NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from Round of 32 games

NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from 2nd half of Round of 32 games

By Brian Rauf | Mar 25, 2019

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates with his teammates after defeating the UCF Knights in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Ahmed Hill #13 of the Virginia Tech Hokies reacts in the second half against Elijah Cuffee #10 of the Liberty Flames during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 24, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

5) Virginia Tech has legitimate upset potential

Did you know that Virginia Tech hasn’t been to a Sweet 16 in 52 years? Well, they’re back after knocking off a game Liberty squad.

The first half was back and forth and the Flames actually took a three-point lead into halftime, but the Hokies tightened the screws in a way that could make them a dangerous team moving forward.

Virginia Tech only allowed Liberty to make six shots the entire second half and one of them came on a dunk in the final minute after the game was decided. They completely shut off Liberty’s offense in a way that was overwhelming and convincing.

We know the Hokies can shoot threes at a high clip as they rank in the top 10 in three-point percentage. If they can maintain this level of defense, too, they’ll be extremely dangerous.

There’s also the fact that they’re playing Duke in the next round – the same Duke team with serious flaws we discussed and the same Duke team Virginia Tech beat on Feb. 26. And while the Blue Devils didn’t have Zion Williamson in that game, the Hokies didn’t have their star point guard in Justin Robinson. That game has a chance to be one of the games of the tournament.

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