Virginia vs. Duke Final Score Prediction for Saturday, Mar. 2
By Cem Yolbulan
As expected, Duke took care of business at home against Louisville to keep their ACC regular season championship hopes alive. Duke has now won five straight at home and are 10-2 in their last twelve games.
However, they have a tougher challenge on Saturday. Virginia Cavaliers have been a tough opponent to beat all season, as usual, and that should continue to be the case for the Blue Devils.
Virginia vs. Duke Prediction & Preview
Fortunately for Duke, Virginia has not looked convincing in their recent stretch of games. In their last five games, the Cavaliers have lost three by double digits while winning the other two by a total of six points. Their offense continues to struggle as they failed to hit 50 points in three of their last four games.
Under head coach Tony Bennett, Virginia is a master of turning games into rock fights. They slow things down, never turn the ball over, and wait until they find the perfect shot on offense. On defense, they rarely make any mistakes or give up easy points.
That is what makes this matchup so fascinating. It is a battle between the unstoppable force that is the Duke offense versus the immovable object that is the Virginia defense. Both units rank in the top 10 in KenPom College Basketball Ratings.
At the end of the day, Duke has too much talent to lose to Virginia at home. Between Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain, and Jeremy Roach, there is just too much firepower on Duke. McCain and Roach, as well as Caleb Foster are all 40+ percent three-point shooters, and that will be difficult to slow down for Virginia.
Virginia just doesn't have the scoring punch to keep up with the Blue Devils. In a tight, low-scoring game, Duke should come out on top.
My final score prediction: Virginia 57 - Duke 63
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