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Men's Hoops Squad Falls to No. 1 Duke
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February 12, 1999
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Against most teams, even with only sixscholarship players, Virginia can compete by staying out of foul trouble andplaying coach Pete Gillen’s brand of hustle, up-tempo basketball.
Duke, clearly, isn’t most teams.
The best start to a season in Blue Devils’ history was never in jeopardyThursday night as the nation’s No. 1 team overwhelmed Virginia 100-54, Duke’sseventh 100-point game this season and its 19th straight victory.
“I’ve been a head coach for a while and that’s as good a team as I’vecoached against,” Gillen said. “If they stay healthy, I think they’ll win thenational championship. They just dominated us in every phase.”
The Blue Devils (24-1, 12-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led by 19 at halftimeand extended their lead throughout the second half. Duke is bidding to becomethe first team in league history to go through the 16-game schedule unbeaten.
“Now it’s more of a reality,” center Elton Brand said of the perfect ACCrecord, now four wins away. “I remember being asked that question when we were8-0, halfway. It’s not impossible, but it’s tough in the ACC.”
Brand, William Avery and Corey Maggette each scored 15 points for Duke,which outshot Virginia 58.7 percent to 27.4 percent, made 11 3-pointers to theCavaliers’ two and dominated the glass, outrebounding Virginia 58-26.
Avery and Trajan Langdon were scoreless with five minutes left in the firsthalf, but when Virginia pulled within 31-25, the guards got hot, combining for15 points in a half-ending 18-5 run that made it 49-30.
“I picked it up on defense and got into an attack mode on offense,” saidAvery, who had eight of the points, all in the final 2:11 of the half.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the burst was the game-changer.
“We stopped fouling and William made a couple of big plays and it was 19,”he said. “That’s a lot different than 13 or 15, psychologically.”
Gillen agreed.
“The guys got discouraged. When you’re competing and not scoring, you’regetting in there and not making shots, you get frustrated,” he said. “You getworn down physically, too. They bring nine guys at you, we’re playing six, andthey get frustrated a little bit. We don’t like it, but it happens.”
Chris Carrawell added 14 points for Duke, while Langdon had 12 and NateJames 11. Brand had 12 rebounds, James and Maggette 10 each.
Willie Dersch and Chezley Watson paced Virginia with 12 points each, ChrisWilliams had 10 and Donald Hand just eight on 2-for-14 shooting.
The Cavaliers, beaten 115-69 in Durham, N.C., on Jan. 10, were playing thenation’s No. 1 team for the 22nd time in school history, and lost for the 21st.They beat North Carolina in Charlottesville on Jan. 30, 1986.
A 17-2 run gave Duke a 19-6 lead and quieted the sellout crowd, but Virginiarallied, outscoring the Blue Devils 19-12 over the next seven minutes to pullwithin 31-25 with five minutes left in the half.
Then Avery and Langdon silenced them again with their late run.
“We’re a rebuilding team and not playing well and that’s what happens,”Gillen said. “We got rocked.”