On Feb. 28, 2010, newly appointed Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett faced off against the ACC kingpin Duke Blue Devils for the first time. The No.4 Devils were led in that game by senior shooting guard Jon Scheyer, who put up 20 points to help Duke to a dominant 67-49 victory over a hapless UVA squad.
It appeared as though the two programs were heading in staunchly different directions. Scheyer’s Blue Devils concluded the season with a National Championship victory while the lowly Hoos finished the season at 15-16, missing the NCAA Tournament for 6th time in 7 years. Scheyer became a Duke legend while Bennett’s first campaign provided mixed results and his future legendary coach status was not yet secured.
A lot has happened since that game in 2010. Exactly three years later, on Feb. 28, 2013, Bennett earned his first win versus Duke. Ever since, Virginia has been cementing its place alongside the Blue Devils at the table of college basketball elites, and the rivalry between the two has blossomed into one of the fiercest in the sport.
Just how great is this rivalry? Let’s take a deeper dive into the numbers since that UVA victory in 2013. There have been 12 matchups between Virginia and Duke in said timespan, and the Blue Devils hold the series lead at 8-4. However, all games in the series have been decided by less than 10 points, with Duke leading by 24 total points over those 12 games, an average of only two points per game! Furthermore, in six of the 12 matchups, both teams were ranked no worse than 14th. In fact, both were ranked inside the top 5 in four of these games, more than any other rivalry in college basketball during the span.
In terms of success outside the rivalry, since Bennett’s hiring, UVA and Duke have accounted for 7 ACC titles (UVA with 5 and Duke with 2). Both have been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament four separate times too, tied for the most of with Kansas and Baylor (6), with Duke winning a National Championship in 2015 and UVA winning a National Championship in 2019.
It all culminates in a matchup this upcoming Saturday, where Bennett and Scheyer become foes once again, this time as head coach vs. head coach. Virginia basketball is a vastly different organization than the one Scheyer encountered in his playing days and can no longer be pushed around. He and the Blue Devils should expect severe resistance as the Hoos continue their ACC title push. The Cavaliers are tied for first in the ACC standings entering the game.
For the latest installment in this rivalry, tune in Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN or head to the John Paul Jones Arena to catch the action.
