The chants of "Wojo" will be raining down from the rafters in University Hall in Charlottesville this Saturday. The Wahoo faithful will have vivid memories of last year's dramatic and controversial 61-60 loss to the Blue Devils. At the end of that game, the officials were criticized for not letting a Virginia sub into the game with 4.3 seconds remaining in the game and not starting the clock until then-junior guard Steve Wojciechowski neared midcourt on his drive to the hoop. Wojciechowski was fouled with two seconds left, and proceeded to hit the two clutch free throws that gave Duke the victory.
"I think we want to get out of the gates early," Chris Carrawell said. "We don't want it to come down to a controversial call."
The key to this year's contest will more likely prove to be Duke's pressure defense, especially against forward Norman Nolan, the Atlantic Coast Conference's third-leading scorer and rebounder, and guard Curtis Staples, the ACC's fifth-leading scorer, who just recently became the conference's all-time leader in three-point baskets.
Picked by many to be in the ACC's cellar all year, Staples and Nolan have led Virginia (10-9, 2-4 ACC) to a surprising 2-4 start in conference, just one game out of fourth place.
"Norman's one of the best players in the ACC this year," Carrawell said. "We're not really going to concentrate on stopping him, we're just going to hope that we can contain him."
Nolan and Staples combined for well over half of Virginia's points in their 103-59 drubbing at the hands of the Blue Devils (17-1, 6-0 ACC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium in December. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will probably go with a rotation of Taymon Domzalski, Carrawell, Roshown McLeod, and Shane Battier to guard Nolan. They have to hope that he doesn't explode as he did against N.C. State, when he scored 35 of his team's 59 points in the win.
"He's a seasoned, tough veteran in the ACC, and he's playing exceptionally well right now," Battier said.
Battier will draw a large amount of responsibility for containing Nolan, while junior guard Trajan Langdon will bear most of the burden for stopping Nolan's backcourt mate, Staples.
"That's all he does is shoot threes," Langdon said. "He's great at it, and I think he's a great shooter. The catch and shot are the same thing for him. I have to try to do the same thing I do every time out against him, make it hard for him to catch the ball."
If Staples shoots well and Nolan contributes inside, it could be a long game for the Blue Devils.
In addition, Duke's frontcourt needs to find a way to contain 7-foot-4 center Chase Metheney, who was 4-of-5 from the field for 12 points in their first matchup in Durham. Metheney, who has been known as an underachiever in his career at UVa, could take advantage of the Blue Devils' lack of height in the paint, allowing for easy jumpers and layups.
With Elton Brand sitting out the season due to a broken bone in his foot, Duke needs to find a way to stymie UVa's big frontcourt. Domzalski should play a big role in this endeavor, but the Blue Devils could have problems if he gets in early foul trouble.
Duke has had tremendous success on the road in the ACC so far this year, chalking up record wins at Maryland and Wake Forest. Nevertheless, any road contest in the conference could be a threat to the Blue Devils' unblemished ACC mark.
"In Charlottesville, and with a lot of confidence, Virginia's going to play very well," Wojciechowski said. "This is not the same team we played earlier in the season, and we're going to have to be prepared for an all-out war."
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