Virginia is alone in second in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings and also the second-highest-rated ACC team in the NET, at KenPom.com, at BartTorvik.com and at EvanMiya.com. What all of that suggests is that Duke really doesn’t have a peer in its league for the second straight season.
Final score: Blue Devils 77, Cavaliers 51.
Yes, Duke beat its biggest threat in the ACC by 26 points early Saturday to improve to 27-2 overall and 15-1 in the league. With the win, the Blue Devils secured at least a share of the ACC’s regular-season title for the second straight year. They now have a two-game lead over Virginia in the conference standings, a three-game lead over Miami, a four-game lead over Clemson and North Carolina, and a five-game lead over NC State. There’s also now a 13-spot gap between Duke and the second-highest-rated ACC team in the NET (Virginia). No other Power 4 conference has that big of a gap between its highest-rated team in the NET and its second-highest-rated team in the NET.
“I’m really proud of our team,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “We’ve just had such a mature approach with our defense. It’s our calling card.”
No argument here.
Duke held the Cavaliers to just 29% shooting from the field in the dominant victory, including 20% from 3-point range. As a result, Duke now ranks No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com.
Needless to say, the Blue Devils remain No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings for the eighth straight day. They are one of only four teams that rank in the top 11 in both adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom. The other three are Michigan, Arizona and Florida, i.e., the three teams that are second, third and fourth in the Top 25 And 1.
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