Riding an eight-game winning streak, the No. 2 Blue Devils (11-1, 1-0 in the ACC) return to conference action Sunday evening for a 5:30 matchup with Virginia in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers (10-2, 0-1) boast a deep, veteran team, but lack the myriad of offensive weapons to hurt Duke which has played stifling defense of late. Virginia has won two of the last three meetings between the teams at University Hall.
Still, head coach Mike Krzyzewski--gunning for win number 675 as a head coach Sunday night--understands and reminds his team that Virginia will be prepared for the Blue Devils.
"They are always tough, and they are more of a veteran team," he said.
Duke will likely be able to exploit the Virginia defense, which ranks among the bottom of the ACC in almost all categories. During the winning streak, the Blue Devils have been getting points from every position, and the Cavalier defense will likely struggle to slow the diverse Duke attack.
J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing have both played well against Virginia in the past. Ewing poured in a career-high 32 points against Virginia during last season's ACC Tournament. The junior, who is still recovering from an injury, moved into the starting lineup against Fairfield, scoring 10 points. Redick dumped 34 on the Cavaliers last season in Durham.
Additionally the Blue Devil point guards, Chris Duhon and Sean Dockery, are playing their best basketball of the season and each had a productive offensive night versus Fairfield. Duhon is averaging almost three steals pre-game and Dockery's intense on-the-ball defense energizes the entire team.
Elton Brown, fourth in the ACC in scoring, is head coach Pete Gillen's most prolific scorer. The junior averaging 17 points per game will present a formidable defensive challenge for Duke's post defenders.
"Elton Brown has really become one of the top big men," Krzyzewski said. "He can really score inside."
However Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph are much improved on the defensive end and stand first and third respectively in the ACC in blocks per game. The two sophomores anchor the league's top-ranked scoring defense.
Turnovers could be a major problem for the Cavaliers Sunday night. Virginia has been prone to miscues during its preseason schedule and Duke's aggressive defense will only exacerbate this problem. If the less talented Cavaliers cannot limit the turnovers and the subsequent easy Duke points, the Blue Devils could jump out to a big lead early and never look back.
With upcoming games against in-state rivals N.C. State and No. 5 Wake Forest looming for the week ahead, the Duke team knows it is prime for an upset if it fails to focus Sunday at University Hall. During the last matchup it took a pair of Dahntay Jones three-pointers to seal a Duke victory during the ACC Tournament.
"We are at their house and they are going to bring it all," Dockery said. "We just have to play the way we have been playing and play hard."
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