ACC Quarterfinals – Hokies vs Blue Devils
For years the Virginia Tech Hokies have been one of those bubble teams who never gets picked.
Virginia Tech Hokies (16-16) vs #6 Duke Blue Devils (26-5)
Friday March 9
Philips Arena – Atlanta, GA
7:00PM
Moneyline: No line currently posted
Spread: No line currently posted
O/U: No line currently posted
Virginia Tech
This year that will not be the case but maybe, just maybe, they can muster enough magic to score the automatic bid.
Their pursuit of that started yesterday with an upset victory over Clemson, a team they split with during the regular season. The same can not be said of Duke, who beat the Hokies twice by an average of 10 points.
In beating the Tigers leading scorer and point guard Erick Green had 24 points while dishing out 4 assists. Most importantly he turned it over just once. If he can pace one of the Duke guards in scoring it might give Virginia Tech a chance of stealing the game, especially with Duke forward Ryan Kelly out with injuries.
It is still going to be tough for the Hokies to match up with the wall of Plumlees up front as they don’t give any serious minutes to any players over 6’8”
Duke
Payback is a bitch for the Blue Devils as they lost mightily to the visiting Tar Heels to close the season. Whatever happened to Cameron Indoor being an advantage – all three of their league losses were surprisingly on their own homecourt. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Their place in the Big Dance is definitely secure but how they do this weekend will determine their seeding.
Win it all this weekend and they are likely looking at a #1 seed line…and they want it. Coach K plays to win this time of year too.
Duke lost to UNC despite turning over the ball just 6 times.
They didn’t shoot it great but the area that really stood out was how they were absolutely owned on the glass – out-rebounded 42 to 22. The Tar Heels have the kind of size to do that to a big Duke frontline but not many other teams do.
Miles Plumlee’s 11 boards were the same as the rest of the team collected combined. That won’t do for success against good teams, this weekend or next.
Spread Pick:
O/U Pick:
Score Prediction: Duke 76 – Virginia Tech 65
