Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 18, 1993 TAG: 9301180125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Long
BELIEVE IT! CAVS DUMP DUKE
This wasn't supposed to happen.Virginia, the lone unbeaten basketball team in Division I, ventured into Cameron Indoor Stadium with the nation's longest winning streak and little support from either the oddsmakers or general public.
"Fans of ours, meaning well, would tell us `great job,' then make a comment about how difficult things were going to be," UVa coach Jeff Jones said. "But the people who really needed to believe . . . did."
The Cavaliers, listed as 16 1/2-point underdogs in one paper, never trailed Sunday afternoon against No. 3-ranked Duke and ended the Blue Devils' 36-game home winning streak, 77-69.
It was UVa's first victory at Cameron since 1983 and extended the Cavaliers' winning streak to 16 games, 11 this season. Two weeks after entering the Associated Press poll for the first time, they have a chance to move into the Top 10.
"I'll be interested to see what they do to us," UVa center Ted Jeffries said. "Before we played Alabama, people said, `This is their first test.' Then, we played Florida State and they said, `This is their first ACC test.'
"If people don't respect us after this, I don't know what it will take."
It was hard to remember a game that Virginia has entered as a bigger underdog, particularly on the road. With a victory, Duke would have broken the record for the longest home winning streak in ACC history.
"They played an exceptional game, as they have played all season" said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose Blue Devils fell to 12-2 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. "The team that deserved to win today won.
"We didn't execute, but a lot had to do with the outstanding defense [Virginia] played. We didn't have the mental toughness to run our half-court offense."
Virginia (11-0, 4-0) showed its toughness after Duke cut the deficit to 51-50 with 7:30 remaining. The Cavaliers scored on 13 of their next 17 possessions and led 76-61 with 48 seconds left.
Nobody played a bigger role than back-up guard Doug Smith, who scored all 14 of his points in the final 12:14. Duke had to know it was in big trouble when Smith's 3-pointer put UVa on top 66-56 with 2:22 left.
"The two seniors [Smith and Jeffries] gave them great leadership," Krzyzewski said. "Jeffries handled the ball well in their half-court game; Smith made numerous huge plays."
Jeffries finished with a game-high 11 rebounds and helped the Cavaliers dominate the boards, 53-37. Duke shot 36.8 percent from the field, its low for the season.
"We showed glimpses of what we were capable of this weekend," said Duke point guard Bobby Hurley, who was 5-of-19 from the field, 1-of-9 on 3-pointers. "Instead, we reverted to the kind of individual play that got us beat at Georgia Tech."
The Blue Devils came into Sunday's game less than 24 hours after beating No. 13-ranked Iowa 65-56 to extend their home-court winning streak against nonconference opposition to 77 games.
"I put them in a difficult position and they fell short," Krzyzewski said, "but the fatigue talk takes away from the outstanding game Virginia played."
The Cavaliers shot 41.2 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers, hardly the kind of statistics they would have desired. They led 30-24 at the half despite one field goal apiece from top two scorers Junior Burrough and Cory Alexander.
Sophomore forward Jason Williford, not usually a scorer, had 11 of his 13 points in the first half. Cornel Parker led the Cavaliers with 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and shut down Duke's high-scoring Grant Hill, who was 6-of-16.
"It's kind of been a common theme for us this year that, when certain individuals don't play well, somebody has always stepped up," Jones said. "I think [Williford] was tremendously enthusiastic to win the game."
Alexander, who played the last 8:39 with four fouls, had 13 of his 15 points in the second half. Burrough, after a 1-for-14 start, hit four of his last five shots to finish with 13.
"I was kind of surprised that Duke played back-to-back games," Burrough said. "Either they didn't respect us or they didn't respect Iowa. I hope everybody feels the same way and underestimates us again Wednesday night."
The Cavaliers are likely to be a heavy underdog Wednesday, when they face fifth-ranked North Carolina, which shares first place in the ACC standings with Virginia at 4-0. UVa hasn't won in Chapel Hill since 1981.
"I don't think many people thought we would win here or in Chapel Hill and rightly so," Jones said. "We didn't feel any pressure. None. We don't pay a whole lot of attention to the streak.
"This is a very nice win because we have so much respect for Duke, but, in no way could I compare it to beating Oklahoma in the NCAA [in 1989] or beating Indiana to go to the Final Four [in 1984]. Nobody should get carried away."
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