No. 9 Duke cruises in ACC opener
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 14, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. – P.U. I smell Wahoo.

That was the message scrawled on the headband of the Duke mascot on Sunday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium as Virginia took on the Dookies.

It turned out to be pretty fitting.

For the second straight game, UVa stunk things up on the road. Ten days after a 38-point loss at Xavier, UVa was trounced in its ACC opener, 87-65.

“When you allow a good team to play to their strengths and you don’t match it with the strengths that you may have, then the outcome is quite obvious,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “That’s kind of what happened today.”

Virginia committed 19 turnovers and allowed ninth-ranked Duke to shoot 50.4 percent from the field. A game after allowing a school-record 16 3-pointers, UVa allowed the Blue Devils 11 treys.

Duke, which was led by DeMarcus Nelson’s 20 points, had three other players in double figures.

“We need to stand up and show a little more intestinal fortitude and just be more consistent,” said Virginia guard Sean Singletary, trying to describe what went wrong. “They have a talented bunch, but at times we showed we could play with them. They were just more consistent throughout the whole game.

“They played at a high level all game and we just turned it on and off.”

Virginia was led by Singletary. The senior captain had 18 points, but many of them came after the game was out of reach in the second half. Singletary also had a game-high seven turnovers.

Adrian Joseph, UVa’s second-leading scorer, had a season-low of three points.

Virginia was outrebounded (35-34) for just the third game this season.

“They had been rebounding the heck out of the ball,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “In the first half, I thought they got some offensive boards, but overall we started holding on our own. That was pretty good for us because that’s been a thing for Virginia.”

UVa (10-4, 0-1) never led in the game and looked completely overmatched - physically and mentally - from the opening jump.

Duke (13-1, 1-0) stormed out to a quick 5-0 lead. Singletary, much like he did in the game here two years ago, turned the ball over too frequently in the face of the Blue Devils’ aggressive man-to-man defense.

“We let them impose their will on us,” Singletary said. “That was the biggest thing.”

Duke took an 18-6 lead on a 3-pointer by Gerald Henderson.

Virginia went over five minutes without a field goal before Mamadi Diane was able hit a jumper over Henderson to pull UVa to 21-15 with just over eight minutes to play in the half.

But Diane and Joseph were all but invisible, combining for just those two points heading into the break. Joseph did not

attempt a single shot.

The only reason the Cavaliers were within shouting distance of Duke - they trailed 43-31 at the intermission - was the play of walk-on Calvin Baker. Baker, making his first start of his Virginia career, was the only Wahoo who played with any kind of aggression. Baker didn’t seem intimidated by the Cameron Crazies as he scored 10 first-half points

The highlight of the first 20 minutes came midway through the half when Henderson took a behind-the-back pass from Jon Scheyer on the fastbreak and threw down a vicious one-hand dunk.

“Defensively, we didn’t keep the ball outside the middle of the floor enough to prevent the amount of open perimeter shots that they got,” Leitao said. “They were really aggressive.”

The Cavaliers kept the score respectable in the first few minutes of the second half, but Duke’s pressure defense eventually overwhelmed them.

A Nelson 3-pointer put the Dookies up 70-51. Moments later, freshman Kyle Singler took an errant Jamil Tucker pass in for a crowd-pleasing stuff. Nelson followed with an alley-opp from Greg Paulus and UVa was all but done.

“The crowd was great; the students were unbelievable,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “I was worried about Sunday night, but it was like an old-fashioned Cameron game tonight.”

Singletary tried to remain optimistic.

“We’re only 0-1 and we’re going to see them again,” he said. “You can’t stress about it. You just have to move on.”

Leitao, a well-known New York Giants fan, wasn’t in as bad of a mood as you would expect. When asked if Baker’s transition to the starting lineup was permanent, he responded: “Nothing’s permanent. Except death and taxes...and the [Dallas] Cowboys losing.

 

Cavs fall short at Cameron
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
January 14, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. - Ten days is a long time to sit on the worst loss of the season, but that was the gap between Virginia’s 38-point loss at Xavier and Sunday night’s trip to Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Cavaliers’ coach Dave Leitao believed that just maybe the long break might give his team enough time to get some of its problems straightened out and for some of his injured players to get healthier.

In fact, when asked about the layover, whether it was a good thing, Leitao responded: “Ask me about that about 10 o’clock on Sunday night.”

Turned out that not much had changed. The ninth-ranked Blue Devils jumped on the Cavaliers early and never let up in an 87-65 blowout. It was Uva’s 13th straight loss at Duke dating back to 1995 and stopped the Wahoo’s four-game winning streak against ranked teams.

Breaking it down

There were some unsettling things about the loss from Leitao’s point of view. You can bet these items were on his checklist as his Cavs prepare for their next game, a home contest against Virginia Tech on Wednesday night:

n Better defense. The Blue Devils made 50.4 percent of their shots (34 of 67 overall) and hit 11 3-point field goals. They also outscored UVa 42-30 in the paint.

n Better execution. Duke outscored Virginia 17-4 off turnovers, and who couldn’t considering the Cavs turned it over 19 times and were killed off the break where Duke scored 16 points. Leitao’s squad, which led the nation in rebounding margin coming into the weekend, was beaten by one (35-34), but by a team that never had a player taller than 6-foot-8 on the floor.

n Better cohesion. Virginia’s players simply weren’t on the same page and it showed at the worst possible times. Duke’s pressure, a suffocating defense, is always turned up a few notches at Cameron and the Cavs didn’t react well to that pressure. At times they unraveled before Leitao’s eyes.

There were other issues as well, some of it caused by Virginia’s lack of poise or pressing too hard in order to turn the momentum. Others were created by Duke’s aggressive nature.

The Blue Devils were keenly aware of the Cavs strengths and attacked them intelligently.

All-ACC point guard Sean Singletary scared them to death because of his scoring prowess and ability to take over or break open a game. So, coach Mike Krzyzewski stressed the importance of keeping the pressure on Singletary all night.

While the Cavalier star still scored a team-high 18 points, the Devils limited his damage and impact on the game.

Meanwhile, Duke knew that Singletary can be particularly dangerous in whipping passes to the wings to an open Adrian Joseph, who is enjoying his best season as a senior, and to a potentially dangerous Mamadi Diane.

Joseph, who has been one of the ACC’s best perimeter shooters so far this season and has more than doubled his scoring average to nearly 14 points per game, was handcuffed most of the evening.

“You’ve got to stay home as much as possible on Joseph and Diane,” Krzyzewski said. “Overall, we did a pretty good job of doing that.”

Together, those two UVa wings combined to hit 4 of 16 shots and only one 3-pointer.

Perhaps more telling was that Joseph didn’t even get a single shot off in the first half and took only four shots all night, hitting only one. And that one didn’t come until only 5 minutes, 16 seconds remained in the game with the Cavs hopelessly behind.

“We lost to a very good team and usually as is the case, especially in this league and especially on the road, when you allow a good team to play to their strengths and you don’t match it with the strengths that you may have, then the outcome is quite obvious,” Leitao said.

There weren’t many positives, if any that the Virginia coach could pick out of this road loss. If nothing else, after two blowouts on the road, he may at least have his team’s attention.

Perhaps they will listen a little closer in practice the next two days and attempt to get their act together for two-game ACC home stretch against the Hokies and Boston College.

If they don’t, it’s going to be a long, long season.



 

Overwhelmed U.Va. has typical disaster at Duke
Monday, Jan 14, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

DURHAM, N.C. So what are we to make of Virginia's hoopsters at this dawning of the ACC schedule, other than the fact they're giving up points faster than Fred Thompson's campaign and might not beat Duke again in, oh, maybe forever?

There surely weren't any positives for U.Va. to unearth from last night's 87-65 pasting in Cameron Indoor Stadium unless you count Dave Leitao's head not exploding. This isn't a vintage Duke squad per championship-rings standards, but it entirely outclassed these Cavs, who were sketchy on the attack and often clueless at the other end.

The Blue Devils were tougher, sharper, smarter, quicker to the glass.

Oh, and they've got that Hall of Fame K-meister on the bench as well.

It was all too much to cope with for the Cavs, who demonstrated the need for a defensive coordinator and helpmates for ringleader Sean Singletary, who wound up with 18 points but had a dismal opening half and provided little in the way of glue. In his defense, former sidekick J.R. Reynolds is now suiting up in Italy, and the guys left behind -- e.g., Mamadi Diane and Adrian Joseph were a combined 4-for-16 -- didn't pick up the slack.

The upshot is the Cavs are 10-4 but haven't beaten a quality opponent since Arizona two months ago. Stats say they're tops in the ACC in rebounding, but they were outglassed by the smallest Duke entry since the school's president tried to cut the lacrosse team down to size. Singletary has committed five or more turnovers 10 times (he had seven against the Blue Devils). The supporting cast and resistance were lacking.

"They really test a team's defense," Leitao observed, "and they did it to us tonight."

U.Va. came to town with a hangover and in the care of its hanging-judge coach, who responded to the Cavs' 108-70 blowout loss at Xavier 11 days ago by banishing the players from their cushy locker room and confiscating their practice uniforms.

(In related developments, Leitao canceled the team's daily milk-and-cookies break and ordered each player to write on a blackboard 38 times, "I promise to do a complete 180 from my wretched performance in Cincinnati the next time my lovable coach sends me into battle.")

Problem is, Cameron isn't the most desirable setting for a visiting team with designs on impressing the boss and getting well. The Blue Devils entered this matchup 714-168 all-time in the building and 46-8 against U.Va. The Cavs, in fact, hadn't won at Cameron since 1995. They had dropped 11 in a row here since then -- all by double figures.

They're now at an even dozen in that department.

And presumably counting.

Speaking of double figures, that was the gap at intermission -- not a good sign for the boys from C'ville.

Specifically, it was 43-31 after 20 take-the-lead-and-hold-it minutes for a Duke bunch short on inches but long on savvy. The Blue Devils broke the ice with a DeMarcus Nelson drive into the guts of U.Va.'s defense and -- after 6-4 Gerald Henderson blocked 6-8 Mike Scott's try down low -- then scored again when 6-6 David McClure rebounded a missed shot and fed Kyle Singler for a 3-pointer.

This was 1:24 into the proceedings, and Leitao summarily ordered a timeout that threatened Pete Gillen's school record (we're still fact-checking that one). Alas, nothing this side of Calvin Baker could steady the Cavs. Duke's lead grew to 18-6 and 32-17 before a late flurry of swapped baskets reduced the margin slightly.

Baker connected on three of those makes, finished the half with 10 points and was the yin to Singletary's yuck. Playing over the edge with high frequency, the Cavs' all-ACC guard ventured close to a dubious double-double with eight points and those seven turnovers. He settled down some after the break.

Unlike his team.

Which has significant work to do.

 

Cavs blown away again
22-point setback follows 38-point waxing by Xavier
Monday, Jan 14, 2008 - 12:00 AM Updated: 12:35 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

DURHAM, N.C. -- Eighty-four seconds in, University of Virginia coach Dave Leitao called a timeout -- a move of which his predecessor, Pete Gillen, no doubt would have approved.

The strategy paid short-term dividends for the Cavaliers, who scored four straight points to cut No. 9 Duke's lead to 5-4. But the rest of last night's basketball game -- the ACC opener for both teams -- went the way Virginia's trips to Cameron Indoor Stadium usually go.

The Blue Devils romped.

Duke led by 26 with 6 minutes left and coasted to an 87-65 win. The loss was the 12th straight at Cameron for Virginia (0-1, 10-4).

"We lost to a very good team," Leitao said, "and especially in this league, especially on the road, when you allow a good team to play to their strengths, and you don't match it with the strengths you may have, then the outcome is quite obvious."

More unsettling for the Wahoos, perhaps, is that they've been blown out in back-to-back games. Virginia lost by 38 at Xavier on Jan. 3, a defeat that prompted Leitao to take away his players' locker-room privileges.

The Cavaliers spent more than a week working on fundamentals, but they had little show for their labor. The Devils' suffocating man-to-man defense, designed to deny passes on the perimeter, confounded U.Va. from start to finish.

"It really threw us off-balance," Leitao said, "and we didn't react very well."

All-ACC point guard Sean Singletary, hounded by Duke guards DeMarcus Nelson and Nolan Smith, scored 18 points, but he turned the ball over seven times, all in the first half.

"He was pressing, and the defense was good," Leitao said.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had no complaints.

"Singletary, he's Singletary," Coach K said. "He's such a good guard, so you've got constant attention on him. You just hope to hold him to a reasonable number, and 18 was fine. Just so he doesn't go off."

U.Va.'s second-leading scorer, Adrian Joseph, did not get off a shot in the first half. Joseph grabbed a game-high nine rebounds but scored only three points, and the Cavaliers won't beat many opponents when they get that little offensive production from the 6-7 senior forward.

But Virginia's problems extended far beyond Joseph's lack of assertiveness on offense. For the second straight game, Virginia played awful perimeter defense. Xavier torched U.Va. for 16 treys, and Duke (1-0, 13-1) made 11. Six Blue Devils hit at least one 3-pointer, led by Nelson and junior point guard Greg Paulus with three apiece. Duke also edged U.Va. on the backboards, 36-35, and that's an area in which Leitao's team hoped to have an advantage. The Cavaliers came in leading the nation in rebounding margin.

Sophomore guard Calvin Baker converted a three-point play with 11:08 left to cut U.Va.'s deficit to 13. But a 17-4 run by the Blue Devils ensured there'd be no repeat of the last-second drama that marked Virginia's overtime win over Duke in Charlottesville.

Virginia routinely hoists more than 20 shots a game from beyond the arc. Duke's defensive pressure limited the Cavaliers to 14 long-range attempts last night. Only Singletary and Baker, a transfer from William and Mary, were able to consistently penetrate and score.

In his first start, Baker didn't seem the least intimidated by the Cameron Crazies. He finished with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 29 minutes.

U.Va. got solid play off the bench from senior center Ryan Pettinella, who scored a season-high nine points, and sophomore forward Jamil Tucker, who had nine points and five rebounds.

Virginia plays its ACC home opener Wednesday night, when Virginia Tech (1-1, 10-6) visits John Paul Jones Arena for a 7 o'clock game.

 

Bedeviled
Virginia suffers its 12th consecutive loss to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Doug Doughty

DURHAM, N.C. -- Virginia's best strategy at Cameron Indoor Stadium is the one it employed during the 2006-07 season.

Thanks to scheduling changes resulting from ACC expansion, Duke and Virginia did not play in Durham last year for the first time since 1954.

The Cavaliers weren't so fortunate this year.

The ninth-ranked Blue Devils made it 12 straight victories over the Cavaliers at Cameron with an 87-65 triumph Sunday night in the ACC opener for both teams.

Virginia hasn't won in Durham since 1995 and that game subsequently was stricken from the career record of Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who gave way to assistant Pete Gaudet to undergo back surgery early in the season.

The Cavaliers did beat Duke in Charlottesville last year, but Virginia (10-4, 0-1 ACC) was no match for the Blue Devils (13-1, 1-0) on Sunday night.

Duke shot 50.7 percent from the field, including 54.5 percent in the second half, and hounded the Cavaliers into 19 turnovers.

It was the second straight loss for the Cavaliers, who had been idle for 10 days since a 108-70 walloping at Xavier on Jan. 3.

Senior guard Sean Singletary had a team-high 18 points for UVa, but the team's second-leading scorer for the season, forward Adrian Joseph, went scoreless before a three-point play with 5:16 that represented his only points of the night.

"He had a lot to do with it and our offense had a lot to do with it," UVa coach Dave Leitao said. "He and other guys have to give us a lot more."

Singletary had 10 points during a 3:23 span of the second half but did not score in the final 11:54.

"Singletary is Singletary," Krzyzewski said. "We did an OK job on him. It wasn't unbelievable. One of the main things is not putting him on the line."

Singletary finished 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson led all scorers with 20 points, hitting eight of 12 shots from the floor. Sophomore Gerald Henderson finished with 18.

Virginia's 12 consecutive losses at Cameron have come by an average 23.2 points, with the margin never dipping into single digits. Duke was favored by 15 points on Sunday night.

"We lost by 20 points," said Leitao, who had been unhappy with his team's effort in recent games. "Right now, I'm not great at picking out any positives."

Leitao took a page out of the book of his predecessor at Virginia, Pete Gillen, when he called a timeout with 18:36 remaining in the first half.

At that point, Duke had scored on its first two possessions and taken a 5-0 lead. Virginia trimmed that deficit to 5-4, but, before Leitao knew it, the Blue Devils had pulled ahead 21-9.

The Cavaliers got as close as 21-15 before Duke went on another run, stretching its lead to 15 at 32-17. The Blue Devils went into the locker room at halftime ahead 43-31.

Mamadi Diane cut the deficit to 43-33 on a tip-in to start the second half, but the Cavaliers got no closer.

Virginia entered the game ranked first in Division I in rebounding margin, but the Blue Devils had an 18-14 halftime margin on the boards. Duke finished with a 35-34 advantage in that statistical category.

"I think it was a wash," said Krzyzewski, whose team was sixth in the ACC in rebounding. "That's pretty good for us."

The lone bright spot for Virginia in the opening 20 minutes was the play of sophomore Calvin Baker. Baker, making his first start for the Cavaliers, scored 10 points in the final 10:15 before halftime.

Baker was bothered by cramps throughout the second half and left the court on three occasions, the last time when he was helped from the floor by two teammates with 5:16 left.

Singletary and Diane also had cramping issues but played 34 minutes and 32 minutes, respectively.

Three injured Cavaliers were not in uniform -- Laurynas Mikalauskas (shoulder), Tunji Soroye (back) and Sammy Zeglinski (ankle).

 

Cavaliers take it too easy on Duke
Aaron McFarling

DURHAM, N.C. -- All he was doing was bringing the ball up the court, but once Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson realized what he was facing, he quickly changed plans.

What he was facing was a guy who wasn't ready to defend.

Virginia's Calvin Baker -- who had suffered cramping in his lower legs earlier in the second half -- had no chance. Nelson blew right past him down the right sideline and scored on the reverse layup, providing another humbling moment for the Cavaliers.

Too easy.

That's what should concern the Cavaliers after their 87-65 loss to Duke in their ACC opener Sunday night.

It's not that they lost. The vast majority of visiting teams lose here at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and over the years, UVa has been no exception.

But it was how it happened.

The Blue Devils mauled them on offensive rebounds early, sliced through multiple defenders for easy layups, shot jumper after jumper without a hand in their faces.

Too easy.

More than anything, this tiny, noisy stadium tests your mental toughness. And outside of point guard Sean Singletary, the Cavaliers have yet to prove they have a lot of it.

They had four days to stew after coach Dave Leitao ripped them for a weak effort in a home victory over Hartford. They responded by playing their worst game of the year and lost by 38 at Xavier.

They had 10 days to recover from that one, and Leitao used a variety of motivational tactics to try to inspire the players for the conference opener. He restricted locker-room privileges. He drilled in the virtues of defense, the facet of the game that has always mattered most to him. He preached "getting back to basics."

And this was all they could muster? Trailing 18-6 before the second media timeout? Allowing the Blue Devils to shoot 54.5 percent in the second half?

Too easy.

The one positive UVa can take away from this one is the offensive play of Baker, the sophomore transfer from William and Mary. With Singletary struggling to find any room to work in the first half, Baker created some for himself, driving to the basket with slick moves and pulling up for short, soft jump shots.

Through the previous 13 games, Baker had already established himself as a valuable contributor, scoring in double figures six times. The fact that he scored 10 points in the first half Sunday -- finishing with 13, despite fighting cramps -- showed that he can handle himself against the elite.

This team is still searching for an offensive identity, and if last season was any indication, the search could take a while. But the one thing last year's team consistently brought, and the thing this one has no excuse not to bring, is defense. The Cavs entered the night as the nation's leader in rebounding margin -- one of the key indicators of good defense -- but they got outworked.

Jon Scheyer should not be able to cut right down the middle of the lane and score with no resistance, as he did late in the first half. Nolan Smith shouldn't be able to hold a stilt between himself and the closest defender after taking a kick-out pass and hitting an open 3-pointer, as he could have midway through the second half. Scheyer shouldn't be able to dribble through three defenders and drop in a layup ...

You get the point. Too easy.

"You can't put it on X's and O's," Singletary said. "You've just got to put it in the heart and intensity category. We didn't play hard enough, and that's why we lost."

UVa's next game is Wednesday against Virginia Tech. It's the first of two home games the Cavaliers absolutely must get before they go on the road for six of their next nine, all inside the conference.

They can't let it be this easy, or the road to the NCAA tournament will be too difficult to travel.
 

Simply put, U.Va.'s 'D' is dreadful
David Teel
11:22 PM EST, January 13, 2008
DURHAM, N.C.
 

The benevolent ACC schedule-maker spared Virginia its annual basketball beating at Duke last season. No such luck for the Cavaliers this year.

Make it 12 consecutive defeats, and counting, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Average margin 23 points. All by double-figures and darn few flattering of the Cavaliers.

Sunday certainly was not.

The final was 87-65 in the ACC opener for both. Virginia never led, trailed by 12 after five-plus minutes and did not draw closer than 10 in the second half.

Most troubling were the Cavaliers' defense and rebounding, elements coach Dave Leitao is determined to make his program's cornerstones. Both were glaringly weak, a combination that Leitao said "made the outcome quite obvious."

The contrast between this Duke offense and any other you've seen recently is jarring. The ninth-ranked and undersized Blue Devils disdain the low post completely, spread the floor and attempt to spin defenses dizzy with whipsaw penetration and passing.

The Cavaliers (10-4) were easy marks. They allowed wide-open 3-pointers by the handful, failed to get back in transition and fell prey to back cuts. Virginia couldn't even guard inbound plays. Several times merely one Duke pass yielded an open jumper or layup.

"It's aggression," Leitao said, meaning lack thereof.

Early in the second half, as Leitao turned his back to the action to scold forward Mike Scott on the bench, Blue Devils guard Nolan Smith threw a short inbound lob to DeMarcus Nelson (game-high 20 points) at the rim, an uncontested shot that would have frosted Leitao further had he witnessed it.

Make no mistake, the breakdown will not escape Leitao's eye when he reviews the tape.

None of Virginia's first 12 opponents shot 50 percent or better. The last two, Xavier and Duke, did.

The 108-70 pounding at Xavier simmered for 10 days as Leitao lit into his team in preparation for Duke. The Cavaliers did not respond, and less than 90 seconds after tipoff Leitao burned his first timeout.

Virginia entered the game No. 1 nationally in rebounding margin at plus-12.4. Sunday the Blue Devils won the boards 35-34.

Not that Virginia's offense approached competent.

All-ACC point guard Sean Singletary committed seven turnovers, all in the first half, the 10th time this season he's had five or more. Forward Adrian Joseph, the team's No. 2 scorer, didn't scratch from the field until 5:16 remained in the game.

Joseph "and other guys, they've got to give us a lot more so we don't have to rely on them making shots," Leitao said.

The Cavaliers should thank Calvin Baker for sparing them further humility. As a William and Mary freshman two seasons ago, Baker never encountered an atmosphere as hostile as Cameron (apologies to Trask Coliseum) but unlike his teammates Sunday, he wasn't fazed.

Starting for the first time as a Cavalier, this Woodside High graduate contributed 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal, with only two turnovers.

Most important, Baker was aggressive, attacking Duke's overplay, man-to-man defense with the dribble and pass.

The Blue Devils (13-1) have top-20 victories over Marquette and Wisconsin (they want no part of Brett Favre and the Packers at Lambeau, though), and their only defeat was a 1-pointer to Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden. Duke ranks ninth nationally in scoring at 85 points a game, worlds better than last season's 70.4, the program's lowest output since 1981-82.

Moreover, Duke is the ACC's most balanced team. Six players average between nine and 14 points, and a seventh, freshman Smith, brings much-needed quickness to the backcourt.

"We didn't have one guy who didn't play hard and pretty well," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

That said, Duke does not appear ready to stop the ACC freight train that is undefeated and top-ranked North Carolina. Nor does anyone else in the conference for that matter.

God will punish me for typing "RPI" this early in the season, but the truth is, Virginia faces a daunting path to a second consecutive NCAA tournament bid.

Entering Sunday, the Cavaliers were No. 70 in the Rating Percentage Index published by collegerpi.com., far too low for NCAA consideration.

Leapfrogging 20 or so places figures to require at least an 8-8 ACC finish and exponential improvement.

 

ACC play energizes Devils
Playing with confidence and defensive intensity, Duke rolls past Virginia in its ACC opener
Luciana Chavez, Staff Writer

Finally getting a taste of ACC play appeared to do wonders for Duke's energy on defense and its confidence on offense against visiting Virginia on Sunday.
Good thing, because the Blue Devils can't be successful unless they combine both things every night out.

The ninth-ranked Blue Devils successfully and efficiently turned defense into offense and gave All-ACC guard Sean Singletary no more than he earned while beating the Cavaliers 87-65 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I thought there was not one guy who did not play hard and pretty well," Duke coach Mike Krzyzeweski said. "That's the first time that's happened. It's a good way to start the ACC."

Duke guards DeMarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson led the Blue Devils (13-1, 1-0 ACC) with 20 and 18 points, respectively.

Nelson dropped 3s, finished strong drives, and victimized the Cavs on an alley-oop dunk off an out-of-bounds play

Henderson, after shooting poorly at Temple on Wednesday, hit mid-range jumpers and grabbed air for great-looking scores, like a finger-roll on a baseline drive early in the second half.

Asked to explain how Duke could exploit the Cavaliers so, Virginia coach Dave Leitao said, "It's aggression."

Duke led 43-31 at halftime, scoring nine points on 12 Virginia turnovers. But the Blue Devils haven't done a whole lot with halftime leads of any size this season.

"That's one of the things we've been trying to work on, building leads," said junior guard Greg Paulus, who dished four assists with three steals. "We've had sluggish starts [after halftime] so we were trying to push and keep building."

The Devils' energy didn't wane. Like when junior David McClure reached out to tip an offensive board to freshman Kyle Singler, who would finish with 13 points, six boards and several floor burns, for a basket that gave Duke a 14-point second-half lead.

Or when Duke played zone on one possession a few minutes later, the Devils tipped away a Virginia pass, and freshman guard Nolan Smith scored on the other end to make it 55-38 Duke.

Singletary showed the most wear from Duke's onslaught.

He had just hit a 3-pointer to cut Duke's lead to 14 with 15:13 left in the game when Duke freshman Taylor King answered with his own 3 just seven seconds later.

Leitao called a timeout and Singletary, head down and shoulders slumped, walked slowly back to the Virginia bench. It was a different reaction than the one he had after hitting the game-winner to beat Duke in overtime in Charlottesville last season.

Virginia (10-4, 0-1) had won four straight against AP-ranked teams dating back to last season -- that victory over Duke -- but needed more than Singletary to beat the No. 9 Devils.

Singletary faced first Nelson then Smith, quick but taller players who chased him all over the court. Singletary turned the ball over seven times by halftime.

"He was pressing and the defense was good," Leitao said.

Cavaliers guard Calvin Baker, making his first start, provided the additional firepower Virginia needed in the first half while Singletary tried to get comfortable. Baker, driving the ball and pushing the ball while scoring 10 first-half points. He finished with 13.

But both Baker and Singletary cramped up in the second half playing in a full gym with fans eager for a real ACC game.

Duke also regained some of its shooting touch in the first half when Paulus made three of the Duke's eight first-half 3s.

The other good news on Sunday was that the Devils got sophomore forward Lance Thomas back from an illness in time to play. They also escaped further bad news -- energy can be dangerous, too -- when Singler both returned to the game after nearly knocking themselves out it.

Singler now has four stitches below his right eye after getting poked going for a rebound.

After picking Singletary's pocket in the second half, Smith chased after the ball, tripped on his size 15 feet and hit his mouth on the scorer's table.

He returned minutes later with a chipped lower front tooth.

In his postgame comments, Smith didn't relinquish the energy and attitude the Devils showed in their ACC opener. Smith said there was no way he wasn't going to chase that ball.

"I've been waiting for matchups like this since I came to Duke," Smith said. "All the great point guards they have in the ACC. I was going to attack. I wanted to get a steal off [Singletary] so bad."

 

Duke makes UVa go away
Blue Devils race to early lead against team that beat them last season
KEN TYSIAC
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com

DURHAM --In the fifth minute of the second half Sunday night, the students at Cameron Indoor Stadium recognized it was over.

Taylor King sank a 3-pointer, and Virginia coach Dave Leitao called timeout to chide Mamadi Diane for leaving King open to extend ninth-ranked Duke's lead to 17 points in what became an 87-65 win.

The Cameron fans used King's initials and the boxing term for a technical knockout to describe what was happening in both teams' ACC opener.

"TKO, TKO," they shouted.

Duke's defense against Sean Singletary, Virginia's senior All-ACC point guard, was largely responsible for the knockout. Singletary scored a team-high 18 points, but committed seven first-half turnovers as the Blue Devils bolted to a 43-31 halftime lead.

Singletary broke the Blue Devils' hearts last season with an acrobatic drive for a winning overtime layup in Charlottesville, Va., that sent Duke into a four-game tailspin. Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson and freshman Nolan Smith were charged with stopping Singletary from penetrating, knowing they wouldn't get much help on the drive.

Wings Diane and Adrian Joseph are dangerous enough for Virginia (10-4) on 3-point kickout passes from Singletary that Duke's defenders were instructed not to leave them at any time.

"We tried to just make (Singletary) take tough shots, contest shots and keep him off the foul line," Nelson said.

While Joseph was held to three points and Diane shot 3-for-12 from the field, Duke wings Nelson (20 points) and Gerald Henderson (18) combined to make 15 of their 24 field-goal attempts.

Duke (13-1) made 11 3-pointers, including eight in the first half, and forced 19 turnovers. With the Blue Devils comfortably ahead in the closing minutes, Singletary had a friendly conversation with Duke freshman Smith.

Singletary said Duke has a great team and warned that he is looking forward to seeing the Blue Devils again (March 5 at Virginia).

"You just hope to hold him to a reasonable number, and 18 is fine," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "That kid can play."

At an important time, the Blue Devils proved they can play, too. Since a loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 20 and a subsequent 16-day holiday break, Duke had struggled.

In double-digit wins against Cornell and Temple, the Blue Devils weren't as dominating as they'd been early in the season against opponents like Illinois and Wisconsin.

With a visit to Florida State on Wednesday and a home game against talented Clemson on Saturday, Duke picked a good time to regain its swagger and shut down a team and a player who hurt the Blue Devils in the past.

"We did a pretty good job overall," said Duke guard Jon Scheyer. "We were fortunate (Singletary) missed some shots, but it was a pretty good defensive job."

 

Way out of reach: Duke jumps out early over Virginia
By Andy Bitter
abitter@newsadvance.com
January 14, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. - The last time Virginia got blown out on the road, it had its locker room privileges revoked upon arriving back home to the John Paul Jones Arena.
After an 87-65 thumping at the hands of No. 9 Duke in its ACC season opener on Sunday night, there's no telling if another ban is in the works.

It was the Blue Devils' 12th straight win against Virginia (10-3, 0-1 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a streak dating back to 1995. Each of those wins has been by double digits.

"We lost to a very good team," UVa coach Dave Leitao said. "And usually is the case, especially in this league and especially on the road, when you allow a good team to play to their strengths and you don't match it with the strengths you may have, then the outcome is quite obvious."

Entering the game, Virginia and Duke (13-1, 1-0 ACC) ranked 1 and 2 in the ACC at 3-point shooting. Only one team looked the part Sunday.

Like Xavier, which sank 16 3-pointers in a 38-point rout of UVa on Jan. 3, Duke fired at will from long range, making 11. DeMarcus Nelson, who led all scorers with 20 points, and Greg Paulus (9 points) made with three apiece.

Three-point shooting, normally Virginia's strong suit (the Cavaliers were making 9.69 a game entering Sunday), was one of many offensive shortcomings on the night.

Duke's long, athletic defenders - Nelson and Gerald Henderson, a pair of 6-foot-4 guards - repeatedly denied passes to the wings. Virginia never adjusted. The Cavaliers had season lows in 3-pointers made (4) and attempted (14).

The Blue Devils finished with 12 steals and forced UVa into 19 turnovers, two shy of a season high.

"It's real hard to simulate," UVa guard Calvin Baker said of Duke's aggressive defense. "It's real hard to adjust to. ? We depend on 3-point

shooting."

UVa never got closer than 10 in the second half, trailing by as many as 26 at one point.

Duke struck a balance on offense. Four players reached double figures, with Henderson (18 points), Kyle Singer (13) and Jon Scheyer (12) joining Nelson.

Whereas the Blue Devils had a seemingly endless supply of players who could penetrate and kick out for open 3s, Virginia had just two - Sean Singletary and Baker.

Singletary's 18-point night was offset by his seven turnovers, all in the first half.

"You just hope to hold him to a reasonable number," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And 18 was fine."

Baker, who made his first start of the season in place of freshman Jeff Jones, kept the Cavaliers afloat, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the first half before being hampered by cramps in the second.

The rest of Virginia's roster didn't supply any help. Adrian Joseph, UVa's second leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, didn't get on the board until there was 5:15 left in the game. He finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting.

Mamadi Diane scored 11 points but did it on 3 of 12 shooting. He was 1-for-5 from long range.

"If you're a scorer and you're not getting shots, there are a number of different ways that the game gives you that you can contribute," Leitao said. "And again, (Adrian) and the other guys can give us a lot more so we don't have to rely on their ability to make shots every night."

Virginia's problems went far beyond its offense. The Cavaliers, who entered the game with the nation's best rebounding margin at +12.4, were out-rebounded 35-34.

"They came out and imposed their will on us," Singletary said. "You've got to put it in the heart and intensity category. We didn't play hard enough. That's why we lost."

 

London to interview at Richmond
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 14, 2008

Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London will interview today at the University of Richmond to become its head coach, multiple sources confirmed.

London, 47, a graduate of Richmond, is one of the leading candidates to fill the post vacated by Dave Clawson, who resigned Friday to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee.

Other candidates include South Florida offensive coordinator Greg Gregory and University of Richmond defensive coordinator Russ Huesman.

London, a former assistant at Richmond,
Under London’s direction, Virginia ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense.