Date 3/14 || Time 8:30 || Venue Spectrum Center || Video ESPN
Duke and Virginia, the top two teams in the ACC regular season, will meet for the ACC Championship on Saturday in Charlotte.
Duke got there after surviving Florida State, 80-79, and then hammering Clemson on Friday night, 71-63. Virginia defeated NC State on Thursday, 81-74, and smacked Miami, 84-62.
It’s going to be an interesting matchup.
Duke handled Virginia in the only meeting between the teams, a 77-51 win for the Blue Devils that was
surprisingly easy.
It probably won’t be like that this time.
Duke is without point guard Caleb Foster and center Pat Ngongba, and both are huge keys to Duke’s success.
Foster’s stats are not huge, but he is a steadying influence on the team and a key part of Duke’s success, especially on defense. He’s been a huge part of Duke’s success.
So has Ngongba. If you look at his stats only, you wouldn’t be blown away, but he is a very smart big man. His passing is really sharp, and he solidifies the inside defensively. He’s also pretty ruthless, which is a nice thing in a teammate.
So far, Duke has adjusted fairly well. In the Florida State game, things were a bit rocky, but Duke still had a 19-2 run that looked like a vintage stretch by this team, and against Clemson, a 26-6 first-half run sealed the deal.
Cayden Boozer struggled Thursday but was a huge asset on Friday. Aside from scoring a career-high 16, like his brother, Cameron, Cayden tends to make winning plays. He’s got a chance to stake a claim now, and it looks like he may do it.
Virginia’s Ugonna Onyenso wasn’t a major factor in the game at Duke, but he’s played his way to All-Tournament status, with 12 blocks – an ACC record – and has even been hitting threes, which made Mike Young throw up in his mouth a little bit when he did it against Virginia Tech.
So that’s a big difference, and Ngongba would be a difference maker.
Duke will again have to be careful about fouls, and as you may remember, that’s what sunk the Blue Devils against UNC in Chapel Hill: both Ngongba and Maliq Brown were severely limited (Brown had 4 fouls, while Ngongba fouled out in 16 minutes).
Isaiah Evans played well in almost every aspect against Clemson other than shooting, where he was just 1-9. He’ll need to help more than that offensively. If Evans heats up, it could be a tough night for the Cavaliers. On the other hand, if he’s cold again, it’s a big problem for Duke.
Either way, it’s pretty great that Duke is back in the finals. If they win without Foster and Ngongba, that’s spectacular. If they lose, the other players who had to step up had two games to get used to new roles. They’ve grown and will grow more, which will come in handy, starting in a few days when the NCAA Tournament starts.
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