Game Preview: Virginia Cavaliers vs. Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball

The Cavaliers host the Blue Devils in Coach K's final trip to John Paul Jones Arena in a Wednesday night showdown

Author:
Matt Newton
Updated:
Feb 22, 2022 10:11 PM EST
Original:
Feb 22, 2022

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (17-10, 11-6 ACC) vs. Duke Blue Devils (23-4, 13-3 ACC)

When: Wednesday, February 23rd at 7pm:

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ESPN

All-time series: Duke leads 122-53

Last meeting: Virginia defeated No. 7 Duke 69-68 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Reece Beekman on February 7th, 2022 at Cameron Indoor.

By the Numbers

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Duke Blue Devils
Virginia	By the Numbers	Duke
63.4	Points Per Game	80.1
60.1	Opponent PPG	65.3
45.4%	Field Goal %	48.4%
42.6%	Opponent FG %	40.6%
32.0%	Three-Point FG %	36.7%
34.4%	Opponent 3PT FG %	29.7%
82nd	NET Ranking	12th
74th	KenPom Ranking	8th
59th	BPI	10th
51st	Strength of Record	10th

Opponent Breakdown: Duke

Notable results: Kentucky (79-71 W), Gonzaga (84-81 W), Ohio State (71-66 L), Miami (76-74 L), Wake Forest (76-64 W), Notre Dame (57-43 W), North Carolina (87-67 W), Virginia (69-68 L), Florida State (88-70 W)

Since losing to Virginia on the Reece Beekman buzzer-beater on February 7th, the Blue Devils have won four games in a row, including a 76-74 win over Wake Forest and most recently, an 88-70 win against Florida State on Saturday. Duke sits atop the ACC standings at 13-3, one game ahead of Notre Dame (12-4) and three games ahead of Virginia (11-6). The Blue Devils have the inside track to clinch their first ACC regular season championship since 2010 in Coach K's final year.

On Wednesday night, however, Duke's singular focus will be on avenging the earlier loss to the Cavaliers by getting some payback on the Hoos on their home floor. Duke brings in the best offense in the ACC at 80.1 points per game as well as the third-best defense at 65.3 points per game allowed.

Paolo Banchero is sixth in the ACC in scoring at 16.9 points per game and is also third in rebounding at 8.4 rebounds per game. Banchero had a very quiet game in the first meeting, scoring just nine points and attempting only one field goal in the second half. Virginia routinely hit Banchero with double-teams and forced him to get rid of the ball.

The Blue Devils got some solid production from Mark Williams (16 points) and Trevor Keels (12 points), but others on Duke's talented roster like Wendell Moore Jr., Jeremy Roach, AJ Griffin, and Banchero were stymied by the Virginia defense. In round two, expect Duke to try to produce some open looks for Griffin, who remains the ACC's leading three-point shooter at 48.5%, but attempted only two threes in the first game, missing both.

What to Watch For

Battle of the Bigs

The forwards and centers played a pivotal role in the outcome of the first game and that is likely to be the case in round two. Mark Williams was a force in the paint with 15 points and led Duke's second half surge. Virginia's tandem of centers Francisco Caffaro and Kadin Shedrick delivered solid performances, with Caffaro recording eight points and six rebounds and Shedrick having a career-night off the bench with 16 points on a perfect 8/8 shooting and six boards. The game was won in the paint, as Virginia outscored Duke 52-28 in points in the paint. Expect another very physical battle down low on Wednesday night.

Who Wants It More

There is no shortage of motivation in this game on both sides. The Blue Devils will be extremely eager to avenge the home loss to UVA from two weeks ago, but this game is also crucial as Duke tries to win their first ACC regular season title in over a decade. For the Cavaliers, this game presents one last opportunity for a massive resume-boosting win in the regular season. The Cavaliers are right outside the bubble and a second win over a top-10 Duke team would do wonders for Virginia's efforts to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Levels of energy and effort will be high for both teams, so the game will come down to which team can sustain a disciplined level of play and limit mistakes and turnovers.

Playmakers and Execution

Virginia made a number of plays in the late stages of the first meeting to pick up the win in Cameron: Reece Beekman stealing the ball from Roach under the Duke basket and laying it in to tie the game; Kihei Clark forcing a held ball to give possession back to Virginia, which set up Beekman's game-winning three-pointer. With each of the last 13 meetings between these two teams coming down to the wire (each decided by 10 points or less), it would be no surprise to see Wednesday night's game decided by one or two plays in the game's final moments. Both teams have players with big-time playmaking experience and of course, both teams have Hall of Fame coaches on the bench. Late-game execution in high-pressure situations is paramount.

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