Duke navigates grueling road wins, proving tournament-ready. Now, they face No. 11 Virginia in a high-stakes ACC showdown.
No. 1 Duke survived a five-day road trip against Michigan and Notre Dame.
The Blue Devils survived a 68-63 contest over then-No. 1 Michigan on Saturday. The neutral-site contest at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., allowed the Blue Devils a chance to get a feel for how a tournament environment will feel in March.
While Duke held on against Michigan, the Blue Devils' contest against Notre Dame was anything but riveting.
The Blue Devils took a 54-22 lead into the half before ultimately cruising to a 100-56 win over the Fighting Irish in front of 9,149 fans at Purcell Pavilion.
Star freshman Cameron Boozer led Duke with 24 points in 24 minutes on the court. He added 13 rebounds and two assists in the lopsided win.
During his postgame news conference, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer praised his team for not suffering a letdown against ND.
"I was proud of our maturity and our readiness," Scheyer said, via the Fayetteville Observer. "Obviously, Notre Dame, that's not their team. They've had really tough injuries but I was really proud of our approach, our defense.
"I thought we had some really good sequences of sharing and making the right play. This is a great thing for us. We get another conference win, they're precious, and keep on growing."
Duke's next opponent should be much tougher than the Irish. The Blue Devils are coming back home to host No. 11 Virginia on Saturday. The Cavaliers are second in the ACC.
Scheyer said he's proud of how his team handled the road trip. He thinks it's a sign that something "special" can happen in the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm really glad the way this worked out, gave us a chance to grow together, continuing to pursue something really special," he said. "These guys have taken us on a great journey here and we just want to keep it going."
Virginia will offer Duke another tournament-like contest on Saturday.
Based on how the two programs have played this season, it could be a preview of the ACC Championship Game.
Duke should be more than battle-tested at this point.