After revealing defects over the past two weeks in what had been a finely-tuned machine, the men's basketball team retooled at the expense of Virginia last night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke utilized a 25-6 run in the first half and cruised in the second half for a resounding victory over the Cavaliers, 84-54. The No. 6 Blue Devils rebounded from their loss last Sunday against Wake Forest, which had dropped them to the lowest place in the polls since the beginning of the season.
"We needed to get our confidence back up," senior Grant Hill said. "We needed to get back to playing defense, we needed to get back to running, we needed to get back to attacking and playing hard all the time, and that's what we did."
The win moved the Blue Devils (18-3, 9-3) atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings by themselves, one half-game ahead of North Carolina. The Cavaliers fell to 13-8, 7-5 in the league.
The Blue Devils dominated on both ends of the floor, avenging last season's 77-69 loss to the Cavaliers in Cameron. In particular, Duke shined on the offensive end as three Blue Devils -- Grant Hill, Antonio Lang and Jeff Capel -- tallied over 20 points.
"I think it's pretty obvious," UVa head coach Jeff Jones said. "The story was offense: Duke's was excellent, and ours was awful."
For the game, the Blue Devils connected on 52.5 percent of their shots, led by the trio of Hill, Lang and Capel who were a combined 25-of-37 from the floor. The contest marked only the second time this season that UVa has allowed its opponent to shoot over 50 percent for the game.
Unlike recent games, the Wake loss in particular, when the team has relied on Hill to carry the scoring burden, the Blue Devils attained a balance on offense which yielded positive results.
"It really means a lot [to get everyone involved]," Capel said. "We can't just be out there watching Grant, we have to go out and be players ourselves. I think when we do that we can be a very good basketball team."
Conversely, the Cavaliers struggled to put the ball in the basket, converting a paltry 28.8 percent from the field, the lowest percentage a team has shot against Duke this season.
Absent from the Blue Devils impressive performance last night was senior Marty Clark who was in street clothes due to a foot injury. According to Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Clark's status is unclear although it is believed that the guard has severe tendonitis. The timetable for Clark's return is unknown, and further details on the injury are expected today.
The contest was decided midway through the first half, as the Blue Devils turned a close battle into a decisive blowout.
With 11:29 remaining in the half, UVa wiped away a seven-point Duke lead as a three-pointer by Jason Williford gave the Cavaliers a 22-20 edge.
The margin was short-lived however, as moments later Hill erupted from the baseline with a monstrous two-handed slam, the first of 11 unanswered points from the Blue Devils.
UVa would threaten to come back once more, as a dunk by Junior Burrough sliced the lead to 34-26 at the 6:31 mark. But Virginia would get no closer the rest of the way, as Hill and Lang combined to score all 11 of Duke's final first half points to provide the Blue Devils with a 17-point cushion at intermission, 45-28.
Directly before the Blue Devils went on their impressive run during the last 11 minutes of the half, Krzyzewski had altered his regular substitution pattern, as he inserted freshmen Carmen Wallace, Joey Beard and Greg Newton into the game simultaneously. The move provided an emotional lift for the team, as it inspired the Cameron crowd.
"We were actually looking at that [the freshmen combination] before Marty got hurt," Krzyzewski said. "These kids are good players, it's just a matter of getting them in. What I saw was that the students really identify with getting them in and that was even better."
The result of the game was never in doubt in the second half, as the Blue Devils never led by less than 16 points.
As Duke enters the stretch of the year before post-season play, an offense with many different scorers is exactly what the team needs.
"It was important for us after a tough loss to Wake Forest to come in and to really play well," Lang said. "It's time for us to really get on a roll."
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