Virginia Tech had a great chance to improve tonight with No. 7 Duke in town for a guaranteed Q1 win, but this could be Tech's last chance to get a Q1 win at home this season. It will be. When you add in the fact that the Hokies have won three straight games entering the season and Tech has beaten Duke in six of the last seven games at Cassell Coliseum, this game feels like a winnable opponent. Ta.
But while the Hokies were in too deep tonight, the Blue Devils played their best basketball of the season tonight.
Virginia Tech lost 77-67 to No. 7 Duke, dropping to 13-8 on the season, including a 5-5 mark in ACC play, while the Blue Devils fell to 16-0 on the season, including a 7-2 mark in ACC play. Improved to 4 wins and 4 losses.
Duke played its best basketball of the season tonight, but the Hokies were less than stellar in some areas. Duke's perimeter defense wasn't as sharp as it needed to be. Duke took up a little too much space on its 3-pointers and its talented backcourt took advantage of that, leading by going 9-for-17 from 3-point range, including 8-for-10 from Jeremy Roach and Tyrese. Proctor and Caleb Foster. On the other hand, the Hokies missed some decent 3-point shots and didn't fare much better at 6-22 on 3-point shooting.
Also, when they lost 13-9 to VT, they took advantage of a 12-0 run in the first half, propelled primarily by 3-point shooting, to take control of this game and never held the lead the rest of the game. I didn't let go.
Tech struggled on the glass as Duke went 10-4 on offensive rebounds with a 38-20 rebounding advantage, which turned into a 15-7 second-chance point advantage. Tech was without Mekhi Long for this game, and his absence seemed pretty significant considering how well the Blue Devils rebounded the basketball. One thing Tech did well was he only fielded four basketballs compared to Duke's 14 turnovers. However, the Hokies were unable to capitalize on that difference and only gained an 11-7 advantage through turnovers.
Sean Pedula didn't have his best night due to less-than-ideal shot selection en route to posting 12 points, six assists, and three rebounds on 4-15 shooting. Pedulla has taken some tough shots this year, but tonight wasn't the night the junior point guard paid the price for going too far.
MJ Collins has been finding a rhythm on offense lately, and tonight he was a big bright spot, scoring 17 points on 7-13 shooting, including 3-6 from 3-point range, as well as recording 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. Ta. Collins was the main reason the Hokies entered halftime with 13 points in the first 20 minutes. He went down in the second half due to injury concerns, but after the game Mike Young admitted it was just cramps.
Hunter Kattore had to work for everything he got, going 5-8 from the field, 2-4 from 3-pointers and 3-3 from the free throw line. He quietly accumulated 15 points including Meanwhile, Tech's center duo had some ups and downs on the night, with Lynn Kidd having 12 points and 4 rebounds, and Mairijael Poteet adding 4 points and 6 assists, a quiet night compared to Saturday's game against Georgia Tech. .
Robbie Beran finished with seven points, three assists and two rebounds while dealing with some foul trouble in the second half. Tyler Nickel struggled to find his footing, missing his only 3-pointer of the night and had just two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 16 minutes.
Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor shined for Duke, with Roach scoring 16 points and adding four assists and Proctor adding 12 points and four assists. Meanwhile, Kyle Filipovski had 14 points and eight rebounds despite being in significant foul trouble, and backup big man Ryan Young had his best night of the season with 10 points and five rebounds. Caleb Foster scored a huge 8 points early on, and Mark Mitchell had 8 points and 8 rebounds with 6 turnovers. Jared McCain nearly achieved a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
There's no question that it feels like a missed opportunity for Virginia Tech to add another home win to its resume and improve its metrics in the process. Duke also deserves plenty of credit for playing its best basketball this season and showing why they are a legitimate national title contender this year.
Fortunately for Tech, this loss will do minimal damage to the Hokies' resume, with only a slight drop in metrics and a significant improvement in the strength of their schedule. If Tech can get a Q1 win at Miami this Saturday, it's reasonable to think this week will be a net positive for VT's NCAA Tournament hopes.
But even though Duke played perhaps its best game of the season so far, it's still fair to feel like this was a significant missed opportunity for the Hokies.
