Game Notes: #2 Virginia at #4 Duke Saturday in epic ACC clash

No. 2 Virginia (19-1, 8-0 ACC) travels to No. 4 Duke (18-2, 6-2 ACC) for an ACC men’s basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff at Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 2 p.m.

For Openers

• UVA is first in the ACC at 8-0 and Duke is second at 6-2.
• Virginia has a three-game losing streak vs. Duke and seeks its first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since a 91-88 double overtime win on Jan. 14, 1995.
• UVA’s 11-game winning streak is currently the third longest in Division I and its longest since an 11-game winning streak in 2015-16.
• The Cavaliers are 8-0 in the ACC for the first time since starting 12-0 in 1980-81.
• The Cavaliers are 2-1 vs. ranked opponents.
• As of Jan. 25, UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (51.6 ppg), second in field goal percentage defense (36.4%) and fouls per game (13.8), fourth in turnovers per game (9.5), seventh in turnover margin (5.1), scoring margin (17.6) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.1%), 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46) and 22nd in free throw percentage (76.8%).

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-Duke contest will be televised on CBS, and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Athletics mobile app on iTunes or Android.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.

The Head Coaches

• Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 207-84 in nine seasons at UVA and 276-117 in 12 seasons overall.
• Duke: Mike Krzyzewski (Army, 1969), 1,016-273 in 38 seasons at Duke and 1,089 in 43 seasons overall.

UVA Remains No. 2 in Latest National Polls

• UVA is ranked No. 2 for the second straight week in the latest national polls.
• The No. 2 ranking is UVA’s highest since March 2, 2015 (No. 2).
• UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for nine straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past five polls.
• Virginia is the fifth team in ACC history to move from unranked in preseason to the top 3, joining Miami (2012-13), Georgia Tech (2003-04), Wake Forest (1980-81) and North Carolina (1972-73).
• UVA is the lone ACC team to be ranked in the top 3 in four of the past five seasons.
• The Cavaliers received votes in the first three AP polls, snapping a streak of 64 consecutive weeks in the AP rankings since Feb. 3, 2014.
• UVA was ranked in the top 10 in the preseason polls from 2014-16.

UVA in Ken Pom Efficiency Ratings

• As of Jan. 25, UVA ranks Nos. 1, 3 and 42 in the KenPom.com adjusted defense, overall and adjusted offense efficiency ratings.
• UVA is shooting 46.9 percent, 39.3 percent from 3-point range (2nd best in school history) and 76.8 percent from the free throw line (best in school history).
• UVA has shot 50 percent or better in eight games and limited its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in all 20 games.

Last Time Out

• Devon Hall scored 14 points, Kyle Guy had 12 and No. 2 Virginia broke open a close game with an 18-2 run in the second half to win their 11th straight, 61-36 over No. 18 Clemsonon Tuesdaynight.
• The Cavaliers (19-1, 8-0 ACC), who lead the nation in scoring defense, allowed their fewest points of the season.
• The Tigers gave Virginia a game until early in the second half, when Clemson managed just four points in a span of 12 minutes. The burst turned a 30-27 lead into a 48-29 advantage.
• Gabe DeVoe scored 11 points, all in the first 12 minutes, and was the only player to score in double figures for the Tigers (16-4, 5-3).
• Clemson shot 31.9 percent (15-47) and scored just 13 points in the second half.
• The 36 points allowed were lowest ever for the Cavaliers against a ranked foe (61-37 win over No. 18 Clemson on Jan. 11, 1995)
• The 36 points scored by Clemson were its lowest in series history (61-37 UVA win over No. 18 Clemson on Jan. 11, 1995)
• UVA had a season-high 14 steals, most since 15 vs. William & Mary on Dec. 5, 2015.

All-Time Against Duke

• UVA meets Duke for the 170th time overall and 68th time in Durham in a series that dates back to 1910-11.
• UVA is 50-119 all-time vs. Duke, including an 8-52 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium
• UVA is winless in its last 17 games against Duke in Durham.
• Duke defeated UVA 63-62 in the last meeting between the teams in Durham and owns a three-game winning streak in the series.
• UVA is 1-4 in its last five games vs. Duke and 2-8 in its last 10.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 2-9 all-time against Duke at UVA.
• Bennett seeks his first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. During Bennett’s 12-year coaching career, Bennett has at least one road win at every Pac-10 (now Pac-12) and ACC school except Duke.

Last Time Against the Blue Devils

• Former Blue Devil star and current Boston Celtic rookie Jayson Tatum scored 28 points to lead then-No. 12 Duke to a 65-55 win over then-No. 14 Virginia on Feb. 15, 2017, at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Tatum scored 21 second-half points and finished 6 of 7 from 3-point range in Duke’s sixth consecutive win.
• London Perrantes led UVA with 14 points and Ty Jerome chipped in 13 points off the bench.
• UVA shot 36.8 percent, but out-rebounded Duke 32-28.

Getting Defensive

• UVA has limited its foes to 51.6 points per game (2nd best in school history – 51.5 ppg in 2014-15) and has held 10 opponents to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Savannah State, Hampton, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson).
• Six opponents (UNCG, Austin Peay, Savannah State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Clemson) have committed more turnovers than made field goals.
• UVA has held 17 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
• UVA has held 17 foes to less than 43 percent shooting.
• The Cavaliers have held 11 opponents to less than 30 percent shooting from 3-point range.
• The Cavaliers are 74-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett (10-0 in 2017-18).
• Bennett-coached teams are 99-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points during his 12-year coaching career.
• In 2016-17, Virginia led the nation in scoring defense (56.4 ppg) for the third time under Bennett.
• Bennett-coached teams have led the nation in scoring defense four times (2008-09, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17) and finished in the top-five nationally in eight of 11 seasons.

About the Cavaliers

• UVA is led by tri-captains Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt.
• The announcement of Hall, Wilkins and Salt marked the first time in Bennett’s 12-year head coaching career where he officially named team captains.
• UVA has averaged 69.2 points per game (second most under Bennett) on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 51.6 ppg (second lowest in school history) on defense.
• UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its 20 games.
• UVA is one of nine schools to have the same starting five this season (Army West Point, Furman, Elon, Nebraska, Purdue, Temple, UNLV and UTSA).
• Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and has reached double figures in 17 games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17), 22 vs. Syracuse (1/9/18) and 21 vs. Lehigh (12/2/17)
• Hall has averaged 12.7 points, which is 4.3 points higher than last year’s average of 8.4 points.
• Wilkins is averaging team-highs in rebounds (6.0), blocked shots (1.7) and steals (1.4).
• Jerome is averaging 9.3 points and a team-leading 3.2 assists.
• Salt has chipped in 4.0 rebounds per game and 17 blocked shots.
• Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (8.0 ppg) has reached double figures in five of the last seven games, including team highs at Georgia Tech (17) and Virginia Tech (14).
• Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 5.8 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 5.0 ppg & 3.2 rpg.
• Jay Huff and Marco Anthony provide depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is redshirting the 2017-18 season.

The Road Has Been Kind

• Virginia is 4-1, including a 3-0 mark in ACC play, in true road games.
• UVA has posted wins at VCU, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest and a loss at West Virginia.
• UVA’s 29-19 (.604) ACC road record over the past six seasons ranks first ahead of North Carolina (28-21, .571) and Duke (27-23, .540).

On the Horizon

• No. 2 Virginia hosts Louisville onWednesday, Jan. 31. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.