#1 Duke Blue Devils (26-2, 14-1 ACC) vs #11 Virginia Cavaliers (25-3, 13-2 ACC)

#1 Duke Blue Devils (26-2, 14-1 ACC) vs. #11 Virginia Cavaliers (25-3, 13-2 ACC)

Saturday, Feb. 28 • 12:00 p.m. ET

Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

Duke returns home to face Virginia with the ACC regular season and the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament on the line.

TV ESPN
Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien
Analyst Cory Alexander
Reporter Molly McGrath
Producer Kim Belton
Director Michael Griffin

Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 84 & SiriusXM app

Virginia enters the weekend with a 25-3 record and an ACC mark of 13.2, good for second. The Cavaliers have won nine straight with their only losses to Butler, Virginia Tech (3OT), and North Carolina. Virginia leads the ACC in total rebounds (41.3) and offensive rebounds (13.8) – 10th and 13th in the nation, respectively – and ranks third in the ACC in rebound margin (+8.8). The Cavaliers have the best three-point percentage defense in the league (30.0%) and the second-best field goal percentage defense (39.3%).

The Cavaliers are on a 9-game winning streak currently and boast 4 players in double figures, led by freshman Thijs De Ridder, who averages a team-high 16 points per game. The 6’9″ forward also averages 6.3 rebounds—also tops for UVA. Malik Thomas, a senior guard out of California, is averaging 12.3 points per game and 4.1 rebounds. Junior guard Sam Lewis averages just under 11 points per game at 10.9; right behind him is Chance Mallory at 10.2 points per game and a team-high 3.7 assists. Dallin Hall owns the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the ACC (3.16) with 117 assists (4.2 apg) and 37 turnovers. Ugonna Onyenso tops the ACC with 73 blocks (2.6 bpg)

Last Time Out:

Against an opponent that came into John Paul Jones Arena tied for third place in the ACC, the Virginia Cavaliers turned in a ruthlessly efficient performance Tuesday night (Feb. 24). A defense led by 7-footers Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso fueled an offense that grew more potent as the game went on. No. 14 UVA never trailed in a 90-61 rout of NC State before an amped-up crowd of 13,526 at JPJ. In the second half, Virginia (25-3 overall, 13-2 ACC) shot 70 percent from the floor and scored 58 points. NC State (19-9, 10-5), which came in averaging 84.9 points per game, shot only 29.4 percent from the floor overall.

Duke is No. 1 in NET rankings and owns 11 Quad-1 wins (Feb. 25). They’ve secured nine top-25 victories with wins over No. 1 Michigan, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville (twice), No. 20 Clemson, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU, and No. 25 Kansas. The Blue Devils are the top-rated defense in the nation. (KenPom) Duke is one of just two teams ranked in the top seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.6, 7th) and defensive efficiency (89.1, 1st) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (62.9 ppg). They lead the ACC and are fifth nationally in scoring margin (+20.1). Duke tops the conference and ranks seventh in the country in rebounding margin (+10.4).

Cameron Boozer is the nation’s sixth-leading scorer with 22.7 points per game and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.1 rpg), is eighth in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (4.0 apg), and third in field goal percentage (.583). Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in all 28 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS) Isaiah Evans ranks second in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.888) and is the ACC’s 11th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 16.7 points per league game. Evans and Patrick Ngongba both are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 14.5 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.

Last Time Out:

The top-ranked Duke men’ s basketball team turned in a dominant all-around performance Tuesday evening as the Blue Devils finished the contest with six players in double figures en route to a commanding 100-56 victory over Notre Dame at a sold-out Purcell Pavilion. Freshman Cameron Boozer led the charge with his 16th double-double of the season, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Boozer shot 5-of-8 from the field and a career-best 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Darren Harris was next in line with a collegiate-best 16 points—12 of which came after the half. Junior Caleb Foster and sophomore Patrick Ngongba II each chipped in 13 points, with classmate Isaiah Evans and rookie Cayden Boozer rounding out the double-digit scorers with 10. The victory was the Blue Devils’ first time scoring 100 points in a regulation ACC road game since 1999, and the 44-point difference marked the largest margin of defeat for Notre Dame at home all-time.

Virginia, a team much like Duke that has elite size, shouldn’t be rattled by what Duke brings in terms of reach and length. Duke’s defense once again will be tested, this time against a Virginia team with tough shot makers. Duke’s perimeter defense has to be on in this game; home game or not, Virginia knows they are playing for something, and being one of the oldest teams in the ACC, I expect this to be a battle. Offensively, Duke has been thriving in the paint. Virginia’s defense is paint-oriented, so for Duke, hitting the open looks they get from beyond the arc will be important. Execution is key for Duke; good shot selection, taking care of the basketball, and playing a good floor game will go a long way toward this game being a comfortable win vs. a street fight.

UVA has a distinct advantage in experience, especially in their starting lineup:

UVA Starters Age:

Malik Thomas. Gr. 24
Thijs De Ridder Fr. 23
Sam Lewis Jr. 21
Johann Gruloh Fr. 20
Dallin Hall Gr. 23
22.2

Duke Starters Age

Caleb Foster Jr. 21
Isaiah Evans So. 20
Dame Sarr Fr. 19
Cam Boozer Fr. 18
Pat Ngongba So. 20
19.6

My keys for Duke are

• Duke has to defend UVA without fouling them.
• Win the glass.
• Be stout on the perimeter / Pressure the ball.
• Execute on offense / play a good floor game.