Duke holds off Virginia, 61-58

Duke

Duke holds off Virginia, 61-58

Jan 12, 2012

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Durham, N.C. — FINAL: Duke 61, Virginia 58

Virginia misses two threes in the final seconds after making a stop and getting the benefit from two more missed Duke free throws. Virginia was 0-for-11 from deep in the second half.

Duke holds on despite finishing the game 8-for-19 from the stripe.

1:53 2nd; Duke 61, Virginia 55

Both head coaches have grown visibly upset with the officiating and Duke continues to struggle from the free throw line (8-17). Blue Devils haven't gained separation, but don't feel to be too threatened.

3:27 2nd; Duke 59, Virginia 53

Coach K has been visibly upset with the student section twice in the last five minutes. The second time for lack of distraction on a free throw.

Mason Plumlee continues to struggle from the line - 2 of 10 on the game - but still has 12 points. Rivers, Curry and Dawkins are all in double digits too.

6:12 2nd; Duke 53, Virginia 46

At the under-8, Duke has ended their last three possessions with missed threes, but Virginia has failed to capitalize on the other end going blank on all three response possessions.

9:49 2nd; Duke 50, Virginia 42

Duke went on a 15-4 run over a six minute span to grab a lead and they continue to build on it. Dawkins has 10 points off the bench; Mason Plumlee and Rivers each have nine points.

16:08 2nd; Duke 38, Virginia 36

The Cameron crowd is once again crazy after Duke grabs their first lead since 14-13 on a Mason Plumlee jumper. The first four minutes of the second half have been almost all Duke.

Halftime; Virginia 32, Duke 28

Virginia senior Mike Scott has 18 of Virginia's 32 points at half. Virginia shooting 52% from the field and controlling the pace at both ends.

Duke with 6 turnovers at half and not moving well defensively.

:47.1 1st; Virginia 29, Duke 26

Virginia absolutely outplaying Duke without the ball. Coach K very upset with team defense calls a timeout.

2:45 1st; Duke 21, Virginia 21

Virginia taking control of tempo, but can't break away from Duke. An Andre Dawkins 3-pointer draws the Blue Devils even at the TV timeout.

Mason Plumlee with high's and lows tonight. A great hustle play and an alley-oop finish to his credit. A goaltend and 1-for-6 from the free throw line also.

7:19 1st; Virginia 17, Duke 14

Shooting woes continue credited to great defenses by both teams. Duke has four turnovers to Virginia's one and Virginia has five assists to Duke's one. Both teams shooting 40% from the floor; Duke now 0-for-7 from 3 point range.

Already six lead changes indicate this game could be tight throughout.

11:24 1st; Virginia 11, Duke 10

Pace and energy staying high, but shots not falling for either team in last few minutes - in large part because of wasted possessions and bad shots.

UVa 5-for-14 from the field; Duke 0-5 from 3-point range.

14:39 1st; Virginia 9, Duke 8

At the first TV timeout, a lot of energy at Cameron.

A Curry-to-Plumlee alley-oop got the Crazies fired up and gave Duke their first lead after falling behind early. Rivers was called for a charge and had a basket waived off to send the game to the timeout.

GAME NOTES: The eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils puts the nation's second- longest homecourt winning streak on the line this evening, as they welcome the 16th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers to Durham for a key ACC battle at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils have just two losses this season, falling at Ohio State (85-63) in late November and then to Temple (78-73) just a week ago. The loss to the Owls had very few lingering effects, as Duke opened ACC play this past weekend with an 81-74 road win at Georgia Tech.

Tony Bennett's Cavaliers are one of the big surprises this year. Virginia is 14-1 on the season, its best start since going 27-1 to open the 1981-82 campaign. The lone loss came in mid-November to TCU (57-55). Since then, the Cavaliers have reeled off 12 straight wins, including opening league play on Saturday, with a hard-fought 52-51 victory over Miami-Florida.

This marks the 163rd meeting between these two rivals. Duke holds a sizeable 114-48 advantage and has won seven straight and 16 of the last 17 matchups.

Tony Bennett brought his defensive philosophy to Charlottesville and the Cavaliers have bought in hook, line and sinker. Virginia is one of the top defensive teams in the country, limiting foes to a mere 50.5 ppg (second nationally) on .380 shooting, including a meager .270 from three-point range. It also helps to have one of the ACC's top frontcourt players in senior forward Mike Scott. The ACC's active leader in scoring, rebounding and double- doubles, Scott paces Virginia this year with 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Guards Joe Harris and Sammy Zeglinski provide perimeter balance with 12.3 and 9.9 ppg, respectively. Virginia kept its win streak going with a one- point win over the Hurricanes last time out. The Cavaliers were held to a mere .382 shooting, but committed just seven turnovers. Scott was the only Cav that was immune to the poor performance, netting 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds to power the Cavaliers to victory.

Duke has the ability to win at either end of the floor, but it is the team's offensive proficiency that has been the key factor. The Blue Devils are among the nation's top scoring teams, averaging 82.1 ppg on a hefty .498 shooting. Freshman guard Austin Rivers has made an immediate impact in Durham, averaging a team-high 14.7 ppg. Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly add perimeter depth at 12.9 and 12.6 ppg, respectively. The trio are all shooting over 40 percent from three-point range, combining for 70 of the team's 121 three-pointers to date. Mason Plumlee is the resident muscle down low, shooting a scorching .619 from the field, averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 9.8 rebounds per game. Duke didn't have its best shooting performance in Atlanta last time out, but still posted a seven-point win over the Yellow Jackets. Kelly used a perfect 14- of-14 from the free-throw line to pace the Blue Devils with 21 points. Curry added 15 points and freshman Quin Cook chipped in with 10.

Duke has not lost at home in a while and is 57-1 in Durham since the start of the 2008-09 season. Virginia is playing at an extremely high level right now, but to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Cavs will need to take it to another level.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) -- Durham, North Carolina. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Virginia 9-0, Duke 7-0. Away Record: Virginia 3-0, Duke 1-1. Neutral Record: Virginia 2-1, Duke 5-1. Conference Record: Virginia 1-0, Duke 1-0. Series Record: Duke leads, 114-48.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Duke holds off Virginia, 61-58

A tip of my hat to Duke. I'm really proud of my Wahoos. They hung in there and made it a game.... and they did this on Duke's home court.

Go Hoos!!!
- Posted by ed taylor

Agreed, Ed - your guys looked really good tonight and gave Duke all they could handle. I'd love to know what K says to his team at the half though; he really knows how to make adjustments during the game.
- Posted by jgunn

Thanks, jgunn... he probably said the same think Coach Bennett was probably saying... defense... defense... defense. I'm so glad that my school finally has some coaches in football and basketball who can recruit AND coach.
- Posted by ed taylor

Tony Bennett is doing a fantastic job at UVA. Great game tonight, ed taylor. Duke survived!
- Posted by BattlingBishop 5

Do I want my teams to win. Sure, I do, just like everyone else. But, that just ain't gonna happen. Being realistic, I want them to be competive... no gimmees. I think that's what UVA is starting to bring to the table.

I also want the ACC to get better and better... from top to bottom. We can beat each other up, but we've got to beat the non-conference teams consistently.

HOW MANY IS THAT ROY?914 AND KOUNTING.....

duke pulls one outta their azz
- Posted by Rdi73162

NO THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN wittle markie BACKS AWAY FROM YOU!!!!!

RE: Duke holds off Virginia, 61-58

Them thar Yahoos almosteddeded pulllededed an upset. But NOOPEEEEEE.. You could see the "Yeehaawsss" fading from their faces during that last 30 seconds. Priceless.
- Posted by bigal02282

What this game proved is that your team is vulnerable on your home court. You beat a team you were supposed to beat, but not so handily. I think UVA just gave a lot of other teams a blueprint on how to beat the Blue Devils.
- Posted by ed taylor

yeah, put mason on the line HAHAHAHAHAHA
- Posted by Rdi73162

I'd say 2 of 10 means you're right!

RE: Duke holds off Virginia, 61-58

A tip of my hat to Duke. I'm really proud of my Wahoos. They hung in there and made it a game.... and they did this on Duke's home court.

Go Hoos!!!
- Posted by ed taylor

Agreed, Ed - your guys looked really good tonight and gave Duke all they could handle. I'd love to know what K says to his team at the half though; he really knows how to make adjustments during the game.
- Posted by jgunn

Thanks, jgunn... he probably said the same think Coach Bennett was probably saying... defense... defense... defense. I'm so glad that my school finally has some coaches in football and basketball who can recruit AND coach.
- Posted by ed taylor

Tony Bennett is doing a fantastic job at UVA. Great game tonight, ed taylor. Duke survived!

RE: Duke holds off Virginia, 61-58

uVa was a 10.5 pt. dog in this one, and took dook to the last possession in Hansbrough Indoor stadium and in front of the KraaAAAazzZEeeEes!!!! (They're just so KRAZZZ-EEEE!!!!)

uVa > dook this year, would beat them in Charlottesville with little problem.

Time for dookies to drop their aura of "2nd best team in the ACC" this year.

We're not buying it any longer.

WRAL Sports Fan

Duke