Preview: #10 Duke Blue Devils (22-6, 13-4 ACC) vs. Virginia (21-8, 12-6 ACC)
Saturday, March 2 • 6:00 p.m. ET
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, NC
The #10 Duke Blue Devils (22-6, 13-4 ACC) take on the Virginia Cavaliers (21-8, 12-6 ACC) in a battle of 2 of the top 3 teams in the ACC.
Series & Game Info
Series
Overall Duke leads, 124-54
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 59-11
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 54-10
In Charlottesville, VA Duke leads, 43-36
at John Paul Jones Arena Duke leads, 7-4
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 22-6
Last Meeting Duke 59, Virginia 49 acct championship (March 11, 2023)
Game Info
TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Kevin Brown
Analyst Jon Crispin
Director Bonnie Reilly
Producer Sean Jackson
Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 139 or 193
The Teams
Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia owns a record of 21-8, 12-6 in the ACC which places them 3rd currently. Virginia ranks as the best team in the ACC for overall defense, limiting opponents to just 58.7 points per game, which ranks third nationally, and 39.6% shooting overall from the field, the 10th-ranked field goal percentage defense in the nation. Virginia owns the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation (1.84), thanks to committing the fewest turnovers nationally at just 8.2 miscues per contest.
Virginia is led by Reece Beekman, who averages 13.9 points, a league-leading 5.9 assists (24th in nation), and 2.1 steals (third in ACC/24th in nation) per game. Isaac McKneely also scores it in double figures for the Cavaliers at 12.3 per game. Ryan Dunn, a 6-8 sophomore guard, is the eighth-leading shot-blocker in the country with an ACC-high 67 rejections.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke enters Saturday with a record of 22-6 and a conference record of 13.4 good for second place in the ACC. Duke is the only team to rank among the top four ACC statistical leaders in both scoring offense (2nd/80.5 points per game) and scoring defense (4th/67.4 points allowed per game). The Blue Devils lead the ACC in scoring margin (+13.1), field goal percentage (.485), 3-point field goal percentage (.386) and assists (15.7 per game).
Kyle Filipowski ranks ninth in scoring (16.6 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.3 rpg), fifth in blocked shots (1.6 bpg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.499). He leads the Blue Devils in both scoring and rebounding. Senior guard Jeremy Roach is coming off of a game-high 19 points, including 3-of-4 from deep, during Wednesday’s 84-59 win over Louisville. Roach is averaging 14.4 points per game and is second on the team in assists at 3 per game. Tyrese Proctor has 19 assists to just five turnovers, a 3.8 assist-turnover ratio, in his last five games played. He ranks third in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (2.87) on the season. Proctor is averaging 10.3 points per game. Mark Mitchell and Jared McCain are both averaging in double figures in scoring as well for the Blue Devils with McCain posting 13.6 points and 4.9 boards and Mitchell with 12.8 points per game. McCain is shooting 41.8% from 3 point range good for 3rd on the Blue Devils.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 28 | 40.0 | 28.5 | 58.6 | .485 | 20.0 | 36.6 | .545 | 8.5 | 22.0 | .386 | 15.1 | 20.8 | .726 | 10.2 | 26.4 | 36.6 | 15.7 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 10.0 | 15.9 | 80.5 |
| Virginia | 29 | 40.2 | 24.1 | 54.9 | .438 | 17.8 | 37.6 | .472 | 6.3 | 17.3 | .365 | 9.2 | 14.3 | .647 | 8.6 | 24.1 | 32.7 | 15.0 | 7.3 | 5.2 | 8.2 | 13.9 | 63.7 |
Stats Comparison Conference
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 17 | 40.0 | 27.4 | 57.8 | .475 | 18.6 | 35.4 | .525 | 8.8 | 22.4 | .395 | 14.2 | 20.0 | .709 | 9.0 | 25.1 | 34.1 | 14.6 | 6.2 | 3.5 | 10.4 | 16.0 | 77.8 |
| Virginia | 18 | 40.2 | 23.9 | 55.3 | .433 | 17.7 | 38.7 | .457 | 6.3 | 16.6 | .378 | 8.6 | 13.2 | .651 | 7.3 | 21.9 | 29.2 | 14.7 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 7.4 | 14.2 | 62.8 |
Projected Lineup
Duke Blue Devils
G Jeremy Roach 6’2, 180lbs SR
G Jared McCain 6’3, 197lbs FR
G Tyrese Proctor 6’5, 183lbs SO
F Mark Mitchell 6’9, 232lbs SO
C Kyle Filipowski 7’0, 248lbs SO
Virginia Cavaliers
G Reece Beekman 6’3, 194lbs SR
G Isaac McKneely 6’4, 188lbs SO
G Ryan Dunn 6’8, 216lbs SO
F Jacob Groves 6’9, 211lbs GS
F Jordan Minor 6’8, 242lbs GS
Thoughts
The recipe for beating Virginia is simply stated but not simply achieved. The Blue Devils need to be a lot more efficient on the offensive end as Virginia is a team that is going to limit your opportunities. Taking bad shots and turning the ball over is a recipe for disaster against Virginia offensively. UVA is, as they have always been under Coach Bennett, one of the best defensive teams in the nation. They are going to be aggressive in the paint and continually going to swipe and strip at the ball – Duke has to be strong with the rock and be a lot more cautious with their passing. Virginia will attack those passing lanes looking for easy opportunities. Defensively for Duke, Virginia is patient, they have no problem working their offense until the shot clock is dwindling – that’s their preference. Shortening the game and taking you out of your rhythms on both ends of the floor is the air for this Virginia squad. Discipline is the name of the game for the Blue Devils, discipline on both ends, making sure to box out and complete the rebounding process and offensively patience and valuing the basketball.
