Every now and then a special win comes along and that is exactly what happened tonight.  The Duke Blue Devils  went into Charlottesville battling all kinds of adversity and came away with a stunning late rally  where they went on an 11-0 run to end the game for a win.  Duke was coming off a close loss at Notre Dame and lost Rasheed Sulaimon just days prior to tip off.  They were tasked in doing what no other team had accomplished all season, that being trying to defeat#2 ranked  and undefeated Virginia on their home court.

When the dust cleared Duke gutted out a win over Virginia thanks to a breath-taking spurt at games end where Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones knocked down three point shots to seal a win.  Duke played with tremendous heart and never folded taking each and every Virginia shot and countering in what resembled a heavyweight fight.  There were several times when it looked as if the Cavaliers had the Blue Devils on the ropes, poised for victory and a 20-0 start.  But the Duke team showed the heart of a champion and it was to be their night giving Coach Mike Krzyzewski a special 1001st win of his career.

The Cavaliers had shut down the Duke offense in the early going of the second half and held a late lead which seemed insurmountable.  It's no secret that all looked like doom and gloom for Duke and then their heart was rewarded.  Duke never folded despite taking what seemed like whaling punch after punch from the Cavaliers trying to knock the Blue Devils on their collective backs.  Most teams would have wilted and all that came before Duke did under such pressure against the Cavaliers relentless defense.

When a team plays together, good things happen and when you keep playing with heart while not giving up great things happen.  Great things happened for Duke.  With such a stunning win, the freshman grew leaps and bounds.  And while they still have a way to go, this could be the game where the light came on with the experience and grinding it out for a tough win.  In some respects, the freshman had to learn how to win these kind of games and the first time is always the hardest.

It's hard to know where to start when talking about how Duke won this game.  Early on Justise Winslow carried the Blue Devils and his play was vital.  Then there was Matt Jones off the bench doing the little things it takes to win.  Another plus was that Jahlil Okafor despite early struggles on offense and with turnovers never gave up and his late board play and spurts stymied the Cavaliers confidence.

But it was probably the late play of Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook which stood out the most in that they made three point shots that were like daggers at games end.  No matter what Virginia did to try and close the game out, Duke had a late, relentless answer to every great play.  In the end Duke stunned the crowd in Charlottesville into silence.  The Blue Devils also served noticed that they still have plenty of heart for the remainder of the season despite being down to just eight scholarship players.

It was quite simply a not good but great night for Duke Basketball and the fan base.  And it was a testament to the leadership of Mike Krzyzewski and his staff who adjusted on the fly and found the right buttons to push for a very sweet win.

Duke has some work to do to climb back into the ACC race, but they took down the leader on the road tonight.  And they added another win to an already solid resume which will help when the selection committee does their thing in March.  The Blue Devils needed this win on many levels and they got it.  And that makes for one heck of a happy trip back tonight for the team which solidified their bonds.

It was just a special win and effort, one which made the Blue Devil Nation social media explode into joy.  So, if you were expecting a play by play or recap of the game, that will come later.  I just wanted to talk about the heart Duke showed tonight, the guts, the effort and togetherness which translated into a most special win.