Game blog: Duke knocks out Virginia 57-46

By Tim Hall
Mar 12, 2010

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2:00 p.m., Devils win: It was a lot closer than you would have liked. Nobody shot the ball well, but Singler and Scheyer really came alive when the Devils needed it the most. Duke has beaten the Cavs six straight times in the ACC Tournament.

They get the winner of Miami and Virginia Tech tomorrow.

1:58 p.m., Zeglinski where did you go?: There is a big difference between 21 points yesterday and zero points today against Duke. His shot won't fall. He just missed two lay-ups on a fast break after he stole one from Scheyer too.

1:52 p.m., Duke playing its best at the right time: Right when Virginia hit the three to cut it to two, Duke surged back on a 10-0 run. Jon Scheyer came alive in that stretch with three baskets. The most recent one he hit will come with an extra free throw after this media timeout.

The Blue Devils have their largest lead when it counts the most - in crunch time.

It's 56-44 with 2:32 left to play.

1:50 p.m., Coach K losing his mind: At least once in every close Duke game, Coach K will have that moment when his players make a big play or grab some momentum, and he will just lose his mind in excitement. He just had that moment when Singler made a big tip-in to put Duke back up by eight points. Farrakan nailed a three ball that made it a two point game for moment.

But Duke is back up 52-44 with 3:55 to play in the game.

1:41 p.m., Virginia still in this: There is a lot of time left in this game. Mustapha Farrakham made a great up and under move to score two for the Cavs to make it 46-39 with 7:40 to play. Jon Scheyer still is stuck on eight points for the night. He hasn't scored in the second half. I haven't seen him have an offensive day like this in a long time.

1:36 p.m., Internet out, but me, and Singler are back: Kyle Singler scored eight straight Duke points to give the Blue Devils their most comfortable lead of the game. Kyle made two threes and missed a free throw that would have given him a three-point play on a low post move. He let out a fist pump that would have made Tiger Woods jealous after he scored the potential And 1 bucket.

Duke leads 46-37 with 9:26 to play in the game.

1:20 p.m., Duke leads it 35-33: Nolan Smith made a bucket in transition. He has a game high 13 points. 15:16 remains in the game.

1:16 p.m., Two air balls?: What is up with Scheyer today? Have you ever seen him shoot two air balls in one game? He has today. He should still keep shooting. They will fall eventually. It's 31 all.

1:11 p.m., Your stats: Virginia had eight fast break points while Duke had none. Mike Scott and Jeff Jones are the ones pacing the Cavs. Scott has 10 and Jones has nine. Nolan Smith leads Duke with 11 points. Jon Scheyer has eight but he shot it just 2-10.

Virginia shot it 33 percent as a team to Duke's 31 percent. Brian Zoubek will be back out to start the second half. He has two fouls. Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas also have two. Zeglinski has two fouls for Virginia.

Defense can really keep a good team at bay. Let's see if the Cavs come out in the second half with the same inspiration.

12:57 p.m., Tied at the half: Jeff Jones had a long jumper hit every part of the structure. It hit the rim, the top of the backboard, the rim again, it went in the basket, then it popped out. That would have given UVA the halftime lead. It's 27-27!

Brian Zoubek didn't play the final 10 minutes of the half because he picked up his second foul. The Cavs have battled Duke hard on the glass. Not a lot of second chance looks for the Devils. That's been one of the keys.

12:53 p.m., Not Duke's best half: It's 27-27 at the moment with 30 second left in the half. Jon Scheyer is just 2-10. Both teams are shooting horrible. Virginia is playing with high energy. Their defense has really been good, and that's the best way to neutralize a team with a lot more fire power.

12:49 p.m., Virginia is in it: Get nervous Duke fan because UVA just cut it to one with a Jeff Jones three-pointer. Jones has nine and Duke leads 22-21. Zeglinski doesn't even have a point either.

12:45 p.m., Four point play?!: It's like the triple-play in baseball, the natural hat trick in hockey. Jeff Jones made a three from the near baseline and got fouled on the arm by Kyle Singler. Jones made his free throw. All right seriously I don't think it's as rare as a triple play.

Virginia got out and got another transition bucket too as Miles Plumlee was hit for goaltending. Virginia is amped up and ready to give Duke all it has. Blue Devils better start shooting. It's 20-16 with under four minutes to play in the half. Duke leads. Cavs fans are pumped too.

12:32 p.m., Lots of points here: Just kidding. Its 14-8 Duke with 7:51 left to play in the first half. Virginia is shooting just over 20 percent, Duke is shooting just over 30 percent. No one has made a free throw in five attempts either. Guys are getting open looks now, but nothing is falling!

The UVA pep band is playing a rendition of Journey's "Separate ways". The Cavs mascot was getting down with a mean air bass guitar.

12:28 p.m., Zoubs picks up his second early foul: Here with 10:27 to play in the first Zoubek was outfought for a rebound. Mike Scott got the offensive board and put it back up. He missed both free throws but the Duke seven footer is going to the bench.

12:23 p.m., There's some points: But I give Virginia credit. They ran the floor well on a couple of possession and converted a Mike Scott dunk, and Jeff Jones made a sick spin move for a lay-up. Virginia's defense has been not too bad with the exception of giving up two open looks for three. You're not going to keep Duke from making at least a few three-pointers. You'd like to minimize it though.

Duke leads 12-6 with 11:20 left in the first half.

12:14 p.m., Zoubs pass opens the scoring: What do you know? Duke's first basket was a three-pointer. Zoubek made a nice cross-court pass to find a wide-open Jon Scheyer. He will bury a wide open three-ball more often than not.

It's 3-0 with 15:45 to go in the first half. At this rate will have about 15 total points scored in the half.

12:10 p.m., Game on: Two minutes in and no one can hit a shot!!

11:52 p.m., Remembering 1983: The last time Virginia beat Duke in the ACC Tournament was in 1994. The last time before that was in 1983. Virginia was led by Ralph Sampson and they beat the you know what out of Duke. 109-66 was the final score. It was Duke's second worst beating in school history, and it still is to this day. That was the end of Coach K's third season and there was a lot of speculation that he might be fired. He just went 11-17 for his second straight losing season.

It's a good thing that Duke decided to keep him. Because starting in 1984 he went to the NCAA Tournament every single year until now, with the exception of 1995 when he missed half the season after back surgery.

11:37 p.m., Shoot-around time: I just had a total nerd moment. I started typing this blog back in the media workroom so I already had my laptop up and running, as well as connected to the internet. I then had to take my lapper out to the floor to get to my seat, but I didn't want to close it. I can't tell you how spotty the WiFi is in this arena. If I close my computer I might not get connected. So I'm walking out to the floor with my laptop wide open looking like some kind scientist. As I'm walking the baseline I hear someone yell, "Look at this toolshed!"

I look to see who it is and it's Art Chase, one of Duke's SIDs. It was all in good fun. Art is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in the biz. His primary job is handling Duke football. Being a radio producer who books guests, he's one of the best guys to work with if you need an interview.

Gametime in 20 minutes.

11:08 p.m., The big boys play today: Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of the ACC Tournament here at the Greensboro Coliseum. Yesterday was a great day of hoops. We have some great story lines going forward. North Carolina is not in the quarterfinal round of the conference tourney for the first time ever after losing to Georgia Tech. N.C. State beat a good Clemson team to advance and Wake Forest was blown out. Now the Demon Deacons have to sit in a nervous room on Sunday as the selections come out for the NCAAs.

Today begins with the top seed Duke taking on ninth seeded Virginia. These teams faced once in the regular season, in Charlottesville back on February 28. Duke dominated Virginia 67-49. They had that huge lead from start to finish. Jon Scheyer scored 20 and Kyle Singler had 21. Nolan Smith wasn't even a factor with just four points. He only attempted five shots. That was Virginia's first game without Sylven Landesberg. He missed that one with a bruised thigh, but now he's gone due to a suspension. He's not even here in Greensboro with his teammates. The speculation is that his days at UVA are probably over.

Will this one be competitive though? That's what I want to know. It's not like the Cavs beat a phenomenal team in Boston College, but at least Virginia played inspired. Sammy Zeglinski told me yesterday that it's not as if anyone expects anything from them. They're short Landesberg and Calvin Baker, so why not go out and leave everything on the floor.

Duke is aiming for its second straight tournament title.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Game blog: Duke knocks out Virginia 57-46

57 points against a weak team....ain't gonna cut it in the NCAA tournament.
- Posted by TarHeels 23

but holding you guys to 50 and today UVA to 46.....sounds like double digit wins to me....... good luck with the unc game tonight and the rest of the season.......oops.....hehehehehehehe.

RE: Game blog: Duke knocks out Virginia 57-46

What time is the carowhina game?
- Posted by rsds6869

Oh wow that hurts. Gee you got us with that one.

RE: Game blog: Duke knocks out Virginia 57-46

What time is the carowhina game?

RE: Game blog: Duke knocks out Virginia 57-46

Tired legs come through again-The 3 S's-Enjoy the game tomorrow chapel hill college.I still have my fingers cross for th NIT-Go Devils

RE: Game blog: Duke knocks out Virginia 57-46

57 points against a weak team....ain't gonna cut it in the NCAA tournament.
- Posted by TarHeels 23

If DUKE is going to have a bad game, I'm glad it was this one....."GO DUKE"

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