Duke last won the national championship 11 years ago in 2015. During that run, it got a surprising contribution from a little-used freshman named Grayson Allen to cut down the nets.
Allen had played a small role during his freshman season, but a 27-point game against Wake Forest in March was eye-opening. After a slow start to the NCAA Tournament, Allen came up huge in both the Final Four and the National Championship Game for the Blue Devils.
Allen scored nine points in 17 minutes off the bench in the win over Michigan State. His coming-out party was in the final, where he scored a pivotal 16 points in Duke's five-point win over Wisconsin.
Could Duke be seeing a similar situation with sophomore wing Darren Harris down the stretch?
Fans have been waiting for his breakout, and he seems to be getting more and more comfortable. After not playing against Michigan last Saturday, Harris made the most of a bigger opportunity against Notre Dame on Monday, where he scored 16 points in 17 minutes.
Jon Scheyer rewarded Harris with early minutes against Virginia, and the sophomore delivered with a couple of big shots to help spark Duke's offense.
"Darren Harris, the job he did coming in, gave us a lift," Scheyer said. ..."Darren's stepping up."
Darren Harris is stepping up for Duke at a perfect time
Duke led Virginia just 19-12 with under eight-minutes to play in the first half. The offense was struggling a bit outside of Isaiah Evans, as the Cavaliers were collapsing the paint and not letting Cameron Boozer get going.
The Blue Devils were able to open it up, however, thanks to their three-point shooting. And Harris hit back-to-back off the bench to push Duke's lead to 25-12. Virginia never got the game back to single digits again as Duke cruised to a 77-51 win.
It has been a slower developmental process for Harris, who was among a group of returning players that Scheyer and the coaching staff prioritized to bring back. He'll likely be a priority to be brought back to Durham again next year, and his continued development is big for Duke for a potential deep run in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps even bigger for next season's team.