Inconsistency has plagued the Virginia men's basketball team all season. The Cavaliers will get a chance to continue their unpredictable streak of highs and lows when they host perennial powerhouse Duke at University Hall in a nationally-televised game on ESPN at 7 p.m.
No. 12 Virginia (16-6, 5-6 ACC), after being handed back-to-back road losses to N.C. State on Feb. 7 and Georgia Tech on Feb. 11, will have a crucial opportunity to redeem itself, especially its 42-point setback by No. 3 Duke (22-2, 10-1) on Jan. 13.
"We have to bounce back from the two losses against Duke," guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "But it's easier said than done. It's going to be a monster of a game for us."
It's a big game in more than one way. Not only do the Cavs have to regain former confidence, but after falling to a tie for fifth in the ACC, Virginia has reached a point in the season where every game is a must-win.
"We're down, we're frustrated," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We played really hard and still came up empty. This league is brutal, and it happens to everybody. We've lost two in a row, and now we're facing the shotgun of an unbelievable team."
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With 22 wins and its only losses coming to Stanford and North Carolina by a combined three points, Duke looks very intimidating.
One could easily say the Cavaliers were uneasy when they entered a hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium in January to play the then-No. 2 team in the country. Virginia's lack of confidence and emotion was evident as Duke put the game away by halftime, and went on to win the lopsided game, 103-61.
The Cavaliers suffered a complete collapse on offense and sank only 27 percent of their shots. On defense, Virginia was just as bad. It allowed the Blue Devils to hit the century mark for the sixth consecutive time in the teams' history.
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