Duke is just plain great, yes. But the Blue Devils also own certain attributes that are specifically frustrating to Virginia.
Would I like UVa's chances in a third (and maybe even fourth) meeting with Duke?
That was the question I was pondering at the end of the Blue Devils' 81-71 victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday night in Charlottesville.
On the one hand, Duke has handed Virginia its only two losses this season. On the other hand, it took two pretty odd games statistically for that to happen.
In Durham, Duke shot poorly from the line and on 3-pointers, but UVa did too, and it hurt the 'Hoos more because they were further below their season averages. At JPJ on Saturday, the Cavaliers shot well, 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc, about average for them, but the Devils were an incredible 13 of 21, 61.9 percent. They cooled off in the second half, but the first-half performance seemed to be even better than Virginia's first half against Virginia Tech last month. To put that in perspective, Duke came into the rematch shooting 30.8 percent on 3-pointers, so a normal shooting night for it on 21 attempts would've been about six or seven makes. In that case, just on math, the Blue Devils would've scored about 20 fewer points. Of course, they probably would've shot fewer and gone inside more, too, had they not been as hot, but the point is clear. Their prodigious shooting Saturday was as unusual if not more so than Virginia's inability to make shots at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It makes me think the law of averages would be on the side of Virginia in another meeting. Eventually, you expect a game where both shoot about average and UVa wins. At the same time, I'm not itching for ACC and/or NCAA tournament rematches, especially in a win-or-go-home format, because Duke does a few things that really bother the Cavaliers.
To be fair to both Duke and UVa, Duke is really good. There's a reason it is the only team to have
beaten UVa so far this season. If the Devils consistently improve their 3-point shooting, they are absolutely the national championship favorite, with apologies to Tennessee, which is No. 1 right now, and Gonzaga, which defeated Duke earlier this season.
But Duke is a particularly tough matchup for UVa's style. Teams that face UVa usually have to shoot well from 3-point land and have at least one or two guys that can get to the rim with their athleticism. Another option is to play great defense and match Virginia in a slower, grinding game.
Duke does two of those things well, plus Saturday, it shot lights out. But the two constants for the Devils are defense and athleticism. Virginia did a good job of clogging the lane, better than at Duke, and was able to negate that athleticism somewhat. The Wahoos made the Blue Devils shoot 3s to win; they just made them. Zion Williamson scored 18 points, but just six in the second half. Virginia did a job on him.
But you could see that in both games, Duke's length and size bothered Virginia. UVa is usually bigger than the teams it faces, but not in this matchup. Williamson is just 6-foot-7, but is 285 pounds and has world class athleticism. RJ Barrett is 6-7, Cam Reddish is 6-8, and Marques Bolden is 6-11. Off the bench, Duke has 6-10 Javin DeLaurier and 6-7 Jack White. Virginia, meanwhile, only has Jack Salt
and Jay Huff with great size, but Huff is still pretty skinny, and Salt is limited offensively. De'Andre Hunter, Braxton Key, and Mamadi Diakite are big enough, but they don't have any real advantage against Duke physically. Ty Jerome is taller than his counterpart, Tre Jones, but Kihei Clark is super small and gets lots of time. And Kyle Guy at 6-2 looks small vs. Duke.
The Devils use their size and athleticism to pressure players on the perimeter and are able to create turnovers and get fast breaks, which happened a couple times at JPJ, especially early. One play in particular sticks out when Jones (who did not play in the January game) knocked the ball away from Diakite, creating a breakaway dunk for Williamson. Duke would rather get up and down but can play a defensive game. The first meeting was on pace to just barely get into the 60s until the final minutes. The Blue Devils know they don't want the Wahoos to run their normally efficient offense that chews up time and gets good shots, so they disrupt UVa's flow by getting in players' faces on the perimeter. And against Duke, Virginia doesn't have the same size and speed advantages it has against other teams, and thus it cannot make Duke pay for the pressure.
So Duke has a great formula to beat Virginia: It is a strong defensive team that is willing to play an ugly game and possesses athleticism that can penetrate UVa's defense. UVa did a good job slowing the athleticism, but Duke shot so well that no team would've beaten it Saturday. Barrett went 6 of 10 on 3s, Reddish 5 of 8, Jones 1 of 2, and Williamson 1 of 1. Barrett led the Devils
with 26 points. In my opinion, he is Duke's best player. He's led it in scoring in both wins over UVa and has the team's highest scoring average. Zion gets the headlines and ESPN hype, and is a bigger athletic freak, but I think Barrett might be better overall. He played all 40 minutes.
For Virginia, Jerome played and was pretty good in co-leading the team in scoring with 16 points along with Guy. Hunter had 11, Huff eight, Diakite seven, Salt six, Key four, and Clark three. UVa actually outrebounded Duke, 28-25, but when it seemed like Virginia need a board late to get as many chances as it could to come back, it couldn't get one.
Unfortunately, it looked like the 'Hoos were getting the good version of Diakite, and then he got hurt. His seven points, three rebounds, and one block came in just 10 minutes, then he collided with Hunter and never came back in the game. It could be a tough turnaround to get him on the floor for Monday's game at UNC if he goes into the concussion protocol.
Overall, Virginia played pretty well, good enough to win, as it did at Duke. But just like in Durham, one or two glaring areas were the difference. At Duke, it was poor shooting, and in Charlottesville, it was the Blue Devils shooting unbelievably well. UVa got off to a poor start, down 8-0, and also turned the ball over too much again, 14 times. I'd credit Duke's defense partly for that, but we've also seen the Cavaliers be way too sloppy in the past three games, so they need to get back to being themselves and value the ball. In the first few minutes, it looked like Virginia was playing Miami and N.C. State again, but after Duke knocked it down, UVa got up, fought back in the game, and looked better. But I'm not sure a faster, more Virginia-like start would've mattered anyway if Duke was going to shoot like that. Whenever Virginia was trying to put a run together, a Blue Devils' 3-pointer was usually there to take the wind out of the sails of the players and the crowd.
That was the question I was pondering at the end of the Blue Devils' 81-71 victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday night in Charlottesville.
On the one hand, Duke has handed Virginia its only two losses this season. On the other hand, it took two pretty odd games statistically for that to happen.
In Durham, Duke shot poorly from the line and on 3-pointers, but UVa did too, and it hurt the 'Hoos more because they were further below their season averages. At JPJ on Saturday, the Cavaliers shot well, 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc, about average for them, but the Devils were an incredible 13 of 21, 61.9 percent. They cooled off in the second half, but the first-half performance seemed to be even better than Virginia's first half against Virginia Tech last month. To put that in perspective, Duke came into the rematch shooting 30.8 percent on 3-pointers, so a normal shooting night for it on 21 attempts would've been about six or seven makes. In that case, just on math, the Blue Devils would've scored about 20 fewer points. Of course, they probably would've shot fewer and gone inside more, too, had they not been as hot, but the point is clear. Their prodigious shooting Saturday was as unusual if not more so than Virginia's inability to make shots at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It makes me think the law of averages would be on the side of Virginia in another meeting. Eventually, you expect a game where both shoot about average and UVa wins. At the same time, I'm not itching for ACC and/or NCAA tournament rematches, especially in a win-or-go-home format, because Duke does a few things that really bother the Cavaliers.
To be fair to both Duke and UVa, Duke is really good. There's a reason it is the only team to have
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| Zion Williamson gets the "SportsCenter" love, but RJ Barrett is averaging 28 points in two games against Virginia. |
But Duke is a particularly tough matchup for UVa's style. Teams that face UVa usually have to shoot well from 3-point land and have at least one or two guys that can get to the rim with their athleticism. Another option is to play great defense and match Virginia in a slower, grinding game.
Duke does two of those things well, plus Saturday, it shot lights out. But the two constants for the Devils are defense and athleticism. Virginia did a good job of clogging the lane, better than at Duke, and was able to negate that athleticism somewhat. The Wahoos made the Blue Devils shoot 3s to win; they just made them. Zion Williamson scored 18 points, but just six in the second half. Virginia did a job on him.
But you could see that in both games, Duke's length and size bothered Virginia. UVa is usually bigger than the teams it faces, but not in this matchup. Williamson is just 6-foot-7, but is 285 pounds and has world class athleticism. RJ Barrett is 6-7, Cam Reddish is 6-8, and Marques Bolden is 6-11. Off the bench, Duke has 6-10 Javin DeLaurier and 6-7 Jack White. Virginia, meanwhile, only has Jack Salt
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| Zion and the Devils are one of few teams that can match and exceed Hunter and the 'Hoos physically. |
The Devils use their size and athleticism to pressure players on the perimeter and are able to create turnovers and get fast breaks, which happened a couple times at JPJ, especially early. One play in particular sticks out when Jones (who did not play in the January game) knocked the ball away from Diakite, creating a breakaway dunk for Williamson. Duke would rather get up and down but can play a defensive game. The first meeting was on pace to just barely get into the 60s until the final minutes. The Blue Devils know they don't want the Wahoos to run their normally efficient offense that chews up time and gets good shots, so they disrupt UVa's flow by getting in players' faces on the perimeter. And against Duke, Virginia doesn't have the same size and speed advantages it has against other teams, and thus it cannot make Duke pay for the pressure.
So Duke has a great formula to beat Virginia: It is a strong defensive team that is willing to play an ugly game and possesses athleticism that can penetrate UVa's defense. UVa did a good job slowing the athleticism, but Duke shot so well that no team would've beaten it Saturday. Barrett went 6 of 10 on 3s, Reddish 5 of 8, Jones 1 of 2, and Williamson 1 of 1. Barrett led the Devils
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| Ty Jerome did not seem to be suffering from any lingering back issues and led the team with 16 points, so that was great to see. |
For Virginia, Jerome played and was pretty good in co-leading the team in scoring with 16 points along with Guy. Hunter had 11, Huff eight, Diakite seven, Salt six, Key four, and Clark three. UVa actually outrebounded Duke, 28-25, but when it seemed like Virginia need a board late to get as many chances as it could to come back, it couldn't get one.
Unfortunately, it looked like the 'Hoos were getting the good version of Diakite, and then he got hurt. His seven points, three rebounds, and one block came in just 10 minutes, then he collided with Hunter and never came back in the game. It could be a tough turnaround to get him on the floor for Monday's game at UNC if he goes into the concussion protocol.
Overall, Virginia played pretty well, good enough to win, as it did at Duke. But just like in Durham, one or two glaring areas were the difference. At Duke, it was poor shooting, and in Charlottesville, it was the Blue Devils shooting unbelievably well. UVa got off to a poor start, down 8-0, and also turned the ball over too much again, 14 times. I'd credit Duke's defense partly for that, but we've also seen the Cavaliers be way too sloppy in the past three games, so they need to get back to being themselves and value the ball. In the first few minutes, it looked like Virginia was playing Miami and N.C. State again, but after Duke knocked it down, UVa got up, fought back in the game, and looked better. But I'm not sure a faster, more Virginia-like start would've mattered anyway if Duke was going to shoot like that. Whenever Virginia was trying to put a run together, a Blue Devils' 3-pointer was usually there to take the wind out of the sails of the players and the crowd.
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