Virginia Concludes Road Slate at Duke Thursday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Winners of four of its last five contests, Virginia (14-13, 6-10 ACC) concludes its 2023-24 regular-season road stint on Thursday (Feb. 29) when the Cavaliers travel to Duke (18-9, 10-6 ACC). Tipoff from Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

FOR OPENERS

• UVA has three wins over ranked opponents this season, a first since 2008-09 when the Cavaliers knocked off four ranked teams.
• Kymora Johnson is leading the Cavaliers in scoring (17.8) in ACC play and has five 20-point games in UVA’s previous eight contests.
• UVA and the Blue Devils square off for the second time this season as Duke edged the Cavaliers, 60-56, at John Paul Jones Arena on Jan. 7.
• The Blue Devils are coming off back-to-back wins over then-No. 17 Syracuse (Feb. 22) and then-No. 6 NC State (Feb. 25).

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Dean Linke (play-by-play) and Debbie Taylor (analyst) will have the call on ACC Network Extra.
• The game will also be broadcast on 98.9-FM/1070-AM WINA, VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports mobile app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports mobile app.

A WIN FOR THE CAVALIERS WOULD…

• Extend the Cavaliers’ road win streak to four games, a first in ACC play since the 1999-2000 season.
• Snap a three-game losing skid in the series against the Blue Devils.
• Snap a 17-game losing skid at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UVA’s last win in Durham was on Feb. 19, 1997, when the Cavaliers defeated Duke, 86-56.
• Give Virginia its seventh ACC victory of the season, one more than in the previous three seasons combined.

SERIES HISTORY

• Duke leads the all-time series over Virginia, 43-35, which began in 1977.
• The Blue Devils have won the last three meetings, including this year’s 60-56 decision at John Paul Jones Arena on Jan. 7. It was UVA’s third and Duke’s fourth ACC game of the season.
• The Blue Devils won last year’s matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 56-52, which snapped UVA’s then 12-game win streak, its longest since 1995.
• Virginia won 28 of the first 33 meetings of the series from 1977-95.
• The Cavaliers snapped a 26-game losing skid in the series with a 53-47 victory at JPJ on Feb. 10, 2019.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE HOOS & DUKE

• A strong start ultimately allowed Duke to outlast Virginia, 60-56, in the first meeting of the season between the two teams at JPJ on Jan. 7.
• Four early UVA turnovers allowed the Blue Devils to leap out to an early 13-3 lead.
• Duke led for 39:26 of game time.
• Both teams knocked down only two 3-pointers each.
• Camryn Taylor led the Hoos with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting and sunk seven free throws. Kymora Johnson also scored in double figures with 14 points, pulled down eight rebounds and added three steals.

LAST TIME OUT

• Virginia captured its third victory of the season over a ranked opponent and its sixth in ACC play after knocking off then-No. 20 Louisville, 73-68 at KFC Yum! Center last Sunday (Feb. 25).
• Camryn Taylor (22 pts, 9-14 FG), Kymora Johnson (18 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast), Paris Clark (12 pts, 8 reb) and Jillian Brown (11 pts, 3-5 3FG, 6 reb) all scored in double figures for the Hoos.
• The loss marked Louisville’s first at home to an unranked ACC foe since joining the league in 2014.
• The Cardinals had won its previous 56 such games.
• The win was UVA’s first-ever in Louisville, having entered the game 0-6 all-time.

OLD SCHOOL BASKETBALL

• For games played through Feb. 27, Virginia is 13th in the nation in rebounds per game (42.70), 38th in defensive rebounds per game (28.3) and 26th in offensive rebounds per game (14.4).
• The Hoos lead the ACC free throw percentage (77.6), good for 21st nationally.
• The Cavaliers are 14-5 this season when either leading or tying their opponents in rebounding.
• UVA has shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe in 11 games this season.

KYMORA JOHNSON LEADING THE CHARGE

• First-year guard Kymora Johnson is one of the nation’s top freshmen.
• Among the likes of Caitlin Clark, Georgia Amoore, and Hannah Hidalgo, Johnson is one of six Power-5 guards averaging at least 15.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
• Johnson is currently leading the Cavaliers in scoring in conference play with an average of 17.8 points per game, good for seventh among all ACC players and second among the league’s freshmen.
• Johnson has led the Hoos in scoring in 10 games this season, including when she scored a career-high 35 points in the Hoos’ 81-87 road upset over then-No. 15 Florida State (Jan. 21).
• In Virginia’s last 10 games, Johnson is averaging 21.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field.
• Johnson recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and a season-high 10 assists against No. 19 Syracuse (Feb. 18).
• Both Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo (5.5 apg) and Johnson (5.4 apg) lead the nation’s freshmen in assists.

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers conclude the regular season by hosting No. 5 Virginia Tech (23-4, 14-2 ACC) in a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash.  TICKETS
• Tipoff from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network.
• Virginia will recognize Sam Brunelle, London Clarkson, Taylor Lauterbach, Kaydan Lawson and Camryn Taylor for Senior Day.