Virginia (17-10, 11-6 ACC) hosts No. 7 Duke (23-4, 13-3 ACC) in ACC action on Wednesday. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Duke game will be televised on ESPN and streamed online at WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
- The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
- Live statistics will be available on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
Virginia Notes
- UVA is led by its backcourt of Kihei Clark (9.9 ppg & 4.1 apg) and Reece Beekman (7.7 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.3 rpg & 2.0 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (15.3 ppg & 7.1 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (11.6 ppg).
- The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
- Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 2020-21.
- Francisco Caffaro (4.7 ppg & 4.4 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg & 2.2 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick started the first 16 games, while Caffaro has started the last 11 contests.
- Kody Stattmann (37.8% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth off the bench.
Duke Notes
- Leading the ACC in both field goal defense (.406) and three-point defense (.297), the Blue Devils have allowed opponents to shoot .282 from three-point range since Jan. 1 — the best three-point defense by power conference team in that span.
- Duke is 25th nationally this season in defending the three-point line (.297), 45th in field goal defense (.406), 12th in blocked shots (5.5) and seventh in scoring margin (+14.8) — leads ACC in each category.
- Junior Wendell Moore Jr., is the only player ranked in the ACC’s top 10 for field goal percentage, assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio. He ranks sixth in field goal shooting (.517), third in assists (4.56), ninth in steals (1.59) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (2.20).
- Sophomore Mark Williams, whose tip-in dunk was the game-winner against Wake Forest with 0.4 remaining last Tuesday, is averaging 13.6 points and shooting 29-of-37 (.784) from the field over the last five games. His 68 dunks are the fourth most in a season at Duke.
- A finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, Williams leads the ACC and ranks 11th nationally in blocked shots. He is also the nation’s only player shooting .700+ from the field and .700+ at the free throw line (minimum 100 field goal attempts).
- Freshman AJ Griffin is averaging 18.5 points and shooting 33-of-54 (.611) from the field and 15-of-25 (.600) from three-point range over Duke’s last five ACC road wins. For the season, Griffin is the team’s second-leading scorer in road games with 14.3 points.
Series Notes
- UVA meets Duke for the 176th meeting overall and 76th tilt in Durham in a series that dates back to 1910-11.
- UVA is 53-122 all-time vs. Duke, including a 35-40 home mark.
- UVA is 2-3 in its last five games vs. Duke and 3-7 in its last 10.
- Six of the last eight meetings have been decided by two points or less. The average margin of victory in the last 13 is 4.3 points.
- Head coach Tony Bennett is 5-12 all-time against Duke at UVA.
Last Matchup: Virginia 69, Duke 68 (Feb. 7, 2022)
- Reece Beekman’s 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining lifted Virginia to a 69-68 win at No. 7 Duke on Feb. 7.
- Jayden Gardner scored 17 points and Kadin Shedrick added a career-high 16 points on 8 of 8 shooting to lead the Cavaliers to their 10th all-time win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- Armaan Franklin added 11 points, while Kihei Clark had nine assists.
- UVA scored 52 points in the paint and registered 20 points off of 15 Duke turnovers.
- Mark Williams led Duke with 16 points, while Trevor Keels added 12.
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Chris Graham
