Duke, Virginia Tech Are Playing For The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship Tonight In Brooklyn!
Duke who is the top seed Virginia Tech who is the seventh seed are playing for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship tonight in Brooklyn!
Why?
Because Duke topped Miami 80-76 Friday in the first semifinal!
In Duke’s 80-76 win over Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals Friday Paolo Banchero scored 18 points, collected 11 rebounds, AJ Griffin scored 21 points including the free throws in the final moments to send Duke to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship game.
“according to an article on goduke.com”
Virginia Tech won 72-59 in the second semifinal game over Duke’s tobacco road rival North Carolina!
In Virginia Tech’s 72-59 win over Duke’s tobacco road rival North Carolina Virginia Tech led for the majority of its semifinal against the Tar Heels. When Hunter Cattoor hit a 3-pointer a little over a minute into the second half, the Hokies assumed a double-digit advantage that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
A handful of stats can be highlighted in Friday's win against North Carolina, but the deciding factor was a veteran Virginia Tech side out-hustling its opponent for 40 minutes. Keve Aluma had his work cut out for him against a talented Tar Heel front court, but he put on an 18-point showing that validated his All-ACC recognitions.
Darius Maddox proved that no stage is too big for him in March, leading all scorers with 20 points, including a lights out 4-5 outing from beyond the arc.
Cattoor, Nahiem Alleyne and Justyn Mutts caused havoc all evening on defense, as North Carolina had 11 turnovers that the Hokies turned into 12 points. The crew's defense on the perimeter was noticeably effective with the Tar Heels shooting 11.5% from deep.
How It Happened
Both teams struggled shooting out of the gate, as Virginia Tech and North Carolina combined to miss their first six shots. The Hokies jumped out to a 10-7 lead before missing 11 consecutive shots between 14:15 and 7:17 in the first half. However, solid defense and closing out the half shooting 8-10 from the field allowed Virginia Tech to go into the half with a 32-26 lead. Keve Aluma led all players with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Virginia Tech started tacking on points in the second half almost immediately, going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Mutts' three, to grow the lead to 41-26 with 18:05 to go in the contest. The Tar Heels narrowed the margin somewhat with a 9-0 run of their own in the middle of the half. The lead never got smaller than 11, however, for the Hokies. Tech was able to restore its cushion and see out a 13-point win.
“according to an article on hokiessports.com”
Duke, Virginia Tech met once during the regular season on December 22, 2021 in Durham!
In their only match up of the regular season Duke won 76-65!
Why?
Paolo Banchero had 23 points and second-ranked Duke shot 62 percent in the second half to beat Virginia Tech.
Banchero scored 17 points in that dominant second half, fueled by the move to a smaller lineup around the versatile 6-foot-10 forward. That helped Duke (11-1, 1-0 ACC) erase an eight-point deficit early in the half while slowing Virginia Tech's Keve Aluma after his big first-half performance.
Junior Wendell Moore Jr., added 18 points for Duke, which has won four straight.
Banchero sparked the go-ahead push from a 42-36 deficit, scoring on a drive, then sticking back his own miss and following with a step-back three-pointer — all against Aluma. Banchero followed that by getting airborne and then zipping a pass to a cutting Trevor Keels for a layup and a 43-42 lead at the 14:31 mark.
The lead grew from there, with Banchero scoring on an up-and-under move against Aluma and then putting in his own miss to cap a 27-7 run that pushed Duke to a 63-49 advantage with 7:35 to go.
It was a dominant stretch from Duke's star freshman, who had been thoroughly outplayed by the 6-9 redshirt senior in the opening half.
Virginia Tech (8-5, 0-2) thrice closed to within seven in the final five and a-half minutes, and had a terrific opportunity to draw even closer when Aluma got a wide-open corner three down 72-65. But he couldn't connect, and then Keels followed with two free throws and a transition layup off a steal to all but seal this one.
Aluma had 17 points before halftime to help the Hokies lead 36-32 at the break, but things were tougher the rest of the way as he finished with 25 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Justyn Mutts added 20 points for the Hokies, who shot 43 percent for the game and went just 1 of 9 on three-pointers after halftime.
“according to an article on goduke.com”
While Virginia Tech lost the only regular season match up to Duke 65-76.
Virginia Tech carried a lead into the break, but ultimately fell, 76-65, to No. 2 Duke on Wednesday night in ACC men's basketball action from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Hokies (8-5, 0-2 ACC) had three players score in double figures, led by Keve Aluma, who had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Justyn Mutts tacked on 20 points and nine rebounds, and Hunter Cattoor chipped in 10 points.
Virginia Tech utilized fantastic ball movement in Wednesday's game, piling up 16 assists on 26 made field goals. Individually, Storm Murphy was on top of the distribution list for the Hokies with four assists.
How It Happened
After falling behind 13-4, Virginia Tech went on a 9-0 run with 16:07 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Aluma, to tie the game at 13. The Hokies then proceeded to grab a 36-32 lead heading into halftime. Virginia Tech took advantage of seven offensive rebounds to score six second chance points out of 36 total in the period
Duke (11-1, 1-0 ACC) used a 13-0 run during the early stages of the second half to erase their halftime deficit. Duke proceeded to take a 65-52 lead before Tech went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Aluma's layup, to shrink the deficit to 65-58 with 5:32 to go in the contest. Duke responded and outscored the Hokies the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 76-65. Virginia Tech took care of business in the paint, recording 20 of its 29 points in the lane.
“according to an article on goduke.com”
What will happen in their second match up of the season?
Right now I don’t know the answer to that question!
Though, there are couple things I do know! An Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Champion is going to be crowned tonight in Brooklyn! The game is going to be played at the Barclays Center that is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA! The New York Liberty of the WNBA! Tip off is set for 8:30pm! The game is going to be televised on ESPN with Jay Bilas, Holly Rowe, Dan Shulman commentating!