Duke basketball must move on after Virginia controversy: ‘We need a quick response’
For the Duke Blue Devils, getting beyond the anger and frustration of a possible upset win at No. 8 Virginia eluding them due to an officiating error is a must.
The ACC schedule rolls on and Duke (17-8, 8-6 ACC) has but six regular-season games to play. Next up: Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.
For years, led by former coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils preached and practiced their next play mentality. This situation will seriously test that mantra.
“We’ll figure out how to move on and to learn from this,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, “and to use it as motivation to keep going. There’s a lot left for us still and we need a quick response.”
What became a 69-62 overtime loss at Virginia on Saturday was clouded in controversy after one official blew his whistle and indicated that Duke’s Kyle Filipowski was fouled less than a second before the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation, with the game tied at 58.
Following a replay review, the officials decided no foul had occurred and the game went to overtime. Later Saturday night, the ACC announced that decision was made in error and that Filipowski, a 75.8% free throw shooter, should have had a chance to put Duke in front at the free throw line.
That announcement from the league office only confirmed what the Blue Devils thought when they left John Paul Jones Arena a few hours earlier.
“I think everyone thought it was a foul,” Duke freshman guard Tyrese Proctor said.
Scheyer, during his regular appearance on an ACC coaches Zoom call on Monday, said he’s still not over what happened.
“You can’t get a rule wrong like that,” Scheyer said. “So I hate it for our guys. Obviously, there’s a lot of season left to play. We have to move on and get ready for Notre Dame (Tuesday) night. But it was really disappointing.”
So the Blue Devils are left with plenty of sour feelings after they played a far-from-perfect game yet had a chance to notch a big-time win.
And that is where Scheyer, his staff and team captain Jeremy Roach have to show leadership to shepherd this team through its disappointment.
Remember, No. 19 Miami manhandled Duke, 81-59, last Monday in Coral Gables, Florida. The Blue Devils looked timid and disconnected in that humiliating loss.
Yet, playing against a perennially tough defensive team like Virginia on its home court, the Blue Devils displayed fight and toughness not seen in that loss at Miami, nor in an earlier, 84-60 loss at N.C. State.
“It’s disappointing,” Scheyer said. “I hurt for our guys because they battled, playing a really good Virginia team.”
Setting the controversy aside, the Blue Devils shot 44.9%. Remember, in January, Duke went five games without shooting better than 40.3%. In the Blue Devils’ past six games, they’ve only been below 40% from the field once, and that was a 39.3% effort while beating North Carolina, 63-57.
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The Blue Devils hit 9 of 23 3-pointers against Virginia, a 39.1% clip. Reserve forward Jacob Grandison hit three, showing signs of the 40% 3-point shooter he was the past two seasons at Illinois. Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor and Dariq Whitehead each had two.
That’s the kind of perimeter punch the Blue Devils lacked far too often this season. If that is here to say, Duke will be dangerous the rest of the way.
Playing against Virginia’s defensively strong backcourt of Kihei Clark, Reece Beekman and Armaan Franklin, Duke got strong scoring from Roach (16 points), Proctor (14 points) and Whitehead (10 points).
It was Whitehead’s first game back after missing four with a lower left leg injury. He played 25 minutes, about 10 more than Scheyer had planned. But his contributions were solid.
“For Dariq to come back,” Scheyer said, “after not playing for a couple of weeks in this environment, against their defense and give us that lift says a lot about him.”
Duke’s 22 turnovers, after committing 21 against Miami, played a large role in the loss at Virginia. For all the talk about the Filipowski play at the end of regulation, that stat looms just as large.
“Too many gifts for them,” Scheyer said. “We gave them a lot of layups, 42 points in the paint. Not a good recipe but still putting ourselves in a position to win.”
The Blue Devils, though, are confident that their own mistakes are holding their offense back from even more production more than any opponents.
“Just learn from it and just clean up the turnovers,” Proctor said, “and we have a shot at anyone.”
The Blue Devils proved Saturday they can play with anyone, including a top-10 team. They did so despite their leading scorer, Filipowski (15.9 points), failing to score in that game.
It’s just the kind of resiliency Duke lacked at other times this season. It’s just the kind of resiliency necessary to mentally get over having a chance to beat Virginia wrongfully denied and then getting prepared to play again three days later.
This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 7:00 AM.