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Published Feb 8, 2019
Preview: Round 2 on deck as No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Virginia face off
Justin Ferber  •  CavsCorner
Editor In-Chief
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@justin_ferber

After beating Miami last weekend and then sitting idle for a week, No. 3 UVa begins a brutal two-game stretch over the next three days when the Wahoos welcome No. 2 Duke to John Paul Jones Arena (6 p.m., ESPN).

These two teams played a whale of game several weeks ago, a game that the Blue Devils narrowly won thanks in large part to their dynamic freshmen and UVa's inability to make open looks from beyond the arc.

Virginia (20-1, 8-1 ACC) comes in limping just a bit. The Cavaliers struggled in an overtime win at NC State 10 days ago and then had to go without Ty Jerome in the win over the Canes. While his status remains up in the air, there's no doubt that UVa needs him in order to feel confident going into this rematch and if he can't go, Tony Bennett's job becomes all the more difficult.


No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (20-2, 8-1 ACC)

Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski, 44th year (1119-340 overall, 1047-281 in 39 years at Duke)

Series: Duke leads the all-time series 120-51.

Last Meeting: The Blue Devils beat the Cavaliers 72-70 in Durham last month.


Three Things We Know


1. The first meeting between the Hoos and Blue Devils was a memorable one.

When Virginia and Duke took the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium last month, the game was billed as arguably the biggest in college basketball to that point in the season. And it lived up to the hype, with the Blue Devils getting a win over then undefeated Virginia. Duke led by five points at the half and eventually the game became a seesaw affair with neither team able to get more than a one-possession lead until the game drew to a close. Eventually Duke was too much for the Hoos and extended its lead in the final minutes before UVa’s comeback bid fell short. The freshman duo of R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson dominated, scoring 57 of Duke’s 72 points, including several momentum-shifting buckets. De’Andre Hunter had an impressive game for Virginia, scoring a team-high 18 points in the losing effort. Neither program has lost since, setting up another epic battle tomorrow evening, this time in Charlottesville.


2. Tre Jones will be in the lineup for Duke.

Duke lost its freshman guard to a shoulder injury before UVa came to town, and he wasn’t able to go in the first matchup. The Blue Devils won without him and after missing the subsequent game at Notre Dame, Jones has been back for Duke in the four most-recent games. A tenacious on-ball defender and an excellent distributor, Jones certainly raises the ceiling for the Devils. He is excellent at creating turnovers on defense and avoiding them on the other end of the floor, running the show for one of the nation’s best teams. His strengths don’t exactly line up with UVa’s weaknesses, however. Outside of a recent uptick, UVa doesn't turn the ball over much and doesn’t allow transition points that Jones is so good at creating. There’s no doubt that Duke is better with Jones in the lineup but it will be interesting to see what having him on the court against UVa will mean for the Blue Devils’ strategy on both offense and defense.


3. This game should be a chess match between the coaches.

Duke did some things in the first meeting with Virginia that were unexpected, and those wrinkles helped the Blue Devils earn that win. They often switched defenders off of screens, which took the Hoos out of their rhythm for a while and hindered their normal ability to get open looks from 3-point territory. Bennett said after the game that he hadn’t seen Duke do that before and it forced the Cavaliers to adjust. Virginia then was able to take advantage of some of those Duke switches and get to the rim a little easier than normal. On the other end of the floor, Duke used a weave dribble-hand-off on offense to open up lanes in the pack-line a bit, giving Williamson and Barrett room to slash to the basket all of which amounts to what the UVa defense is designed to prevent. With Jones back in the lineup for Duke and both coaches having time to review the first matchup and prepare for this one, we should expect some wrinkles from both teams on Saturday night.


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