ACC Basketball: Key narratives for Duke vs. Virginia Tech in Sweet 16

By Neil Adler | Mar 28, 2019

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Zion Williamson #1 2 and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate 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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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 24: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils talks with Cam Reddish #2 against the UCF Knights during the first half 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) /

3. Duke is fighting hard.

Following the UCF match-up, post after post on social media spoke to the favorable calls that Duke received from the officials in the encounter’s waning minutes, which may or may not have aided the Blue Devils in moving on to the Sweet 16. Regardless of that, Duke got within several inches of going home, as either of the Knights’ final two shots could certainly have splashed in. They didn’t, for better or for worse, and the Blue Devils’ players and their fans could breathe a collective sigh of relief.

When Williamson re-entered the Duke line-up for the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils avenged a pair of prior losses to North Carolina in the semi-finals, beat Florida State to capture the league’s crown, and secured the NCAA tourney’s No. 1 overall seed. Those facets made Duke the top betting choice to win the Big Dance. And then the Blue Devils almost flamed out in the round of 32.

What I’m getting at here is that Duke has fabulous talent, but its main guys are freshmen who lack a ton of post-season experience. They had a riveting scare versus UCF, and it impressed me that the Blue Devils rallied with such poise in a pressure-packed situation to get by the Knights. Over the years, many a victor in March Madness has fought through one or more extremely close contests where they absolutely witnessed luck on their side. Duke had it against UCF, and my gut tells me that the Blue Devils will use that as motivation to steamroll Virginia Tech and other future foes.

Reranking the Sweet 16 teams. dark. Next

There’s nothing wrong with enduring a humbling event. In fact, my opinion is that it builds character and will help Duke for the rest of its journey. The Hokies are by no means a cakewalk, as they’ve already conquered the Blue Devils, and they now have Robinson available. Still, for Virginia Tech to triumph over Duke for a second-straight circumstance, this time at a neutral site and Williamson crashing the party is an immense challenge. I’m interested to see how these ACC heavyweights respond on Friday night, in what I forecast as an epic clash.