The rate of showdowns for No. 1 Duke isn’t waning as the second-to-last weekend of the regular season arrives.
The Blue Devils will face No. 11 Virginia in a battle for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday afternoon in Durham, N.C.
“Every conference win that you can get is a big one,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
If Duke (26-2, 14-1 ACC) wins, it clinches the top seed for the ACC tournament. Streaking Virginia (25-3, 13-2) can pull even in the standings with a win.
“I think the big key is how we continue to get better,” Scheyer said. “I think that’s a big thing for us. Just not staying the same. We call it winning the details. How can we win the details, win in the margins, where we’re better in two and a half weeks than we are right now?”
The tuneups for this matchup were impressive from both teams.
Duke went to Notre Dame and slammed the Fighting Irish 100-56 on Tuesday. At the same time, the Cavaliers stretched their winning streak to nine games by drilling visiting NC State 90-61.
“We’re just going to do what we always do, and that’s get ready for the next one,” Virginia coach Ryan Odom said. “We know the challenge that lies ahead there. The No. 1 team in the country, extremely well coached, extremely talented and together and tough.”
Duke received the No. 1 national ranking this week for the first time this season. That’s a nice tag, but there are more important goals at the moment for the Blue Devils.
“We’re playing for something bigger and we’ve got to keep growing,” freshman forward Cameron Boozer said. “Good win (Tuesday), big game Saturday. We’re taking steps in the right direction, for sure.”
Duke scored a season-high 54 first-half points in the Notre Dame game. Even with Duke reaching the 100-point mark in its last two ACC outings, Scheyer said the emphasis needs to be what the Blue Devils can do defensively.
“We have to continue to have that edge on the defensive end,” he said, “and then we have to continue to be able to work and fight for great shots against defenses that are going to make it hard for us.”
Boozer’s 22.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game are huge lifts for the Blue Devils. Virginia will try to clog the lane with 7-footers Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso, who combined for 12 blocked shots in Tuesday’s game.
The improvement angle is one that is embraced by Virginia’s players as well.
“I think we’re starting to get better at the right time, which is really important,” Cavaliers guard Dallin Hall said. “We just want to keep (improving) every day, stacking days.”
Virginia is more balanced offensively than Duke, with Thijs De Ridder averaging a team-high 16.0 points per game. He also gathers a team-best 6.3 rebounds.
Virginia is 8-1 on the road but hasn’t won in Durham since 2022. This will be Odom’s first clash with the Blue Devils since taking over the Cavaliers.
“We’re going to have to play our best to have a chance to win,” Odom said.
