Virginia Tech and Duke will face for ACC title after Hokies 72-59 semifinal win over Tar Heels
After the final regular season game of the season, Mike Krzyzewski declared to the fans of Duke basketball that the season was not over. He proved to be spot on as the Blue Devils are now set to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2022 ACC tournament championship game tonight at 8:30 p.m..
For Virginia Tech, it was a much different story. The Hokies entered the tournament as the 7th seed. But after defeating the Tar Heels 72-59 due to Carolina's poor shooting effort (36.7% from the field, 3 of 26 from the 3-point range) in the tournament semifinal, the Hokies earned the opportunity to advance to the final matchup in Brooklyn.
When players were asked about the meaning of reaching the final in Krzyzewski's final season, however, Coach K. reminded the media that keeping the focus on his final season as head coach was not what this moment was all about. "I don't want to be a distraction to them," Krzyzewski said.
"They only get it once ...I've had it numerous times."
No.1 ACC tournement seed Duke will test the Hokies', who are looking for their first ACC tournament win in school history, for the second time this season. Duke, who topped Virginia Tech 76-65 back on Dec 22 is favored.
It won't be a cakewalk for Duke. Darius Maddox leads the Hokies shooting 54.1% from 3-point range in contrast to Paolo Banchero who had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help lift Duke over Miami in the tournament semifinal game and was the spark to derail the Hokies in their meeting earlier this season.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Devils: 9-1, averaging 83.3 points, 35.2 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 5.3 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.3 points per game.
Hokies: 8-2, averaging 78.1 points, 29.6 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 5.1 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.7 points.
The year's tournament will be the final ACC tournament for Krzyzewski who will retire at the end of this season after 41 years at the helm for the Blue Devils.
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