Ball Durham
Fansided

Duke Basketball: No. 2 Blue Devils set for rematch with No. 3 Virginia

By Kevin Connelly

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Zion Williamson #1, RJ Barrett #5, Tre Jones #3 and Marques Bolden #20 of the Duke Blue Devils look on during their game against the Boston College Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Zion Williamson #1, RJ Barrett #5, Tre Jones #3 and Marques Bolden #20 of the Duke Blue Devils look on during their game against the Boston College Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Duke Basketball team is back in action and will face the Virginia Cavaliers for the second time this season in a much anticipated rematch.

It’s the game everyone wanted to see, the rematch between the Duke Blue Devils and the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Blue Devils defeated the Cavs back on January 19 without Tre Jones, but it is not Virginia who has some injury questions heading into the rematch as Ty Jerome did not play last Saturday against Miami due to a back injury.

More from Ball Durham

Virginia has not played all week and are hoping to get Jerome back in the lineup.

Duke rode R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson to a 72-70 victory over Virginia, but if the Blue Devils want to defeat the Cavaliers once again, Duke will need production from players outside of R.J. and Zion, namely Cam Reddish.

Struggling with his shot at times this season, Reddish is slowing becoming more consistent from the 3-point line, making eight of his last twenty one, scoring 24 points in the victory over Boston College on Tuesday.

Virginia has a scoring duo of their own with De’Andre Hunter and Kyle Guy who both lead the team in scoring with 14.7 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.

However, when talking about Virginia, the defense has to be the first thing that comes to mind, as the Cavaliers have not allowed over 65 points since the loss to Duke and those 65 points came against NC State in an overtime victory.

The 72 points given up against Duke is the most points Virginia has allowed all season.

Expect a similar type game as the first matchup between these two teams. Despite the status of Ty Jerome, Virginia still has many capable players and the home court advantage and this feels like one of the few games Duke could actually lose, but that will not be the case.

Duke will come up clutch at the end of the game and escape with a very impressive victory.

PREDICTION: Duke 75, Virginia 70

Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Virginia Cavaliers.

Home/Duke Basketball