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Jan. 14, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –
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The Game
Virginia enters tonight’s game with a 9-4 overall record and an 0-3 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers are coming off a 91-80 loss to Miami (Jan. 12) in University Hall.
Duke stands at 11-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC and is ranked fifth in both The Associated Press and ESPN/USAToday Top 25 polls. The Blue Devils are coming off an 86-74 win over NC State (Jan. 13) in Raleigh, N.C.
The Series vs. Duke
Duke leads the all-time series with the Cavaliers 104-47. The Blue Devils swept all three meetings in the 2003-04 season from UVa. Duke, ranked second in the nation at the time, won the first meeting 93-71 (Jan. 11) in Charlottesville. The Blue Devils also won 93-75 (Feb. 11) in Durham when they were the top-rated team in the nation. In the ACC Tournament, then fifth-ranked Duke won 84-74 (Mar. 12) in Greensboro, N.C. The Blue Devils have won six consecutive games in the series.
Duke also won all three meetings during the 2002-03 season. Ranked number one in the nation at the time, Duke won the first meeting 104-93 (Jan. 15) in Durham. The eighth-ranked Blue Devils won 78-59 (Feb. 15) in Charlottesville. In the 2003 ACC Tournament, 12th-rated Duke won 83-76 (Mar. 14) in Greensboro. UVa split the 2001-02 season series with the Blue Devils. Virginia lost the first meeting 94-81 (Jan. 27) in Durham and won at home 87-84 (Feb. 28). The Cavaliers also split the 2000-01 series with the Blue Devils with both teams winning at home. Duke won the first meeting 103-61 (Jan. 13) in Durham, while UVa posted a 91-89 victory (Feb. 14) in Charlottesville, which snapped a 12-game slide to the Blue Devils.
Duke has dominated the series in the last 21 years, winning 40 of the last 50 meetings since Ralph Sampson’s graduation from Virginia in 1983. The Blue Devils have also won 19 of the last 21 meetings dating back to the last matchup of the 1995-96 season.
In addition to snapping the 12-game losing streak to the Blue Devils with its win in 2001, Virginia broke a six-game streak in which Duke reached triple digits against the Cavaliers.
During Duke’s 12-game winning streak over UVa, the Blue Devils won in convincing fashion, winning by an average of 25.3 points per game. Duke won by more than 40 points on four occasions. Only six of the last 19 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points.
Playing in front of the “Cameron Crazies” has been difficult for UVa as the Wahoos are 8-44 against Duke at Cameron. All-time Virginia is 10-49 on Duke’s various home courts through the years. The Cavaliers have lost their last nine games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UVa’s last win at Cameron was a 91-88 double overtime victory on January 14, 1995.
Playing Ranked Blue Devil Teams
Eighteen of UVa’s last 19 meetings against Duke have occurred with the Blue Devils being ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press Poll. UVa is 2-16 in the last 18 meetings against a top-10 Blue Devil squad. Duke is currently ranked fifth in The Associated Press Poll (and also fifth in the ESPN/USAToday Poll). The meeting in the 2003 ACC Tournament on March 14 was the first time since January 18, 1997 that the Blue Devils were not ranked in the top 10 when the two teams met. Duke was ranked 12th when it defeated UVa 83-76 in the 2003 ACC Tournament. The previous time the Blue Devils were not a top 10 team when they played UVa was on January 18, 1997 – 13th (a 78-59 Duke win).
After dropping 10 consecutive meetings against top-10 ranked Duke teams, the Cavaliers have won two of the last nine games, including an 87-84 victory at University Hall (Feb. 28, 2002) – the last Virginia win over Duke. The other Cavalier victory was a 91-89 decision on February 14, 2001 at U-Hall.
In the past seven seasons, Virginia has played Duke when the Blue Devils were ranked as the nation’s top team eight times.-In 1997-98 Duke was ranked #1 at the time of all three meetings. (Virginia became the first team in NCAA history to play the nation’s #1 team five times in one season when, in addition to three games vs. Duke, UVa also played North Carolina twice when it was atop the polls).
-In 1998-99, the Blue Devils were ranked #1 when they defeated UVa 100-54 in Charlottesville (Feb. 11) and 104-67 in the ACC Tournament (Mar. 4).
-In 2001-2002, Virginia lost to #1 Duke 94-81 (Jan. 27) in Durham.
-In 2002-03, the Blue Devils were #1 when they recorded a 104-93 win (Jan. 15) in Durham.
-In 2003-04, UVa fell to the top-rated Blue Devils 93-75 (Feb. 11) in Durham.
Overall, Virginia hasn’t fared well against a nationally-ranked Duke squad. The Cavaliers are 14-57 against a ranked Duke team and 11-49 vs. top 10 Blue Devil teams. Virginia has never defeated a #1 or #2 ranked Duke team (0-20 all-time), but has four wins over #3 Blue Devil teams and one victory over Duke teams ranked fourth through 10th (one victory over #4, #5, etc.).
UVa is 1-3 all-time against fifth-ranked Duke teams. The Cavaliers’ lone victory came in the 1994 ACC Tournament – a 66-61 win on March 12, 1994 in Greensboro. Virginia’s last game against a fifth-ranked Blue Devil team was last season in the ACC Tournament on March 12, with Duke winning 84-74 in Greensboro. UVa is 0-2 vs. #5 Duke teams in Durham, falling 101-75 on February 10, 1962 and 84-73 on December 19, 1963.
Among the NCAA Leaders
Through games played January 10, Elton Brown is ranked 18th among all Division I players with 9.8 rebounds per game. Brown maintained his 9.8 rebounds per game average with 10 boards against Miami (Jan. 12). He has pulled down 128 rebounds in 13 games this season.
Smith Returns to Lineup
After missing three consecutive games – the ACC opener against Wake Forest (Jan. 2), Western Kentucky (Jan. 5) and Georgia Tech (Jan. 8) – Devin Smith returned to UVa’s lineup against Miami (Jan. 12).
Smith came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points in 28 minutes of playing time. He made 8-15 attempts from the floor (4-8 from three-point range) and 1-2 free throws. Smith also grabbed six rebounds and had three turnovers vs. the Hurricanes.
Smith injured an ankle in the Cavaliers’ overtime victory over Loyola Marymount (Dec. 23).
Smith leads UVa in scoring with 17.8 points per game and is also averaging 6.5 rebounds per contest.