At 26-2 and fresh off a neutral site win over Michigan last Saturday, the vibes are high for Jon Scheyer and Duke heading into the final three games of the regular season.
But those three games will all be difficult tasks, coming against teams that are all ranked inside the KenPom Top 30.
The toughest overall opponent left is Virginia, the ACC's second-best team this year behind Duke, which has quickly ascended back toward the top of the conference under first-year head coach Ryan Odom.
The Cavaliers will arrive at Cameron Indoor on Saturday winners of nine consecutive games, and fresh off a 29-point annihilation of NC State on Tuesday.
Virginia is deep and talented. Odom plays nine guys 17+ minutes per night, and tends to get big contributions off the bench from Jacari White and Chance Mallory, who combined for 29 points in a close win over Miami last weekend.
It's a superior bench - and Virginia's nine-game winning streak - that has at least one Cavs writer confident that UVA can waltz into Durham on Saturday and come away with a major road upset.
Virginia writer believes Cavaliers have 'strong chance' of upsetting Duke
Virginia Cavaliers on SI writer Maria Aldrich wrote this week that Virginia has a "strong chance" of pulling the upset on Saturday.
Aldrich cites UVA's dominant bench and the team's strong track record as the reasoning.
The Cavs do have a strong bench, which could be a cause for concern for Scheyer. Duke doesn't tend to get a lot of scoring off the bench, and will likely have to rely on big minutes from Cameron Boozer and the rest of the starting five to pull out the win.
The biggest cause for concern, however, wasn't mentioned. It's Virginia's ability to knock down three-pointers that could cause Duke issues if the Cavs get hot. Virginia shoots 36.3% from three this year, a mark that ranks 50th in the country.
Virginia has four rotational players who shoot 36% or better from three, led by White, who shoots an obscene 46.8%. Duke will have to remain disciplined defensively and run the Cavs off the three-point line to avoid the math problem that could plague the Blue Devils in March.