Duke Loses to Virginia: What Happened? What's Next

What happened?

Duke lost for the third time in four games, with all three losses coming to unranked teams on the road. The latest was a 52-50 loss at Virginia. The game was tied at the half, and Duke went on to lead by seven in the second half before UVA rallied. Tre Jones missed a potential game-winning buzzer beater.

Is it bad?

Losing three in four is never good, but it’s not rare, or fatal, by any means. Last year’s Duke team was the first one in the last four that didn’t have a streak like that. The 2016-17 Blue Devils had two 1-3 stretches, including one to close the regular season. They went on to win the ACC Tournament.

What’s next?

Duke has two winnable but challenging home games to close out the regular season. The Blue Devils play NC State in a rematch of the Wolfpack’s 88-66 beat-down in Raleigh less than two weeks ago. Then the Tar Heels come to town for a rematch of their heartbreaking overtime loss to Duke in the Dean Dome.

On paper, Duke should win both. The Blue Devils have a better record than both, and psychology seems like it would be in their favor. State played an all-around masterful game from buzzer to buzzer and got energy from a wild PNC Arena crowd. The crowd will be just as strongly in Duke’s favor this time, and the Blue Devils will be out for revenge for the humiliating loss. Carolina is in last place in the ACC, although on a two-game winning streak. The Tar Heels played one of their best games of the season against Duke and fell short. It would make sense that they don’t reach that level again.

Of course, on paper, Duke was heavily favored against State and Wake Forest, and the Blue Devils lost both to put themselves in this situation.