College Basketball
College Hoops Preview: #2 Duke at #3 Virginia
- Matchup: #2 Duke Blue Devils (20-2, 8-1 ACC) @ #3 Virginia Cavaliers (20-1, 8-1 ACC)
- Date: Feb. 9th, 2019
- Time: 6:00 p.m. (est)
- Network: ESPN
- Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
- Venue: John Paul Jones Arena
- Seating Capacity: 14,593
Duke Looking to Sweep
College Gameday is in Charlottesville, Virginia for a top 5 rematch between Duke and UVA. On January 19th, the Blue Devils found a way to take down the Cavaliers in Cameron Indoor without freshman Tre Jones, 72-70. Back in the lineup, Tre Jones looks to help lead Duke to the season sweep and Duke’s third straight win against UVA in Charlottesville.
The Starters
Virginia
Guard – #11 Ty Jerome (13.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 4.9 APG)
Guard – #5 Kyle Guy (14.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.1 APG)
Forward – #12 De’Andre Hunter (14.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.2 APG)
Forward – #25 Mamadi Diakite (7.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.3 BPG)
Center – #33 Jack Salt (4.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG)
Duke
Point Guard – #3 Tre Jones (8.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 2.0 SPG)
Guard – #2 Cam Reddish (13.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 2,0 SPG)
Small Forward – #5 RJ Barrett (23.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.0 SPG)
Power Forward – #1 Zion Williamson (22.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.2 SPG, an 2.0 BPG)
Center – #20 Marques Bolden (5.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG)
Key Matchup
The most important matchup in this game is Tre Jones versus Ty Jerome. Jerome has been injured for the last week but will likely play. In the first matchup, Jerome logged 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 35 minutes of play. In Duke’s last two games, Tre Jones has completely shut down two star guards in St. John’s Shamorie Ponds and Boston College’s Ky Bowman. Jones will hound Jerome for 40 minutes and considering Jerome won’t be at 100%, he will have a long night trying to escape Duke’s best defender.
Grinding Out the Win
Duke loves to run in transition at a fast pace, but on the road against UVA, they will have to grind out a win. Virginia is known for its slow pace of play, which they use to tire out opposing defenses. Duke has to maintain composure on offense against the best defense in the country in their half-court sets. UVA will force Duke to take outside shots and prevent them from getting easy inside looks, this means Duke will have to remain patient and prevent forcing shots up.
Prediction
With Tre Jones back in the lineup for the rematch against UVA, Ty Jerome will be ineffective for the better part of the game. De’Andre Hunter will do his thing on offense, but in the end, it won’t be enough to keep up with Duke. Tre Jones running the point is something UVA hasn’t had to deal with yet. He will feed Zion Williamson down low without being stopped, Cam Reddish and his newfound confidence will roll from beyond the arc, and RJ Barrett won’t be stopped getting to the rim. Add in Marques Bolden protecting the rim and getting open underneath the Virginia defense while on offense. Duke by double digits.
Duke: 86
UVa: 74
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