Virginia Tech Basketball: 3 keys to upsetting the Duke Blue Devils

1. Win at the 3-point line

Kerry Blackshear Jr.’s confidence is up, now all that needs to happen is winning the 3-point battle. Duke isn’t the strongest 3-point shooting team but the Hokies are. Virginia Tech comes into the game averaging 5.5 3-point makes on 42.3 percent shooting. It doesn’t seem like much, but sometimes timing is everything when it comes to 3-point makes for the Hokies.

In Blacksburg, it was Ty Outlaw who made a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining in the game to put the Hokies up for good 73-70. They’ll need more timely 3-pointers to win this game as Duke’s relentless offense will be difficult to match up against.

The Blue Devils made seven 3-pointers in the last meeting while the Hokies made eight total in the game. While 3-pointers may not be Duke’s bread and butter, they certainly tend to come at opportune times for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech likes to play a fast-paced style offense that gets open shots and Duke isn’t the strongest team on defense. If they can get smart shots and force them into bad ones on the other end, this game could be the Hokies’ to win.