NCAA Basketball – Virginia Tech Upsets No.1 Duke

The Virginia Tech Hokies have been lingering in the NCAA bubble for the last three years. Last season, it really seemed as if the V-Tech was going to make it into the NCAA tournament, but instead they ended up their postseason taking a go at the NIT. This time around, the Hokies needed results against top-ranked teams if they wanted to grab some attention from the selection committee. And let’s be clear about this: a win this late in the season against the top-ranked team in the nation is certainly the best way to earn a ticket into March Madness.

The Virginia Tech team took advantage of a late-game 15-4 run to turn around a six point deficit against Duke to a 5 point lead that was just enough to hand the Blue Devils their third loss of the season. Jeff Allen scored 17 points to lead Virginia Tech to a 64-60 home win against Duke. After the win the Hokies recorded their fourth all-time win over AP No. 1 ranked teams.

With a 19-8 overall season and playing for 9-5 in the ACC, Virginia Tech’s season has not been exactly an utter success. On the other hand, Virginia just got back from a 4 game losing strike in the series against the Duke Blue Devils, and they took this win right when it hurt most: when Duke finally climbed to the top of the AP polls. Not only that but the Hokies made worth their home-court advantage. What really matters is that the Hokies were capable of breaking Duke’s seven game winning-streak against conference rivals on the road gaining the notoriety that the team is urged of right now.

The crowd was loud and sometimes they even got a bit personal against Duke’s Seth Curry. This was the first appearance at Cassell Coliseum for Seth Curry, whose father, Dell Curry, is somewhat of a legend at Virginia Tech. Not only is he the second-leading scorer in Hokies history but also the first player whose number the institution retired.

Seth Curry was recruited by the Hokies but wound up at Liberty and transferred to Duke after one season seeking a bigger challenge. Now he had to come back and play before his old man an a couple thousand angry fans. He wasn’t great. He played 15 minutes and went home scoreless. It seems as if Curry just couldn’t handle the pressure.

The Hokies led 42-37 until Andre Dawkins’s 3-pointer for Duke with 16:45 brought the Blue Devils back to life. Following this three-pointer Duke got back in the game with a 14-3 burst that put the No.1 team in the nation ahead. Singler had seven points in this run alone, and finished it off with a 3-pointer that gave Duke a 51-45 advantage with over 11 minutes to play. But it was just not enough.

Singler led Duke with 22 points but his shooting was a bit off-target. He completed only 6 of 19 shots. Duke also relied on Nolan Smith and his 18 points, but that was not enough to counter the great performance from the Hokies starters, all which had double figures.

Jeff Allen led the Hokies with 18 points and 15 boards. Erick Green brought in 12 points and Malcolm Delaney had 11 points as the Hokies improved to 4-7 in their record against teams ranked No. 1. Just to get you into the right zone, the Hokies have won 3 of those 4 games in the last 5 seasons. Perhaps it is time to let the V-Tech Hokies play in the big tournament in March.