Duke-Virginia, Compressed

We could go on about Duke’s win over Virginia Saturday for a good long time. It was sensational in many respects but also a very tenuous win.

Duke missed three free throws near the end that could have cost it dearly. No doubt that will come up when they view the film. But a lot of other things will, too.

On a personal level, who didn’t play well? It wasn’t a great stage for Mark Williams, but he made an absolutely beautiful pass to Wendell Moore when he seemed trapped under the basket. His teammates are learning that he’s a natural passer and are learning to cut when he has the ball.

DJ Steward only shot 2-7 but one of them, a late jumper, was absolutely critical. And Jeremy Roach quietly had 12 points and held his own against America’s premiere defense.

But the biggest buzz is about Jaemyn Brakefield, who held his own against Virginia’s 7-1 Jay Huff, had four blocks before scoring the biggest basket of the game - and then said he’d been hunting it all game long. The freshman was sensational.

Here is the compressed version of the game. Duke fans should be proud of how hard, and how smart, the young Blue Devils played.