Virginia has only one flaw on its schedule so far this season. The Cavaliers were ranked No. 4 in the country when they visited top-ranked Duke on Jan. 19. Duke rode the roars of its raucous home crowd to a 72-70 victory. Now, three Saturdays later, their storied rivalry heats up again as they both are ranked in the top three, and both are looking for No. 1 seeds in next month's NCAA tournament pairings.
Duke (20-2, 8-1 in the ACC), now the No. 2 team in America, looks to sweep No. 3 Virginia (20-1, 8-1) on Saturday evening in Charlottesville.
Duke has become one of the favorites to win the NCAA tournament this spring behind freshman stars Zion WIlliamson, R.J. Barrett, Tre Jones and Cam Reddish. A win on Saturday puts the Blue Devils in the driver's seat to a regular-season ACC title, top seed in the conference tournament and No. 1 seed for the big dance.
Virginia, on the other hand, has only suffered one loss (Duke) since their opening-round loss in last year's NCAA tournament, when they became the first-ever No. 1 team to lose to a 16 seed in men's basketball history.
De'Andre Hunter leads Virginia with 14.7 points a game, Braxton Key is the key on the boards with 5.9 rebounds a game and Ty Jerome is third in the conference with five assists per game.
ESPN's College GameDay will be in Virginia Saturday morning, and the students will have all day to get ready for the game in Charlottesville.
Though it's likely both teams will be No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, according to Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology, Saturday's game will go a long way to conference supremacy and seedings to get to the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke at No. 3 Virginia 2019
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Streaming: Watch Live with fuboTV – Try Free Trial or ESPN.com
Odds: Virginia -2; over/under 135 ½
KEY MATCHUP:
Duke defense vs. Virginia perimeter game
Both teams had trouble finding the bucket from beyond the arc in the the first matchup when Duke stuffed the perimeter and forced bad Cavaliers' shots. When Virginia players did get open, their frustrations led to missed shots.
Duke went to an inside game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Now, they're playing in Virginia's home gym, and the strategy could be different. Duke will most likely get their points in the paint. Saturday will be about Virginia getting their points from 3-point land.
Prediction:
CBS Sports Writer Matt Norlander (CBSsports.com): Virginia by 2 ½
"Keep in mind that Duke is the best shot-blocking team and second-best stealing team in college basketball. Virginia, meanwhile, has the best defensive efficiency period in the sport. Both these teams were awful from 3-point range the first time around. I expect UVA to be better and for that to be a big factor. Wahoos win, but Duke keeps it plenty interesting."
TWEETS
Duke/Virginia. 13th fastest pace offense vs. 3rd slowest. Both make the same # of 3s/game. If it comes down to FTs adv to UVA; 76% to Duke's 68%. Both reb well. Duke has 3.5 more turnovers a game. Will be interesting to see who wins the pace battle. A final 4 type game.
— CoverSixty (@CoverSixty) February 9, 2019
#UVa's basketball sequel with #Duke has tough act to follow. https://t.co/zRtO13c3du pic.twitter.com/BxJObYs10M
— David Teel (@DavidTeelatDP) February 8, 2019
Do you think Jay Williams will suit up with UVA against Duke tomorrow?pic.twitter.com/WDUbyOfp5c
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 8, 2019
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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