As Duke, Virginia Play Their Rematch Tonight In Charlottesville Pair Of Atlantic Coast Conference Opponents That Play At Different Paces Are Matching Up Again!
As Duke, Virginia play their rematch tonight in Charlottesville pair of Atlantic Coast Conference opponents that play at different paces are matching up again!
Why?
Because Duke like to play fast while Virginia like to play at a deliberate pace and they’ve already matched up once this season when they matched up on February 7, 2022 in Durham for their inaugural match up of the regular season.
In their inaugural match up back on February 7, 2022 in Durham Duke lost by a point 68-69 to Virginia!
Duke who then was ranked 7th in the AP Top 25 Poll quandered a 12 point lead then Virginia found Reece Beekman in the corner who hit a three pointer to give Virginia who unlike Duke isn’t ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll this week the 69-68 win with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
Mark Williams had this to say about Duke’s 68-69 loss to Virginia!
Mark Williams had this to say about Virginia’s Reece Beekman as well as Reece Beekman’s game winner!
That’s on me said of the defensive breakdown that left Reece Beekman open. I lost Beekman I should have stayed with him off the in-bounds. He got open and knocked it down.
“according to Stephen Wiseman’s article on newsobserver.com”
Mike Krzyzewski had this to say after Duke’s 68-69 loss to Virginia to David Shumate who is the voice of Duke Men’s Basketball.
“It’s a really difficult loss - we had a hard time getting over Saturday and we weren’t ourselves in the first half. I thought in the 2nd half we fought and played hard but Virginia’s big guys killed us - really disappointing.”
“according to David Shumate’s tweet on Twitter”
In that game Virginia won 69-68!
Why?
Because Virginia guard Reece Beekman knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 1.1 seconds remaining in Monday’s game (Feb. 7) as the Cavaliers (15-9, 9-5 ACC) knocked off No. 7 Duke (19-4, 9-3 ACC) 69-68 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Virginia dominated the paint, out-scoring Duke 52-28 in the interior. The Cavaliers also converted 15 Duke turnovers into 20 points, while the Blue Devils only scored two points off five UVA turnovers. Virginia tallied 10 steals, including four from Armaan Franklin, who tied his career high.
“according to an article on virginiasports.com”
Duke comes into the rematch with Virginia with a record of 23-4 13-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is first in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Why?
Because on Saturday in Durham Duke had six players in double figures and shot .516 from the field to defeat Florida State, 88-70, Freshman Paolo Banchero led the way with 17 points – 13 in the second half – to go with eight rebounds as the Blue Devils (23-4, 13-3 ACC) picked up their ninth win in the last 10 games. After the teams traded baskets over the first 12 minutes, senior Joey Bakercame off the bench and knocked down a season-high 4-of-5 three-pointers to help Duke close the first half on a 12-2 run and head into the break with a double-digit lead.
Duke would not let the Seminoles (14-12, 7-9 ACC) get closer than eight the rest of the way. Junior Wendell Moore Jr., had a hand in every facet of the game, finishing with 16 points, five boards, seven assists and six steals, while freshman Trevor Keelsdished out a game-high eight dimes. Fellow rookie AJ Griffin went for 15 points and sophomore Mark Williams continued his string of high efficiency from the field with a 5-of-7 shooting night for 10 points and six rebounds.
The win allowed Duke to avenge last month's 79-78 overtime road loss in Tallahassee, as well as push into sole possession of first place in the ACC.
Matthew Cleveland scored 16 points to lead the, who started the game 16-of-23 shots (.696) to offset Duke's own strong offense in a rowdy Cameron Indoor.
That included a run of seven straight made shots over nearly six minutes of game action, which had FSU down just 40-39 on Wyatt Wilkes' 3-pointer with 3:53 left.
But Duke answered with the game-changing run, which included consecutive Baker three's. Then came a spectacular transition sequence with Moore throwing a halfcourt bounce pass to Griffin for a rim-rattling dunk and a 51-41 lead in the final minute of the half.
Jalen Warley added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Florida State.
“according to an article on goduke.com”
Virginia comes into the game with a record of 17-10 11-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings because like Duke they won their game on Saturday but unlike Duke they topped Miami 74-71 in Coral Gables Florida. In Virginia’s 74-71 win over Miami Virgini trailed by 10 points early in the second half, rallied for a 74-71 victory over ACC rival Miami on Saturday night at the Watsco Center.
Forward Jayden Gardner scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Cavaliers (17-10, 11-6), who also received major contributions from guards Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman, center Kadin Shedrick and swingman Kody Stattman.
“according to an article on virginiasports.com”
Tip off is set for 7:00pm from John Paul Jones Arena!
The game is going to be televised on ESPN with Jay Bilas, Dan Shulman commentating!