The Virginia Cavaliers (25-6, 17-5 ACC) face off against the Duke Blue Devils (25-8, 16-6 ACC) Saturday at Greensboro Coliseum in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tourney Championship. Duke defeated the Miami (FL) Hurricanes 85-78 at Greensboro Coliseum yesterday in the semifinals, their eighth straight win.
Kyle Filipowski was the key player with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. Virginia won their fourth in a row in dominating fashion in the semifinals yesterday at Greensboro Coliseum, beating the Clemson Tigers 76-56. Jayden Gardner had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the team.
Virginia earned the win in the only meeting against Duke this season 69-62 in overtime at John Paul Jones Arena on February 11. Armaan Franklin led the Cavaliers with 23 points.
Jeremy Roach had 16 points in the loss.Filipowski is averaging 15.3 points per game to lead the Blue Devils in scoring this season. Filipowski also has grabbed 8.9 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Tyrese Proctor is dishing 3.2 assists. Franklin (12.7 ppg), Gardner (12.3), and Kihei Clark (11.1) have been the primary providers for the Cavaliers on offense.
Gardner also has pulled down 5.8 rebounds per game, while Clark has tallied 5.6 assists per game. Half-court execution will be critical in this matchup that showcases a pair of the NCAA’s slowest-paced teams, as the Cavaliers and the Blue Devils rank 361st and 310th, respectively, in possessions per game.
In the last 10 games, Duke is 8-2 with an average margin of +7.3 (74.0-66.7). Virginia has also an 8-2 record over the last 10, scoring 64.4 points per game on average while holding opponents to 59.1 (+5.3 margin). The Cavaliers are averaging 68.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 60.3.
BLUE DEVILS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Dereck Lively II: 16.6 | 10.8 | +5.8
Ryan Young: 8.2 | 14.1 | -5.9
Points per game:
Mark Mitchell: 13.0 | 9.3 | +3.7
Ryan Young: 2.8 | 6.8 | -4.0
Rebounds per game:
Dereck Lively II: 7.0 | 4.8 | +2.2
Ryan Young: 4.0 | 5.9 | -1.9
Assists per game:
Tyrese Proctor: 4.6 | 3.2 | +1.4
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jayden Gardner: 27.8 | 18.8 | +9.0
Ben Vander Plas: 6.6 | 12.6 | -6.0
Points per game:
Jayden Gardner: 17.4 | 12.3 | +5.1
Ben Vander Plas: 3.8 | 6.9 | -3.1
Rebounds per game:
Jayden Gardner: 9.4 | 5.8 | +3.6
Ben Vander Plas: 2.6 | 4.3 | -1.7
Assists per game:
Reece Beekman: 7.4 | 5.3 | +2.1
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Virginia (+135)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our college basketball hub page for all your college basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
