As the Blue Devils hit the road for a game against Virginia, The Blue Zone offers a preview of the Cavaliers and three keys to the game:
Overview
2023-24 record: 23-11, 13-7 in the ACC
2024-25 record: 13-12, 6-8 in the ACC
Head coach: Ron Sanchez
History: Duke leads 83-37
Last meeting: 73-48 Duke, March 2, 2024
The Cavaliers are coming off a close win against in-state rival Virginia Tech, extending their win streak to three. However, Virginia has been shaky in conference play. After a rocky start punctuated by a five-game losing streak to open competition in the ACC, the Cavaliers are 5-7 in their last 12 games.
Longtime head coach Tony Bennett’s retirement from the position three weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season sowed uncertainty about the future of the program. Bennett led Virginia to its first and only national championship title in 2019 and is the winningest coach in Virginia history. This season, interim head coach Ron Sanchez, who is in his 11th season with the team, has largely followed Bennett’s playbook, including a defense-first play style. The Cavaliers offense is led by junior guard Isaac McKneely and junior forward Elijah Saunders, who are averaging 13.4 and 11.2 points per game respectively.
3 keys
Well-rounded scoring effort: In Duke’s loss to Virginia two years ago, the Cavaliers’ defense was able to limit forward Kyle Filipowski to zero points. Virginia’s defense is certainly not as potent now, but it will likely try to shut down freshman phenom Cooper Flagg in a similar manner. This season, Virginia is ranked second in the ACC in scoring defense — behind only Duke — and has limited opponents to an average 64.7 points.
Should the Cavaliers concentrate on shutting down Flagg, the Blue Devils must rely on the efforts of junior guard Tyrese Proctor, freshman guard Kon Knueppel and other players in the rotation to score. Proctor is averaging 19.4 points in his last five games — should he continue his hot streak, the Blue Devils’ offense will be in good shape come Monday night.
Limit threes: In its recent win against Virginia Tech, Virginia established an early 15-point lead by swishing 6-of-12 attempts from the 3-point line. McKneely led the way for the Cavaliers throughout the game, with 18 of his 22 points coming from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers rank third in the ACC in 3-point percentage; McKneely is ranked second in the conference for 3-point shooting, making 41.6% of his attempts. Duke will need to maintain pressure on the perimeter and especially on McKneely to stifle this key aspect of Virginia’s offense.
Block out the noise: The Blue Devils’ trip to Charlottesville, Va., will be their first road test since a 77-71 loss to Clemson over a week ago. While the Cavaliers are only 3-4 at home this season against conference foes, John Paul Jones Arena is nevertheless a tough environment to play in. However, Duke is coming off two dominant performances at home this week. For the Blue Devils to continue their win streak, they must tune out the sound of the road crowd and score quickly out of the gate.
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Karen Xu is a Trinity senior and a photography editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.