Virginia Basketball vs. Duke Game Preview | ACC Tournament Championship

Virginia and Duke have had a storied and competitive basketball rivalry that has intensified over the last ten years, but this will be only the second time that the Cavaliers and Blue Devils have ever met in the ACC Tournament Championship Game. In a rematch of a highly-competitive and controversial regular season matchup back in early February, Virginia and Duke will battle on Saturday night in Greensboro Coliseum until one team is left standing to be crowned as the 2023 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Champions.

Read on for a full preview of the ACC Tournament Championship Game between No. 2 Virginia and No. 4 seed Duke, including details on the game, an opponent scouting report, game notes, and what's at stake.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (25-6) vs. Duke Blue Devils (25-8)

When: Saturday, March 11th at 8:30pm ET

Where: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina

How to watch: ESPN

How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

How to listen: SiriusXM 80, SXM App 80 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates

All-time series: Duke leads 123-54

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Duke 69-62 in overtime on February 11th in Charlottesville

Opponent Scouting Report: Duke

2022-2023: 25-8

It will be quite impossible to avoid the storyline of Duke seeking revenge for what the Blue Devils still evidently feel was a robbery in Virginia's 69-62 overtime win over Duke back in Charlottesville on February 11th. There are seemingly endless takes on the end of that game: Reece Beekman did or didn't foul Kyle Filipowski, Ryan Dunn did or didn't foul Kyle Filipowski, Duke did or didn't commit an uncalled five-second violation, or the Blue Devils simply didn't show up in overtime when the game still could've been won. No matter your stance, one thing is clear: the Blue Devils are still upset about how that game ended and they have decided to take it out on the rest of the ACC.

Since losing at Virginia exactly one month ago, Duke has rattled off eight-straight wins by an average margin of nearly 12 points. The Blue Devils completed the season-sweep over archrival North Carolina with a win in Chapel Hill, crushed Pittsburgh by 27 points in the ACC quarterfinals, and outlasted the top-seeded Miami Hurricanes 85-78 in the semis on Friday night. Duke has looked really, really good and has an argument as one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball.

The greatest impact Jon Scheyer has had on Duke basketball in his first year as the head coach has been the team's significant defensive improvements. The Blue Devils have developed into one of the best defenses in the country and they've only gotten better as the season has gone on. As usual, Duke has a bunch of long, tall, fast, and strong athletes and Scheyer has set them up to succeed with a good system too. Miami managed to score at a high level against Duke in the semis, but the Hurricanes didn't exactly give a blueprint for beating the Duke defense, as they simply made a lot of tough, contested shots that are difficult to replicate or hit consistently.

It was Duke's offensive execution - five players in double figures, shooting 54.9% from the floor and 50.0% from downtown - that allowed the Blue Devils to take down the Hurricanes on Friday night. Duke is shooting 19/42 (45.2%) from three-point range in the ACC Tournament. UVA gave Clemson some clean looks from three and the Hoos were fortunate that the Tigers just couldn't knock them down on Friday. Virginia likely won't be able to get away with that against Duke.

Kyle Filipowski became the latest in a long line of Duke freshman to win ACC Rookie of the Year, running away with 68 of the 75 votes. The 7'0" center is averaging 15.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, shooting 44.5% from the floor, and has shown a capacity for hitting the open three when it presents itself. Filipowski had 17 points and 11 rebounds and shot 8/9 from the floor in Duke's win over Miami. When he gets going downhill, Filipowski is difficult to stop with his size and strength and savvy footwork. Filipowski laid an egg in the game against Virginia, scoring zero points on 0/6 shooting. Lots of Duke's players will want revenge on Virginia in this game, but there's no question of who will want it the most.

6'1" junior guard Jeremy Roach is the veteran of the group, as this is his third season in the program. Roach averages 13.0 points and 3.2 assists per game. He had 16 points in the regular season game at UVA and had 13 points in the semifinal win over Miami, including a dagger three-pointer that put the game away. Expect Jeremy Roach vs. Kihei Clark to be a pivotal matchup to watch in this game.

Joining Roach in the back court is Tyrese Proctor, a 6'5" freshman averaging 9.4 points per game. Proctor has the same assist numbers as Roach, but turns the ball over less, showing impressive poise and decision-making skills for a true freshman. Both Roach and Proctor had solid games against Virginia, something that not many guards in the ACC can usually say after being guarded by Reece Beekman and Kihei Clark. Proctor scored 14 points and added four assists and four rebounds against UVA.

6'8" freshman forward Mark Mitchell averages 9.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and shoots the three at a 37.3% clip, albeit on fewer attempts, but he can hurt opposing defenses if they leave him open. Mitchell has scored in double figures in six-consecutive games, including a 14-point outing against Miami. He was held to just three points in the loss at Virginia.

Rounding out the expected starting five is Dereck Lively II, a bouncy and athletic 7'1" center. Lively II is averaging 5.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and had just two points in the loss at Virginia, but has played better since then, scoring in double figures in three games, including a 13-point performance in the quarterfinal win over Pitt.

6'7" freshman wing Dariq Whitehead comes off the bench as the team's most reliable three-point shooter at 42.0%. He is especially dangerous on catch-and-shoot threes from the corner and averages 8.3 points per game. Whitehead hit two of his three three-point attempts and scored 16 in the win over Miami on Friday.

Northwestern transfer Ryan Young fills the role of a traditional backup center, averaging 6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game off the bench. Young is good in the low post with a nice touch on his hook shot and is shooting a team-high 68.0% from the floor. It will be interesting to see if the Cavaliers choose to double-team Young down low when he is on the floor, or if they will let Francisco Caffaro or Kadin Shedrick play him straight up.

Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison is playing for his third different team and is wrapping up his sixth year of college basketball. The 6'6" guard shoots 33.3% from three, but he can get hot at any time. Grandison knocked down three threes in the game at Virginia, including the game-tying shot to send it to overtime. He had 11 points in that game, one of just three double-digit scoring outings Grandison has had in ACC play. Grandison played only three minutes in the Miami game, so he'll be fresh for the title game if Duke decides to use him.

Rounding out the bench unit is 6'2" freshman guard Jaylen Blakes, whose minutes and performance have both been wildly inconsistent this season. The Blue Devils will likely rely on their starting backcourt of Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor as much as they can.

Game Notes

Duke holds a 123-54 advantage against Virginia in the all-time series dating back to 1910-1911.
Virginia and Duke have split the last six games 3-3.
Duke is 15-4 against Virginia in ACC Tournament games, but UVA won the only prior meeting between the two teams in the ACC Championship Game, defeating Duke to claim the 2014 ACC Tournament title.
UVA and Duke have played eight times in Greensboro, with the Blue Devils winning six of those meetings.
Virginia is 3-6 all-time in the ACC Championship Game, winning the ACC Tournament title in 1976, 2014, and 2018.
UVA is 2-1 in ACC title games under Tony Bennett.
UVA is making its 10th appearance in the ACC Championship Game, fourth under Tony Bennett, and first since 2018.
Virginia is 15-9 in the ACC Tournament under Tony Bennett.
UVA is the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament for the fifth time in program history and for the second time in the Tony Bennett era.
Virginia holds a 46-64 all-time record at the ACC Tournament, including a 20-24 record in Greensboro.

What's at Stake

Duke

Duke is seeking its 22nd ACC Tournament Championship, most all-time, and first since 2019. The Blue Devils are in the ACC Championship Game for the 35th time, tying North Carolina for most title game appearances all-time.

Duke is on an eight-game winning streak and has moved up to a No. 5 seed in Joe Lunardi's ESPN Bracketology. The Blue Devils are now ranked No. 17 in the NET after defeating Miami in the semifinals on Friday and there's a chance they could sneak onto the 4 seed line with a win over UVA.

Virginia

Virginia is seeking its fourth ACC Tournament Championship, third of the Tony Bennett era, and first since 2018. UVA is making its 10th appearance in the ACC Championship Game.

Virginia moved up six spots in the NET rankings to No. 23 after beating Clemson in the semifinals. Joe Lunardi still has UVA as a No. 4 seed in his latest Bracketology, but the Cavaliers maintain a slim chance of moving up to the 3 seed line if they can beat the Blue Devils (NET No. 17) in the title game on Saturday night.

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