Tale of the Tape: Virginia vs. Duke
Posted on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, 8:49 am
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Round 1 is almost here between arguably the top two college basketball teams in the nation, as No. 4/1 Virginia travels to historic Cameron Indoor Stadium to face No. 1/2 Duke Saturday evening. After not coming away with a win at Cameron for over 20 years, the Cavaliers (16-0, 4-0 ACC) will try to make it two in a row against the Blue Devils (14-2, 3-1) at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
The College GameDay crew will be on hand in Durham for the highly anticipated ACC showdown, the first of two crucial regular-season meetings between the longtime foes, and it figures to be a dandy. UVA is the top team in the country according to KenPom (2nd AdjD, 3rd AdjO) and the NET rankings, while Duke is 2nd overall (4th AdjD, 4th AdjO) and 4th overall in the NET rankings.
The ‘Hoos and Blue Devils are the only two teams in the nation ranked by KenPom in the top 5 in both AdjO (adjusted offensive efficiency) and AdjD (adjusted defensive efficiency). Virginia owns the nation’s top scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 51.7 points a game, while Duke is 3rd in the country in scoring, at just over 90 points a game, so as they say, something’s got to give.
Sporting the nation’s longest winning streak (13) in true road games, Virginia is on the highway for three of the next four beginning with Duke. A victory Saturday would match the Cavaliers’ ACC road win streak with NC State’s 13-game stretch from 1972-74 for third all-time in conference history. The ‘Hoos have prevailed in 12 straight conference games, which is good for fourth in the country.
Wahoo fans will never forget last year’s matchup, as Ty Jerome’s last-minute pass-fake and subsequent dagger 3 that silenced the Cameron Crazies gave the Cavaliers their first win at Duke since 1995 and will live forever in UVA hoops history.
This year, all the talk has been about Duke freshman sensation Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils’ latest crop of one-and-dones. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard all about the 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson’s freakish athleticism on a near-nightly basis, along with 6-7 forward RJ Barrett’s likelihood to join him as one of the top two picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Last season, Duke had another pair of lottery picks in the lineup — Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter — who racked up a combined 44 points and 29 rebounds, but the rest of the team shot 8 for 27 and 1 for 8 from downtown in the 65-63 loss to Virginia. Williamson and Barrett, the conference’s top two scorers who put up a combined 44.6 points and 16.3 boards a game, will obviously be the focal point of Virginia’s defensive strategy, but a key will be limiting the rest of the team’s production.
Duke’s Tre Jones — another projected first-round selection along with fellow freshman Cam Reddish — is not expected to suit up for Saturday’s game after injuring his shoulder in the opening minutes of the Blue Devils’ 95-91 upset loss in overtime to Syracuse Monday night. Jones is the team’s main floor general and top defender who has started every game and averages 8 points, close to 6 assists and a pair of steals per game (in 29.3 minutes).
Reddish (13.3 ppg), a 6-8 small forward who didn’t play Monday against the Orange due to flu-like symptoms, is the team’s best perimeter shooter and can be deadly from long range if he starts to heat up. He recently returned to practice and is expected to be back in the starting lineup.
Aside from the four freshmen, only four other players average double figures in minutes played for the Dukies in F Jack White, C Marques Bolden, G Alex O’Connell and (Central Virginia’s own) F Javin DeLaurier, and those four have averaged 22 points a game combined. O’Connell and 6-2 sophomore guard Jordan Goldwire are expected to see their minutes increase as long as Jones is out, which could be a few weeks.
Virginia is coming off of one of the most dominant performances of the Tony Bennett Era, an 81-59 dismantling of No. 9 Virginia Tech Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena. Cavalier fans will be hoping that the hot shooting continues, as the ‘Hoos were on fire from deep (13 for 24) — and from all over, for that matter (31 for 53) — against the Hokies.
Saturday’s game at Duke could be one for the ages and Round 2 is just three weeks away, as the Blue Devils come to JPJ on Feb. 9.
