Former UMBC Player Was Asked Not to Join Duke Student Section at Virginia Game
Former UMBC point guard K.J. Maura will not join Duke's student section for Saturday's matchup against Virginia, according toThe Duke Chronicle's Hank Tucker.
Maura was a member of the 2017-18 UMBC squad that reached the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed and upset the No. 1 seed Cavaliers last March. It marked the first time in tournament history that a 16 seed defeated a No. 1.
Per Tucker, Head Line Monitors Steve Hassey and Peter Potash explained via Facebook that the reasoning Maura won't join the Cameron Crazies on Saturday was at the request of UMBC head coach Ryan Odom.
"UMBC’s coach got wind of his arrival, and he wants their squad to move on from the greatest NCAA tournament upset of all time," Hassey and Potash said. "Ultimately, he called Coach K multiple times, and [Mike Krzyzewski] had to request that KJ not be in attendance."
After making history last season, the Retrievers are currently 9–9.
The No. 1 Blue Devils are coming off a 95–91 overtime loss to Syracuse, which marked their second defeat of the season. Duke will be without starting point guard Tre Jones, who suffered a separated AC joint during the defeat. The Blue Devils are expected to have star Cam Reddish back in the lineup after he missed the game due to illness.
Virginia enters the matchup undefeated and ranked No. 4 in the nation. Tip from Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
