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TOPICS: basketball seth greenberg malcolm delaney jeff allen erick green nolan smith kyle singler
Three games in three days proved too much for the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team.
Despite advancing to the ACC Tournament semifinals and winning two games, the most games Tech has ever won and furthest they’ve advanced ever in the tourney, the Hokies fell 77-63 to the Duke Blue Devils. Tech’s lack of offensive production and inability to handle Duke’s size were the Hokies main problems.
“I thought we played very hard, but I’m not sure we played as well as we have been playing,” said Seth Greenberg, Tech head coach.
The Hokies shot just 36.4 percent from the field and allowed 13 offensive rebounds including 28 points in the paint. Additionally, Tech hit just two three-point field goals on 16 attempts (12.5 percent).
The Hokies kept it close in the beginning of the first half and traded buckets with the Blue Devils, in fact at the under-16 media timeout it was all tied at eight. However, a 12-2 run later in the half by the Blue Devils extended their lead to 26-16 with 7:34 remaining.
Duke guard Nolan Smith had 10 of the 12 points during the run, and registered 16 points on six of 10 shooting in the first half. Smith, who injured his toe in Duke’s win over Maryland in the quarterfinals, appeared more than just fine. He was listed initially as questionable by head coach Mike Krzyzewski, but was upgraded to probable this morning.
“You can’t underestimate anybody,” said Malcolm Delaney, Tech senior guard. “We didn’t look down on (Smith’s) injury.”
Tech wasn’t able to contain the size of Duke for the remainder of the first half, and at the first buzzer it was 39-28 advantage Blue Devils. Tech shot just 34.6 percent from the field, and to compound their problems gave up 10 offensive rebounds to Duke. The Hokies also had just one assist in the first half as Duke’s defensive pressure was tenacious, also forcing seven turnovers. Delaney led Tech with 12 points at the break and was the only player with double figures for Greenberg’s squad.
In the second half, the Hokies cut the lead to six, 41-35, with 17:53 remaining, but an 8-2 run extended the Blue Devils lead to 49-37.
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 13 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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