It looked like the slump was over. The men's basketball team was well on the way to winning its first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the year. But then came the second half.
The Blue Devils blew a 21-point halftime lead as the Virginia Cavaliers clawed their way to a 91-88 double overtime victory in Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday. Duke has started the ACC regular season with four straight losses -- for the first time since 1982 -- and has fallen to 9-6 overall.
"The bottom line is we didn't win," said acting head coach Pete Gaudet, who is filling in for a rehabilitating Mike Krzyzewski. "We've been looking for a win. I won't say struggling for a win because I still don't think we're at that point. You saw a great basketball game, and you saw some great plays. I just want to congratulate Virginia for a tremendous comeback."
While Duke now sits alone in the league's cellar while Virginia maintained possession of the ACC lead. The Cavs sit atop the conference at 10-3 (4-0 in the ACC).
"It's safe to say this is a big win for us," Virginia head coach Jeff Jones said. "Duke didn't quit. They didn't fold at any time. At one time in the second half, I could sense we were trying to play better, but Duke was continuing to play well. They weren't cooperating with us trying to come back."
Evidently, the Cavaliers didn't really need the Blue Devils' cooperation. Virginia found itself down by as many as 23 points early in the second half, but the Wahoos rallied behind the stellar play of guards Harold Deane and Cory Alexander.
"[In the first half] they were clearly the aggressor," Jones said. "Once we started playing a little bit better offensively, it helped our defense a great deal. . . The closer we got, I think the harder it became for Duke with the pressure, particularly for the younger guys."
Entering the game, the Blue Devils knew the explosive Cavalier backcourt could be a potential problem. Duke was also focused on playing solid defense in light of subpar performances in its first three ACC contests.
"[Our players] know what the identity of Duke's defense is, and it's been maligned, I think, lately," Gaudet said. "And I don't want that to happen. We still have kids that are wearing championship rings on this team, so they know what the identity of Duke's defense is. We wanted to come in and play great defense."
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