V irginia's main concern coming into this game was quite simple: they needed to get off to a good start. So far in conference play the Cavaliers have made it an unfortunate habit to dig themselves into holes before deciding to play up to their true potential.
Fortunately, the Cavaliers reversed their sluggish starting trend by playing Duke to a 42-42 tie by halftime. Unfortunately, Duke proved it's the No. 1 team in the nation and their killer instinct sent Virginia into a second-half tailspin.
Virginia's four freshmen showed no signs of Cameron-jitters in their first game at Duke. In fact, they were quite cocky, aggressively taking on the Blue Devils and proving that they read my previous column on coach Gillen's freshest crop.
The cockiness of Keith Jenifer drew a rise out of Duke point guard Jason Williams. After a Cavalier score, Jenifer gave Williams a smart-ass smile and clapped in his face. At this point Williams blew by Jenifer and slammed it home with authority, leaving Jenifer 25 feet behind him in his dust. Sending the message loud and clear: "You're just a little freshman and I'm Jason Williams." But Jenifer had the upper hand in assist-to-turnover ratio with four assists and no turnovers. Quite a feat for his first time in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Eleven first-half points by freshman Jason Clark helped the Cavaliers keep pace with the Blue Devils, despite several Virginia players being benched with foul troubles.
For a game in Cameroon Indoor, most Cavalier fans would take a Virginia-Duke tie in a heartbeat. But Duke has shown that they can take a punch and still counter with a knockout blow.
Last week against Maryland and then Wake Forest, Duke showed the ability to take the opponent's best shot and turn around to blow them out in the second half.
Knowing Duke, you knew that Coach K was ripping into his players at halftime, and you knew that Duke would respond with fire in the second half.
Indeed, Duke shot a blistering 67.9 percent from the field in the second half. While the rim was as big as an ocean for Duke, for the Cavaliers it was a drop of water. Virginia somehow couldn't keep up with Duke as they were outscored 52-39 in the second half.
"Virginia made us look really bad in the first half," Duke coach Mike Kryzewski said. "I thought our kids responded really well in the second half. We started attacking in the full court."
"I though we got a little flustered in the second half," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We took a couple of bad shots and made some mistakes and they capitalized."
Capitalize they did. As soon as Duke smells blood, they go in for the kill. They pounced on Virginia with their attacks to the rim and aggressive transition game.
A game like this leaves many wondering what could have been. Virginia came into Cameron and played Duke to a 42-42 first-half standstill, primarily riding the performance of its freshmen. With foul trouble limiting the minutes of three Cavalier starters and Roger Mason, Jr. shooting a horrible 4-14 from the field, Virginia was lucky to be tied at the half.
Wondering what could have been if Virginia's starters were able to turn it around is fleeting. Keep in mind, this is Duke, and they sure as hell know how to play a second half.
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