Story Links
Jan. 31, 2007
Charlottesville Va. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Game
Virginia enters tonight’s conference game against Duke with a 13-6 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers have won their last four games, including a 64-63 come-from-behind victory over then 19th-ranked Clemson (Jan. 28) at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C.
Duke is 18-3 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. The Blue Devils, who are ranked eighth in The Associated Press and 10th in the ESPN/USAToday Top 25 polls, are coming off a 75-61 win over Boston College (Jan. 28) in Durham, N.C. Duke has won its last five games.
Television
Tonight’s game will be televised by ESPN. Mike Patrick will handle the play-by-play. Len Elmore is the analyst. Doris Burke is the sideline reporter.
Radio
All UVa games are heard on the Virginia Sports Network originating at the Charlottesville Radio Group and WINA-AM/WWWV-FM in Charlottesville. Mac McDonald calls the play-by-play. Jim Hobgood provides the analysis.
The Series vs. Duke
Duke leads the all-time series with the Cavaliers 107-47 and has won the last nine meetings. The previous five meetings have taken place either at Duke (three games) or in the ACC Tournament (twice – 2004 and 2005).
The Blue Devils, ranked second at the time, won the only regular season meeting last season 82-63 (Jan. 28) in Durham. Duke won twice in the 2004-05 season, 80-66 (Jan. 16) in Durham and 76-64 (Mar. 11) in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C. The Blue Devils were ranked fifth at the time of both meetings in 2004-05.
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 – its last trip to UVa until tonight’s game. 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.
Duke began its current winning streak against the Cavaliers with three wins in the 2002-03 season. Virginia’s last win in the series was an 87-84 triumph on Feb. 28, 2002 in Charlottesville.
Duke has dominated the series in the last 23 years, winning 43 of the last 53 meetings since Ralph Sampson’s graduation from Virginia in 1983. The Blue Devils have also won 22 of the last 24 meetings dating back to the last matchup of the 1995-96 season. Only six of the last 24 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points.
Although Duke owns a big lead in the series, Virginia is 32-34 all-time against Duke on the Cavaliers’ various home floors throughout the years. UVa was 19-20 against Duke at University Hall with the Cavaliers winning two of the last four meetings in U-Hall.
Playing Ranked Blue Devil Teams
Twenty one of UVa’s last 22 meetings against Duke have occurred with the Blue Devils being ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press Poll. UVa is 2-20 in the last 22 meetings against a top-10 Blue Devil squad. Duke is currently ranked eighth in The AP Poll (and 10th in the ESPN/USAToday Poll). The meeting in the 2003 ACC Tournament on Mar. 14 was the first time since Jan. 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 Jan. 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 12 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 both games, Duke was ranked third in the AP Poll.
In the past nine 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 14-60 against a ranked Duke team and 11-52 vs. top 10 Blue Devil teams. Virginia has never defeated a #1 or #2 ranked Duke team (0-21 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 1-4 all-time against eighth-ranked Duke teams. The Cavaliers are 1-3 vs. No. 8 Duke teams in Charlottesville.
All-time, the Cavaliers are 7-10 vs. No. 8 teams in the country, including a 4-6 mark at home.
Back-to-Back Road Wins
UVa posted back-to-back road wins (in consecutive games) over NC State (Jan. 24) and Clemson (Jan. 28). It marked the first time Virginia has won consecutive games on the road since the 1999-00 season. UVa defeated Hampton (Dec. 10) 102-56 and Richmond (Dec. 21) 69-65 in the 1999-00 season.
The last time UVa won consecutive ACC games on the road is back in the 1994-05 season. Virginia opened the ACC season with wins at Florida State (Jan. 4, 81-75) and NC State (Jan. 7, 76-65).
Virginia won two straight road games (not consecutive games) in the 2003-04 season when the Cavaliers won at VMI (Dec. 5, 78-56) and at Loyola Marmount (Dec. 19, 76-68).
UVa won two straight ACC road games (not consecutive) in the 2001-02 season when the Cavaliers won at North Carolina (Jan. 12, 71-67) and at Georgia Tech (Jan. 22, 69-65).