Duke Basketball: 3 keys to beating Virginia and staying alive for ACC title

There isn’t a power conference that has had more surprises than the ACC, which currently has a three-way tie for first place in the standings. One of them is Virginia, ranked No. 8 in the country and the best bet in the conference to get a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. Oddly enough, the two other teams are not either North Carolina or Duke Basketball, the preseason favorites.

Unlike the Tar Heels, who have been reeling as of late, the Blue Devils are in a solid position overall. They’re 17-7 overall and 8-5 in league play, just two games out of first place. Unfortunately, they had a chance to move up the standings earlier in the week but suffered a blowout loss to Miami on Monday.

The final score was 81-59, with the team shooting just 41% from the field overall. Bigs Ryan Young and Dereck Lively had 11 points to lead the way but as a team, they struggled on both ends. They now need to avoid an 0-2 week and are at home against Virginia (18-4, 10-3 ACC), who is coming off a 63-50 win over No. 22 NC State, led by 18 points and five rebounds from Jayden Gardner, with Reece Beekman chipping in with 15.

This is the lone matchup between Duke Basketball and Virginia in the regular season and a win by the Cavaliers could put them in a commanding position to win the ACC regular-season title. For the Blue Devils, this is an opportunity to stay in the hunt and move up the standings themselves.

It’s the top game in the ACC this weekend. Here are some keys for the home team to pull out the win.