Duke at Virginia Basketball Preview
By Josh Burton
Winners of three straight, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team now sits at 13-12 (6-8) and looks to keep the momentum rolling as they head home for a quick turnaround. The Hoos will host the #3 Duke Blue Devils Monday night. This one is scheduled for a 8 pm tip and will air on ESPN.
About Duke
The Duke Blue Devils are led by head coach Jon Scheyer, in his third season. Scheyer has a career record of 74-20, with Duke sitting at 22-3 this season and leading the ACC at 14-1. Duke is coming off back to back home wins against California and Stanford, those coming after they had suffered their first ACC loss at Clemson on February 8th.
Duke is a statistical juggernaut this season and has recently been on an extreme offensive tear. They generally go nine deep and start out:
G - #14 Sion James (6’6” Covid Senior, Tulane transfer, averages 8.2 points 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists)
G - #5 Tyrese Proctor (6’6” Junior, averages 12.2 points on 41.2% three-point shooting)
G - #7 Kon Knueppel (6’7” Freshman, averages 13 points)
G - #2 Cooper Flagg (6’9” Freshman, averages 19.8 points 7.5 rebounds and 4 assists)
C - #9 Khaman Maluach (7’2” Freshman, averages 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game)
Everything for Duke starts with National Player of the Year favorite and projected #1 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg. Flagg blends high level guard skills into a forwards frame while also being a very efficient scorer. Attempting to match up with him will be crucial in the Hoos game plan.
Fans probably also recognize the Knueppel name. Kon was a top priority recruit for Tony Bennett before ultimately deciding to go to Duke instead.
iMac Attack
Virginia guard Isaac McKneely has been on an absolute tear lately. The third-year guard has scored 19 or more in 4 of the last 5 contests and has been aggressively hunting his shot from all over the court. To put it simply, the Hoos are at their best when their star is shining. Duke will undoubtedly lean into their length and athleticism to try and cool him down. But when Isaac is playing as aggressively as he’s been lately, he’s one of the toughest covers in the entire country.
ARob's Rise
Redshirt-freshman forward Anthony Robinson has continued his ascension up the UVA rotation. He's played 15 or more minutes in each of the last four games, culminating in his breakout performance over the weekend in the 73-70 victory at Virginia Tech. It was career highs across the board as Robinson played 18 minutes and finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds. His aggressive style also found him taking a career-high 8 free throws, connecting on 7.
I personally believe this matchup presents a good opportunity to make a starting lineup change. Anthony’s physicality and aggressiveness will be needed if the Hoos want to stay in the contest. I would like to see Robinson inserted into the starting lineup tomorrow night to match up with Maluach while Blake Buchanan starts out on Cooper Flagg.
This could also be a good chance for forward Elijah Saunders to return to the starting lineup. Saunders has been slowly working his way back after missing three games due to injury and his perimeter defense may prove useful against Flagg. There are multiple different strategies Sanchez and company could deploy. It’ll be interesting to see how they approach this unique matchup.
Tobacco Road
Next up after Duke will be a trip down to UNC next Saturday. That one will tip at 4 on ESPN. Be sure to catch the Locker Room Access pregame show, as always 30 minutes before tip.
(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)