Barrett, Williamson team up to help Duke down undefeated Virginia
Blue Devils stars combine for 57 points in win over No. 4 Cavaliers
No. 1 Duke and fourth-ranked Virginia kept trading baskets — and the lead — down the stretch of another classic at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Here's the difference: The Blue Devils had RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson and a defence that —even without key on-the-ball defender Tre Jones— flipped the script on the Cavaliers.
Barrett scored 30 points, Williamson had 27 and Duke gave Virginia its first loss of the season by beating the Cavaliers 72-70 on Saturday night.
"We did a lot of switching tonight, and we were able to move their defence enough — just enough, not every time — to get some driving lanes," coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Blue Devils bounce back
The Blue Devils (15-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounced back from an overtime loss to Syracuse that could cost them their top ranking. They avoided their first two-game losing streak at home since 2016 and proved they can win without Jones.
DeAndre Hunter scored 18 points, and Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy had 14 apiece for the Cavaliers (16-1, 4-1), who entered as the nation's last unbeaten after No. 2 Michigan was upset at Wisconsin earlier in the day. Virginia allowed Duke to shoot 63 per cent in the second half — and hit 12 of 15 shots inside the 3-point arc — while giving up a season-high point total.
"We're a solid defensive team," coach Tony Bennett said, "but tonight, we were not solid enough."
Tournament calibre
The fourth matchup of top-ranked teams in the sport's history — Virginia entered at No. 1 in the coaches' poll — was a tournament-calibre game throughout. There were 14 ties and 15 lead changes, and it was a one-possession game for a 14 1/2-minute stretch of the second half.
"If you scored, you beat good defence," Krzyzewski said. "If you didn't score, good defence beat you."
After the Cavaliers missed 11 of 12 shots during a late nine-minute stretch, they pulled within 69-66 on Guy's 3-pointer with 23 seconds left. Barrett hit two free throws with 20.9 seconds to play, and Virginia let too much time elapse before Braxton Key was fouled with 8.9 seconds remaining and hit both shots to make it 71-68.
Cameron Reddish hit a free throw to make it a four-point game before Hunter hit a jumper before the buzzer for Virginia.