When a game abruptly turns in the final few minutes of regulation, making far-reaching conclusions can be imprudent. Yet, it can still be said that after handing Virginia its first loss of the college basketball season, Duke also supplied the nation with the blueprint of how to knock off the Cavaliers.
In the first half, Duke was set on outrunning and beating the Hoos before they could set defensively in the halfcourt. While it was not always perfection, the Blue Devils did take a lead into the locker room and generally carried the action in the first half.
In speeding the pace against Virginia, Duke was set on getting the ball into the paint and scored on mostly layups in transition. In fact, the Blue Devils did not score outside of the paint until the 9:39 mark in the second half. Virginia is typically strong in sliding over and helping on the defensive end to keep teams outside of the paint on the drive. Duke figured out that it could get into the paint effectively if it beat Virginia in a race up the floor, getting to spots before the Hoos could.
In the second half, Duke was also able to move the ball around the perimeter and get good shots. While these shots where not falling early in the half, Duke’s shooters certainly came through late. Though the Blue Devils missed their first nine shots beyond the arc, they hit six of their last eight, including a clincher by Tyus Jones for a six-point advantage in the closing seconds.
Duke forged this impressive win on the road without the benefit of a prime performance from player of the year candidate Jahlil Okafor. With doubleteams and a consistent attempt to push Okafor off of the block, Virginia was able to limit the big man to just seven shots. While Okafor finished with 10 points and nine boards, he also committed five turnovers and several uncommon mistakes.
However, Jones, Quinn Cook, and Justise Winslow picked up the slack with 17, 15, and 15 points respectively. While Okafor catches most of the nation attention for Duke, Saturday night was just further proof that the Blue Devils are much more than just the big man in the middle.
The win was huge for Duke, as the Devils avoided their first .500 start in eight games of ACC play since 1996, not to mention the second two-loss week of the season. The win could start a crucial run for the Blue Devils as, outside of Notre Dame on February 7 and North Carolina on February 18, Duke has a fairly manageable schedule for the month. The only road games are at Florida State, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech. Duke was staring at a four-game deficit in the ACC standings relative to Virginia had it not been able to erase a nine-point deficit in the final few minutes of regulation. With a rally of epic proportions — scoring on 14 of its last 15 possessions against Virginia’s lockdown defense — Duke is now just two games behind the Cavaliers. Not only does everything seem possible — everything is possible for Coach K’s group.
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While losses are never fun, this setback could be the best thing to fuel this Virginia squad, a group driven by strong defensive intensity and effort.
Virginia played well enough to get the win, but just fell short at the end with an inability to produce defensive stops and key shots down the stretch. Duke caught fire to an extent that didn’t seem possible based on the first 30 minutes of this contest. Games like this will only make them stronger and more attentive in the final minutes of games, especially when March rolls around.
One topic the Cavaliers may want to view is ball movement against the 2-3 and 3-2 zone, as the offense tended to bog down some toward the end of the game and lacked movement. Virginia found a sweet spot with its zone offense midway through the second half, but that did not continue in the final, fateful minutes, when the Hoos made poorer decisions on offense. However, this does not look to be an across the board issue. Virginia should rebound nicely and take several lessons from the Blue Devils.
The only unfortunate thing is that these teams will not meet again until the ACC Tournament at the very earliest. If they do meet again, however, basketball fans can expect another thoroughly entertaining treat.
