Duke 57Â -Â Virginia 46
Duke survives after a very ugly first half that saw UVA with an 8 to 0 edge in fast break points and also 22 to 19 edge in rebounding. Having Brian Zoubek and Kyle Singler in foul trouble didn’t help Dukes ability to put defensive pressure on UVA.
Credit must be given to UVA who even without their leading scorer took it to the Devils and managed to play Duke to a standstill in the first half. The second have was a back and forth affair with Duke pulling away in the last 5 minutes. That extra day of rest may have really helped Duke in this game, this is why you play for that number 1 seed in the tourney.
Duke had to win this game even with poor shooting from Jon Scheyer who is clearly short arming his jumper a bit. Duke is going to have to find ways to win games like this. Survive and Advance.
Duke 77Â -Â Miami 74
Miami came into this game fully believing that they had the formula to take the Devils down, and for most of the second half they did. Hitting a last second 3 in the waning moments of the first half to take a 3 point lead into the half. Duke had to come out in the second half with much more crispness and much more defensive pressure. And Duke started the second half strong with 2 three pointers from Kyle Singler to put Duke back on top. The would never relinquish that lead and would grow it to 16 before Miami would fight their way back. Miami never gave up on this game and it nearly paid off in the end. Duke was sloppy on offense and when it turned to stall-ball, mistake after mistake kept Miami knocking on the door. Duke had just a little more than the Canes in this game, let’s hope Duke comes out with more poise and more emotion in the finals. Georgia Tech is no slouch. It’s winning time.
