's first victory over a ranked foe this season.
Worst win: Tough call. A two-point win over fringe NCAA-bubble team Georgetown in New York, and a pair of struggling victories over N.C. State don't look great, but I'll go with the win over barely-.500 Georgia Tech on the road, 80-71. The Yellow Jackets led the Blue Devils, 40-36, at the half.
Other wins: Siena, Bryant, VCU, Yale, Utah State, Indiana, Buffalo, Georgia Southern, Elon, Long Beach State, Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech
Best loss: Even though it is a loss by double digits, the setback at Miami, 80-69, also represents the highest currently ranked foe the Blue Devils have lost to so far.
Worst loss: Losing to a Clemson team in a "road" game (Clemson's arena is being renovated, so its home games are in Greenville, S.C.) that is now just 14-10 overall is bad, but something tells me coach Mike Krzyzewski might think giving up 95 points at Cameron Indoor to Notre Dame in a 95-91 loss is worse.
Other losses: Utah, Kentucky, Syracuse
What Duke does well: The Blue Devils are superb offensively. They rank tied for eighth in points per contest (84.3), 31st in field goal percentage (47.7), 19th in 3-point percentage (39.3), and 70th in free throw percentage (72.7). They also take care of and move the ball pretty well, ranking 36th in assist-turnover ration (+1.36). They love the 3-ball and shoot it often. Allen is their biggest weapon at 44 percent from beyond the arc, but Ingram can shoot it as well at 40.7 percent. Jones actually shoots the most from 3, and is just a tad below 40 percent. Thornton is at 39 percent but shoots a lot fewer than those three. Kennard is at 32.7 percent but will also launch it.
What Duke doesn't do well: The Blue Devils are deficient in defense, giving up 71.3 ppg (170th in the nation) and a 43.6 field goal percentage (195th). They are also just so-so rebounders, ranking around 100th in the rebounds per game and rebounding margin.
Despite no wins in this place in 20 years, it seems as if the recipe is right for Virginia to snag victory this time around, and it actually would be an upset according to Vegas, where Duke is a 2.5-point favorite. Certainly though, with the way UVa has been rolling, I don't think any analysts would be shocked to see it win in Cameron this year, especially facing a young Duke team that has taken its share of lumps this season. Virginia has held four consecutive opponents to 50 points or fewer. UVa never held more than two in a row under that mark last season. It's tough to see that streak continuing, but the 'Hoos have a good chance to more than hang today.
The cool thing is, though, like I said, a loss will hurt UVa's chances of winning the ACC regular-season title, but it wouldn't be this huge blown opportunity it could've been a few weeks ago, when UVa was struggling to just get impressive wins -- and any sort of win on the road. Even if UVa falls two games behind UNC in the loss column, the Tar Heels still have to play Duke twice and they come to JPJ in a couple weeks, so chances remain for UVa to surpass the Tar Heels in the standings.
The two biggest obstacles today to a UVa win are, in my opinion, 3s and refs. Duke can really shoot the ball, and even though things have been better lately, UVa has been susceptible to 3-point shooting this year. If the Blue Devils get hot, that could spell trouble, especially if UVa isn't being efficient itself on offense. And the zebras can, of course, sometimes be questionable at Cameron. How do they let the game flow? Do they call it tight? The refs seemed to have eased up a little recently on freedom of movement fouls. If that trend continues, that will bode well for UVa. This won't be as big a deal as long as fouls are called on both teams. Duke is great at the line, but UVa is even better. Also, Virginia has been successful enough the past few years where it is getting more respect from refs anyway.
Bottom line, even when UVa was struggling a few weeks ago, it showed up for big-time opponents like Syracuse and Louisville. The Cavaliers haven't shied away from the spotlight, as evidenced by a 4-0 record vs. top-25 teams. Duke isn't ranked, but you have to think that psychologically, this is like playing a ranked team. It doesn't get much bigger for a college player than playing at Cameron on ESPN. This is the 'Hoos' chance to show the nation what they can do and to leave their mark on the UVa program as one of the few teams that have won in Durham. I think UVa shows up and gets it done.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
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