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Duke used an 18-3 run and a zone to defeat Virginia for the second time this season. The Blue Devils controlled the game after coming out of the zone in the second half spreading their offense. Duke goes to 13-2 in the conference and are poised to face the top ranked North Carolina Tar Heels where the winner is the regular season champion.

The Hoo's were certainly tired, but Duke took advantage of that with good defense. So, the trip back to Durham should be s short one and the second the team steps off the bus, the hype for this Saturday's contest will begin. "We have a chance to play for a championship," said a happy Mike Kyzyzewski to Duke play by play announcer Bob Harris after the game.

Duke put five players in double figures led by Gerald Henderson's 19 points. Kyle Singler added 18 and a team high 8 rebounds, while teammate Greg Paulus had 14 points, many of them coming on key three point shots. Senior Captain tossed in 16 points and Jon Scheyer added 10 to round out double figure scorers.

The Blue Devils held the Cavaliers to just three field goals in just under five minutes to close the game. Despite shooting just 57.1% from the free throw stripe and Virginia going 10 of 13 from three point land, and a 10-0 run by Virginia in the second half, Duke controlled the game after jumping out to a halftime lead.

Duke went 12 of 27 from the three point stripe. Duke swept the season series with Virginia after losing their only matchup last season.

Box Score Link Official Game Notes

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Duke at Virginia Predictions

by Mark Watson on Wed 05 Mar 2008 11:20 AM EST

Duke Off vs. Virginia Def	Virginia Off vs. Duke Def
85.1 Pts F 73.3 Pts A 46.9 FG% 43.8 FG% 34.0 Reb. 31.0 Reb.	76.6 Pts F 68.7 Pts A 42.9 FG% 43.3 FG% 31.0 Reb. 33.2 Reb.

Mark's take - Duke steps into a snake-pit when they visit Virginia. The Cav's will play aggressive and physical and are sparked by the return of Lars Mikalauskas who is a large player who does the dirty work. Of course, Duke didn't have Zoubek in the first meeting, but Mikalauskas was a vital key in Virginia's win voe Georgia Tech.

Then there is Sean Singletary who can single handedly keep his club in the game. Duke will have to play good defense on him while preventing him from getting Baker and others into the flow with his passing ability of the drive. The Cavs hope to gain momentum going into the ACC Tournament and regardless of the current standings they are not the worst team in the ACC.

Duke will battle a hostile crowd and a team with nothing to lose. The Blue Devils must continue to hit their free throws and be on from the three point stripe. As usual, keeping Singler and Nelson out of foul trouble is vital. All signs point to a game which goes to the wire, but these Devils do remember last seasons loss which sent them in a tale spin and will be out to keep a similar thing from happening.

I see a tight hard fought contest with Duke prevailing - Duke 82 Virginia 78

Bob Green's take - Duke travels to Charlottesville to play Virginia a team the Blue Devils soundly defeated, 87-65, in their first meeting. In that game, Duke outrebounded Virginia, 35-34, turned the Cavaliers over 18 times, and shot 50.7 percent from the field. Duke's 7'1" Brian Zoubek did not play in the first meeting and 6'8" Lance Thomas was limited to 14 minutes in his first game back after suffering from a respiratory ailment. Virginia has been playing much better in recent games after several players returned from injuries so Duke's depth will be put to the test.

Virginia struggles defensively. They rank 11 of 12 in the ACC in both FG % Defense and 3 PT FG % Defense. Opponents are shooting 35.8% from behind the arc against the Cavaliers. To win the game, Duke will need to attack from the perimeter and force Virginia to play from behind. Duke made 11 3-point shots in the January 13th victory.

The keys to the game will be containing Sean Singletary and knocking down open shots.

My prediction: Duke 81 - Virginia 73.

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