Duke Blue Devils men's basketball 'punched in the mouth' by Virginia Cavaliers on heels of emotional UNC win

Duke was still thinking about Saturday's win over North Carolina on Monday night. Virginia was thinking about March.

The Cavaliers dominated the first half against a sluggish Blue Devils team, fresh off an emotional win against rival North Carolina, then delivered the final dagger on a 3 from Reece Beekman with 1.1 seconds left, upending Duke 69-68.

For Virginia, it was a second straight signature win. Before the drama in Durham, the Cavaliers thumped Miami on Saturday, and have now won three straight, moving the Hoos squarely onto the tournament bubble.

For Duke, the loss was a vital lesson on the rigors that await if the Blue Devils want to send coach Mike Krzyzewski off with a championship.

«Teams are hungry, and we've got to be hungry after we've eaten,» Krzyzewski said. «They were hungrier and tougher than we were tonight.»

Virginia dominated the paint, outscoring Duke 52-28, running quick cuts to the basket again and again to build a 12-point lead in the first half. But the 3-balls weren't falling.

By the time Beekman took his final shot, Virginia was just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, and the struggles allowed Duke to chip away at the Cavaliers' early lead.

Duke finally pulled ahead with 4 minutes to play, and the Blue Devils had a chance to seal it in the final minute, but Paolo Banchero's errant pass ended with a turnover, and Beekman's 3 was, according to ESPN Stats & Information, just the third game winner with less than 2 seconds on the clock made by an opponent at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the past 25 years.

«We were 2-of-12 from 3,» Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. «I'm glad we weren't 1-of-12.»

Banchero's error, coupled with Mark Williams' flubbed coverage on the final inbounds that led to Beekman's 3,