Your Pocket Guide to Duke - Virginia

Here are three things to watch for when the Blue Devils take on the Cavaliers today at 2 p.m.:

1. How will the Plumlees fare in the post with Mike Scott out of the lineup?

The 6-foot-8 Scott led the Cavaliers in both scoring and rebounding in the 10 games he played, but he will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Mason and Miles will still have to contend with the Cavaliers' 7-footer Assane Sene, although they could have an easier time scoring on the blocks with the burly Scott out of the picture. Mason Plumlee crashed the boards well against Florida State's physical front line Wednesday, but he only attempted three shots and finished with three points. Look for the Blue Devils to feed the brothers early and often to keep the Cavaliers defense honest on the perimeter.

2. Will Duke snap out of its 3-point shooting slump against Virginia's stingy defense?

In the 66-61 loss to Florida State Wednesday, the Blue Devils shot 11-of-35 from behind the arc. Don't expect Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry to shoot as poorly against the Cavaliers as they did against the Seminoles (a combined 2-of-14 from 3), but also don't expect Virginia to give up open looks easily. The Cavaliers have the best scoring defense in the ACC, giving up 58 points per game. In a 57-54 win over Virginia Tech December 5, Virginia allowed seven players not named Malcolm Delaney to score only a meager 28 points. In a narrow 62-56 loss to North Carolina on January 8, the Cavaliers held the Tar Heels to 27 percent-shooting from 3-point range. North Carolina also failed to score a basket against Virginia for a stretch of eight minutes and 53 seconds.

3. Do the Cavaliers have any way to stop Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler?

Smith should feast on underclassmen guards Jontel Evans and K.T. Harrell, but he needs to make good decisions when he gets into the paint and improve upon his 6-of-17 shooting performance against the Seminoles by not forcing tough shots. Simply put, the Cavaliers have no answer for Singler. If the preseason ACC Player of the Year draws Will Sherrill on the defensive end, he should use his superior quickness to take the ball to the rack. At worst he'll get fouled, and at best he'll make some layups that will get his confidence going early.