With five games remaining in the regular season, Duke hosts No. 7 Virginia Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a key clash of teams in the top half of the ACC. The rivals have a recent history of close contests, with each of the last 11 games in the series decided by no more than 10 points each, including three of the last four as two-point decisions.
Saturday’s game begins a three-game homestand for the Blue Devils that includes a Big Monday game versus Syracuse (7 ET, ESPN) and a clash next Saturday night versus Louisville (6 ET, ESPN). Duke and Virginia are each ranked in the ACC’s top five for scoring margin, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
About Duke
- Sophomore Matthew Hurt enters the Virginia game averaging 23.0 points over his last two contests, while shooting 9-of-11 from threepoint range and 16-of-19 from the field in that span.
- Freshman Mark Williams has started Duke’s last four games and is averaging 8.0 points, shooting 13-of-23 (.565) from the field, while leading the team in rebounds (6.0) and blocks (3.0) in that span. Williams’ 1.4 blocks per game are ranked eighth in the ACC and 14th among all freshman nationally.
- A Blue Devil has been the ACC’s leading freshman scorer in six of the last seven seasons, and freshman DJ Steward is on pace to make it seven of the last eight. Steward leads all ACC freshmen at 13.2 points, while averaging 13.6 in conference-only games (ranked 16th in ACC).
- Duke’s six ACC losses have come by a total of 28 points — none decided by more than seven points — and the Blue Devils have been out-scored by 41 points at the free throw line in those games.
- Freshman Jalen Johnson announced Feb. 15 he will forgo the remainder of his freshman season and declare for the NBA Draft. Johnson, who had played in 13 games with eight starts, was third on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.1 rpg).
About Virginia
- Virginia, ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll and in sole possession of first place in the ACC, brings its 15-4 record to Durham.
- The Cavaliers saw their four-game winning streak snapped on Monday night at Florida State, 81-60.
- Sam Hauser’s 14.8 points (11th in the ACC) paces the Virginia offense, which averages 69.4 points per game overall.
- Kihei Clark is fourth in the ACC in assists (4.9), while Jay Huff is second in the ACC in field goal percentage (.614).
- One of the nation’s best defensive teams, Virginia yields just 59.9 points per game, which leads the ACC and ranks sixth in the NCAA.
- Only two teams this season have scored 70+ versus Virginia — Gonzaga (98-75 loss) and Florida State (81-60 loss).
Duke vs UVA
- Duke leads the all-time series, 121-52, and has won five of the last seven. The Blue Devils lead the series, 58-10, in Durham (53-9 at Cameron Indoor Stadium).
- The last 11 games in the series (Duke, 7-4) have each been decided by 10 points or fewer with the average margin just 4.9 points.
- Including last year’s 52-50 Virginia win in Charlottesville, three of the last four games in the series have been two-point decisions.
- The rivals have a recent history of close contests, with each of the last 11 games in the series decided by no more than 10 points each, including three of the last four as two-point decisions.
How to Watch
Time:Â 8:00pm
TV:Â ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas)
Stream:Â Watch ESPN
Radio:Â Blue Devil Sports (David Shumate,John Roth)
