No. 2 Virginia at No. 4 Duke, 2 p.m. CBS
There was nothing quite like seeing Clemson go up 23-16 with 6:32 left in the first half Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena, only to score 13 points the rest of the way as the Cavaliers easily rallied and then demolished the Tigers, 61-36. UVa used a 34-13 second half to cruise past Clemson, which was playing without its second-leading scorer and rebounder, Donte Grantham.
Devon Hall led UVa with 14 points and played great defense on Clemson's top scorer, Marcquise Reed, holding him to just six points on 3-of-10 shooting. The fifth-year senior captain added the usual peppering to his stat line: five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. He made two 3-pointers. Kyle Guy had 12 points and also had two 3s. Ty Jerome had two 3s and eight points. De'Andre Hunter had seven points, and Jack Salt even had six, about twice his average, and showed a
couple nice post moves that both helped him score and get him to the free throw line, where, unfortunately, he continues to struggle after making all four of his free throws -- yes, really -- in the season opener against UNC Greensboro.
Holding a ranked team to 36 points. ... It almost sounds unimaginable. But that's what Virginia did in its most dominating second-half performance of the season. The Tigers had 19 turnovers, 14 on Virginia steals. Jerome had four of those swipes, and Hall had three. The 36 points were the fewest by any UVa opponent this season and the fewest since Wisconsin had 37 in early December.
Now, Virginia heads to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a huge top-five clash with Duke. The Cavaliers have definitely begun to grab the nation's attention, and if they can win in Durham for the first time since 1995 -- a streak of 17 straight losses -- expectations would soar. Here's more on this year's Blue Devils:
Record: 18-2, 6-2 ACC
Scorers in double digits: Freshman forward Marvin Bagley III (21.2), senior guard Grayson Allen (15.2), freshman guard Gary Trent Jr. (14.7), freshman forward Wendell Carter Jr. (14.4), freshman guard Trevon Duval (11.5)
Leading rebounders: Bagley (11.5), Carter (9.2), sophomore forward Javin DeLaurier (4.4), Trent (4)
Assist leaders: Duval (6), Allen (4.4), Carter (1.9), Trent (1.9)
Notable: No other player averages at least five points. DeLaurier, who is from Virginia, averages 13.2 minutes and 4.4 points. Freshman guard Alex O'Connell averages 12.4 minutes and 4.8 points. Sophomore center Marques Bolden puts up 3.7 points in 11.6 minutes per game, but he has been out the past six games with an MCL sprain. Duval (1.6), Allen (1.6), Trent (1.2), and Bagley (1) all average at least one steal. Carter averages two blocks, while Bagley and Bolden average one each.
Best win: then-No. 2 Michigan State, 88-81, on Nov. 15 in Chicago
Worst win: still a solid win, but I'll go with Texas, 85-78, in Portland on Nov. 25. The Longhorns are 13-7 and 4-4 in the Big 12. Duke also had trouble at Indiana, which was a very charged atmosphere. The Blue Devils won, 91-81, over the Hoosiers, who are now 12-9 and 5-4 in the Big Ten.
Other wins: Elon, Utah Valley, Southern, Furman, Portland State, Florida, South Dakota, St. Francis (Pa.), Evansville, Florida State, Pittsburgh (twice), Wake Forest, Miami
Best loss: at N.C. State, 96-85, on Jan. 7
Worst loss: at Boston College, 89-84, on Dec. 9
What Duke does well: The Blue Devils put up 91.7 ppg (first in the nation), and so obviously shoot pretty well, too: 51 percent overall (fifth) and 38.1 percent on 3-pointers (58th). They own a +10.4 rebounding margin (fifth) and move the ball well, dishing out 19.3 assists per game (third). They're assist-turnover ratio is +1.6 (seventh), and they only turn it over 12.1 times per game (65th). Defensively, Duke can struggle, but it does nab eight steals per game (tied-36th) and block 5.4 shots per game (21st) while limiting opponents to 41 percent field goal shooting (51st).
What Duke doesn't do well: The Blue Devils don't shoot well at the free throw line, just 69.2 percent (230th), but they do get there pretty often, with 333 attempts (54th). They give up 72.7 ppg (193rd) and 34.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc (178th).
Duke, as it has the past few seasons, possesses an amazing collection of talent but is very young. Bagley is the likely No. 1 NBA draft pick in June. The one experienced player for the Blue Devils that gets a lot of minutes is Allen, he of tripping fame. But he has toned down his antics this season and is also having a solid year, shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc, grabbing 3.7 rebounds per game, and dishing out a career-high 4.4 assists per game.
As with any young team, Duke can be inconsistent and possibly rattled, as it probably was in road losses to Boston College and N.C. State, two unranked teams. But the Blue Devils can score in bunches, and the defense has been getting better. As we've seen with Tony Bennett's UVa teams, the best defenders are usually veterans. It's tough for the Blue Devils to have a good defense with so many freshmen. But since they are so athletic, a lot of it has to do with effort. And that defensive effort will probably determine how far Duke can eventually advance in the NCAA tournament.
Sometimes, teams have one really good post player. Duke has two in Bagley -- who is 6-11 -- and Carter -- who is 6-10. That means both Wilkins and Salt will need to be on top of their games. UVa
will focus most of its efforts on Bagley, probably, and Carter might be able to do some damage. It will be interesting to see how those freshmen react to seeing the Pack-Line for the first time and if they can patiently and effectively handle UVa's post trap and pass to shooters on the outside. Rebounding is, of course, a big issue. Virginia has been better on the boards, recently, but Duke is in the UNC echelon on the glass, and the Tar Heels held a significant edge on the boards against the Cavaliers, 42-30. But UNC shot below 30 percent from the field and UVa won, 61-49. I doubt Duke will shoot below 30 percent at home. And offensive rebounds can create open opportunities beyond the arc for the Blue Devils.
In addition to Allen, Duke features a good 3-point shooter in Trent (43.1 percent), and even Bagley (31.6 percent, 12 of 38) and Carter (48 percent, 12 of 25) will launch from beyond the arc. Duval, the point guard, is not a good shooter, at 25.9 percent on 3s and 59 percent at the line. Bagley (62.5) and Carter (67.8) also struggle from the line. Allen (84.4) and Trent (89.1) are who Duke wants at the charity stripe.
Maybe it's time for UVa to get lucky at what is normally a very unlucky gym for Duke's opponents. Virginia's past three trips to Duke have resulted in an average loss of 2.67 points: 61-58 in 2011-12, 69-65 in 2013-14, and 63-62 in 2015-16. In that second matchup, UVa rallied from 11 down in the final three and a half minutes to take a lead with under a minute remaining. Duke's Rodney Hood launched an airball that was rebounded by Amile Jefferson, who then kicked it back out behind the arc to Hood, who shot again. The time, the ball caromed high off the rim, but then went through. Two seasons ago, Malcolm Brogdon put in an acrobatic shot in the paint for UVa to go up one with 9.9 seconds left. On Duke's next play, Allen went into the lane and put up a shot, but not before a foot landed, which should have been a traveling violation. It wasn't called, though, and the shot went in, sinking the Cavaliers' hopes. Duke has beaten UVa three straight times since the Wahoos downed the Blue Devils for the 2014 ACC tournament championship.
The refereeing is usually a storyline at Duke. More often than not at most venues, teams get fair shakes and fans blow reffing issues out of proportion. But at Cameron, sometimes the free throw disparity is too much to just put on one team being the aggressor. But as it is, Duke does get to the line more and wants to attack the rim, and also looks to score in the post a lot. So even if the game is called fairly, look for Duke to have more free throw attempts. Hopefully by the end of the game, though, Virginia fans won't want to throw something at their TVs.
Winning at Duke appears to be as unlikely in recent seasons as the Virginia football team topping Virginia Tech. Something always seems to happen. This hoops team is much more well-equipped to win, though, and has another great shot in this game. Should it lose, though, it'll still be up by one game on Duke in the loss column of the ACC standings. And in 2013-14, Duke took the regular-season contest, but the Cavaliers got the better of the season series when they captured the ACC title. This game is certainly not the end all, be all high-stakes affair that it could be. Hopefully, it ends up being a good game featuring two shockingly contrasting styles and cultures. In the end, I'm not going to predict a Virginia win at Duke until I see it, but the Cavaliers have showed enough that if they play their best and win, I won't be surprised at all.
Gut feeling: Duke wins by 1-5 points.
There was nothing quite like seeing Clemson go up 23-16 with 6:32 left in the first half Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena, only to score 13 points the rest of the way as the Cavaliers easily rallied and then demolished the Tigers, 61-36. UVa used a 34-13 second half to cruise past Clemson, which was playing without its second-leading scorer and rebounder, Donte Grantham.
Devon Hall led UVa with 14 points and played great defense on Clemson's top scorer, Marcquise Reed, holding him to just six points on 3-of-10 shooting. The fifth-year senior captain added the usual peppering to his stat line: five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. He made two 3-pointers. Kyle Guy had 12 points and also had two 3s. Ty Jerome had two 3s and eight points. De'Andre Hunter had seven points, and Jack Salt even had six, about twice his average, and showed a
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| Aamir Simms and Clemson found the going very tough, especially in the second half, against UVa at John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday. |
Holding a ranked team to 36 points. ... It almost sounds unimaginable. But that's what Virginia did in its most dominating second-half performance of the season. The Tigers had 19 turnovers, 14 on Virginia steals. Jerome had four of those swipes, and Hall had three. The 36 points were the fewest by any UVa opponent this season and the fewest since Wisconsin had 37 in early December.
Now, Virginia heads to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a huge top-five clash with Duke. The Cavaliers have definitely begun to grab the nation's attention, and if they can win in Durham for the first time since 1995 -- a streak of 17 straight losses -- expectations would soar. Here's more on this year's Blue Devils:
Record: 18-2, 6-2 ACC
Scorers in double digits: Freshman forward Marvin Bagley III (21.2), senior guard Grayson Allen (15.2), freshman guard Gary Trent Jr. (14.7), freshman forward Wendell Carter Jr. (14.4), freshman guard Trevon Duval (11.5)
Leading rebounders: Bagley (11.5), Carter (9.2), sophomore forward Javin DeLaurier (4.4), Trent (4)
Assist leaders: Duval (6), Allen (4.4), Carter (1.9), Trent (1.9)
Notable: No other player averages at least five points. DeLaurier, who is from Virginia, averages 13.2 minutes and 4.4 points. Freshman guard Alex O'Connell averages 12.4 minutes and 4.8 points. Sophomore center Marques Bolden puts up 3.7 points in 11.6 minutes per game, but he has been out the past six games with an MCL sprain. Duval (1.6), Allen (1.6), Trent (1.2), and Bagley (1) all average at least one steal. Carter averages two blocks, while Bagley and Bolden average one each.
Best win: then-No. 2 Michigan State, 88-81, on Nov. 15 in Chicago
Worst win: still a solid win, but I'll go with Texas, 85-78, in Portland on Nov. 25. The Longhorns are 13-7 and 4-4 in the Big 12. Duke also had trouble at Indiana, which was a very charged atmosphere. The Blue Devils won, 91-81, over the Hoosiers, who are now 12-9 and 5-4 in the Big Ten.
Other wins: Elon, Utah Valley, Southern, Furman, Portland State, Florida, South Dakota, St. Francis (Pa.), Evansville, Florida State, Pittsburgh (twice), Wake Forest, Miami
Best loss: at N.C. State, 96-85, on Jan. 7
Worst loss: at Boston College, 89-84, on Dec. 9
What Duke does well: The Blue Devils put up 91.7 ppg (first in the nation), and so obviously shoot pretty well, too: 51 percent overall (fifth) and 38.1 percent on 3-pointers (58th). They own a +10.4 rebounding margin (fifth) and move the ball well, dishing out 19.3 assists per game (third). They're assist-turnover ratio is +1.6 (seventh), and they only turn it over 12.1 times per game (65th). Defensively, Duke can struggle, but it does nab eight steals per game (tied-36th) and block 5.4 shots per game (21st) while limiting opponents to 41 percent field goal shooting (51st).
What Duke doesn't do well: The Blue Devils don't shoot well at the free throw line, just 69.2 percent (230th), but they do get there pretty often, with 333 attempts (54th). They give up 72.7 ppg (193rd) and 34.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc (178th).
Duke, as it has the past few seasons, possesses an amazing collection of talent but is very young. Bagley is the likely No. 1 NBA draft pick in June. The one experienced player for the Blue Devils that gets a lot of minutes is Allen, he of tripping fame. But he has toned down his antics this season and is also having a solid year, shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc, grabbing 3.7 rebounds per game, and dishing out a career-high 4.4 assists per game.
As with any young team, Duke can be inconsistent and possibly rattled, as it probably was in road losses to Boston College and N.C. State, two unranked teams. But the Blue Devils can score in bunches, and the defense has been getting better. As we've seen with Tony Bennett's UVa teams, the best defenders are usually veterans. It's tough for the Blue Devils to have a good defense with so many freshmen. But since they are so athletic, a lot of it has to do with effort. And that defensive effort will probably determine how far Duke can eventually advance in the NCAA tournament.
Sometimes, teams have one really good post player. Duke has two in Bagley -- who is 6-11 -- and Carter -- who is 6-10. That means both Wilkins and Salt will need to be on top of their games. UVa
In addition to Allen, Duke features a good 3-point shooter in Trent (43.1 percent), and even Bagley (31.6 percent, 12 of 38) and Carter (48 percent, 12 of 25) will launch from beyond the arc. Duval, the point guard, is not a good shooter, at 25.9 percent on 3s and 59 percent at the line. Bagley (62.5) and Carter (67.8) also struggle from the line. Allen (84.4) and Trent (89.1) are who Duke wants at the charity stripe.
Maybe it's time for UVa to get lucky at what is normally a very unlucky gym for Duke's opponents. Virginia's past three trips to Duke have resulted in an average loss of 2.67 points: 61-58 in 2011-12, 69-65 in 2013-14, and 63-62 in 2015-16. In that second matchup, UVa rallied from 11 down in the final three and a half minutes to take a lead with under a minute remaining. Duke's Rodney Hood launched an airball that was rebounded by Amile Jefferson, who then kicked it back out behind the arc to Hood, who shot again. The time, the ball caromed high off the rim, but then went through. Two seasons ago, Malcolm Brogdon put in an acrobatic shot in the paint for UVa to go up one with 9.9 seconds left. On Duke's next play, Allen went into the lane and put up a shot, but not before a foot landed, which should have been a traveling violation. It wasn't called, though, and the shot went in, sinking the Cavaliers' hopes. Duke has beaten UVa three straight times since the Wahoos downed the Blue Devils for the 2014 ACC tournament championship.
The refereeing is usually a storyline at Duke. More often than not at most venues, teams get fair shakes and fans blow reffing issues out of proportion. But at Cameron, sometimes the free throw disparity is too much to just put on one team being the aggressor. But as it is, Duke does get to the line more and wants to attack the rim, and also looks to score in the post a lot. So even if the game is called fairly, look for Duke to have more free throw attempts. Hopefully by the end of the game, though, Virginia fans won't want to throw something at their TVs.
Winning at Duke appears to be as unlikely in recent seasons as the Virginia football team topping Virginia Tech. Something always seems to happen. This hoops team is much more well-equipped to win, though, and has another great shot in this game. Should it lose, though, it'll still be up by one game on Duke in the loss column of the ACC standings. And in 2013-14, Duke took the regular-season contest, but the Cavaliers got the better of the season series when they captured the ACC title. This game is certainly not the end all, be all high-stakes affair that it could be. Hopefully, it ends up being a good game featuring two shockingly contrasting styles and cultures. In the end, I'm not going to predict a Virginia win at Duke until I see it, but the Cavaliers have showed enough that if they play their best and win, I won't be surprised at all.
Gut feeling: Duke wins by 1-5 points.
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