Duke survives final possession, defeats Virginia Tech to reach NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
The Blue Devils, playing without freshman Cam Reddish, relied on their other three
WASHINGTON – With Cam Reddish scratched from the lineup shortly before Duke’s NCAA East Region semifinal game against Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils had to rely on their three remaining super freshmen Friday night to keep their hopes alive in for another Elite Eight berth.
They did just enough. The Blue Devils, the No. 1 overall seed, survived three missed shots on the Hokies’ last possession to capture a 75-73 victory at Capital One Arena and earned an Elite Eight matchup against Michigan State.
The Spartans defeated Louisiana State, 80-63, in the first game of the semifinal doubleheader. The two teams will meet at 5:05 p.m. Sunday for a berth in the Final Four.
Reddish, of Norristown and the Westtown School, was in the original starting lineup but was removed in the moments before tipoff because of an issue with his knee.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he was not aware until just before the game that Reddish could not play.
“He went out and just had something wrong with his knee,” he said. “He was limping and we didn’t find out until right before the game. That’s another thing for our guys to overcome that adversity because we prepared all week with that lineup and then, boom, right before the start of the game, he can’t play.”
Reddish’s classmates stepped up. Zion Williamson scored 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting, Tre Jones had 22 points and 8 assists and R.J. Barrett scored 18 points -- 16 in the second half -- and dished out 11 assists.
The Blue Devils (32-5) needed every point. Leading by eight, 60-52, with 8 minutes, 45 seconds remaining, Duke had to withstand Virginia Tech’s persistence in staying within range behind guards Justin Robinson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and forward Kerry Blackshear Jr.
A vicious slam dunk by Williamson made it 73-66 with 3 minutes remaining, and Marques Bolden’s pair of free throws kept it a two-possession game at 75-69 with 1:21 to play.
But Blackshear’s layup, an offensive foul call on Williamson and Robinson’s conversion of both ends of a 1-and-1 made it a two-point contest with 29.6 seconds left. After Jones missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the 29.1-second mark, Tech had time to tie or win the game.
The Hokies had three chances. Ahmed Hill and Ty Outlaw each missed a three-point shot but Virginia Tech came up with both rebounds, leaving 1.1 seconds on the clock.
Robinson threw an inbounds lob from the baseline to Hill at the rim with Williamson guarding, but the shot hit off the front rim as time expired.
“The read was right there,” said Robinson, who had 14 points and five assists. “I thought we executed well. We just came up short.”
Asked what he saw on the play, Krzyzewski quipped, “A miss.”
“There’s a lot of pressure when you throw it up that high to compete it,” he said. “Our guys played great defense to put us in a position where they had to make that play. We played two great defensive exchanges before that. So you can elaborate on the last one, and I’ll elaborate on all three, and all three were successful for us.”
Blackshear had a magnificent game with 18 points, 16 rebounds (11 offensive), five assists and two blocked shots. Hill added 15 points.