Duke 77-63, FINAL: That's a wrap from the Coliseum, as Duke comes away with a solid win over the Hokies. Tons of fouls called in this game, can't wait to see how many total free throws were shot. The Blue Devils now advance to the ACC tournament championship game against North Carolina tomorrow afternoon. Nolan Smith showed up in a big way this evening, shaking off a toe injury to score 27 points. Check dukechronicle.com later this evening for a game recap and make sure to keep up with the latest Duke Basketball news at sports.chronicleblogs.com as well.
Duke 64-53, SECOND HALF 3:17 remaining: Terrell Bell's missed putback dunk epitomizes the Hokies' struggles down low today. The Plumlees and Ryan Kelly have done a great job of controlling the boards on both ends of the floor and preventing Virginia Tech from dominating the offensive glass as it did in the last meeting. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils have not decisively put this one away, as the Hokies trail by the same margin they did at halftime. Duke will need to pick up the pace offensively if it wants to hang with high-powered North Carolina tomorrow in the tournament finals.
Duke 61-47, SECOND HALF 6:44 remaining: Not much to report here as Duke methodically pulls away from Virginia Tech. Smith has hooked up with Mason Plumlee on back-to-back alley oops, and the Hokies don't seem to have much fight left in them. Jeff Allen just fouled out of the game, and although Davila has been laboring effectively in the post, he simply can't take on the Plumlees by himself. Mason and Dawkins both have four fouls for the Blue Devils, while Singler has 3. Nolan Smith still leads the way with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, although Singler and Curry have now joined him in double figures
Duke 49-37, SECOND HALF 13:44 remaining: The Blue Devils withstood the Hokies' run and are back in control of the game. Smith has 18 points to lead all Duke scorers and is the only Blue Devil in double figures. Virginia Tech can't get enough defensive stops to turn back the Duke attack and will need more 3-point shooting from Delaney and Green to get back into this one. The game has become more physical, as the refs had to give Ryan Kelly a warning on an inbounds play. Jeff Allen just picked up a deadball technical foul, his fourth personal, and heads the bench with only two points—a far cry from his 18 in the first meeting.
Duke 41-35 SECOND HALF 17:35 remaining: Virginia Tech is on a 7-0 run to start the half, picking up the intensity on the offensive glass and making its first 3-pointer of the game as well. The Blue Devils have become a bit stagnant on offense. No one seems able to carry the load except for Smith, although Singler just scored a tough jumper after going into the paint to push the lead back to eight points.
Duke 39-28, HALFTIME: Nolan Smith has put the Blue Devils on his back yet again, scoring a game-high 16 points in the first half on 6-for-10 shooting. Erick Green and Malcolm Delaney can't contain him as he's driving into the paint at will and getting open looks from beyond the arc as well. Virginia Tech's post players are combined 2-for-9 from the field, and the Hokies only managed six points in the paint. Delaney has led the way for Virginia Tech, scoring 12 points thus far—but eight of those points have come from the foul line. Free throws are keeping the Hokies in this game, as they benefited greatly when Duke picked up seven team fouls with 4:34 remaining. Now that the team fouls have reset, we'll see if Duke can blow the game open early in the second half.
In other halftime happenings, the ACC mascot basketball game has definitely been one of the major highlights of the tournament so far. Florida State opted to send out a cheerleader as its representative, while the Blue Devil managed the score the first basket of the contest (which was also one the only basket scored all game). Testudo the Turtle's rejection of Virginia's Cavalier was also very entertaining.
Duke 33-22 FIRST HALF 2:47 remaining: Virginia Tech's lack of depth may prove to be the Hokies' downfall today. Head coach Seth Greenberg is only going six men deep, but fortunately heavyhitters Delaney and Allen only have one foul apiece. Singler finally made his first bucket of the game on a foul-line jumper, and it's good to see Dawkins getting involved on the offensive end as well. Virginia Tech fans are screaming for their boys to step up, but Allen and Davila aren't having nearly as much success down low as they did in Cassell Coliseum on Feb. 26—the pair has combined for only four points.
Duke 23-16 FIRST HALF 7:47 remaining: Nolan Smith is back with a vengeance, and his toe certainly is not slowing him down. The senior's confidence is building as he's scored on Duke's last three possessions, hitting a 3-ball and coverting a sweet reverse layup around two defenders. He now has 11 points, already surpassing last night's meager 7-point output. It's crucial that Smith is starting to exhibit his usual outstanding play, because Singler cannot get anything going on offense and has yet to score.
Duke 14-12, FIRST HALF 11:09 remaining: Virginia Tech and Duke are trading baskets in the early going here. Ryan Kelly collected his own miss and hit a short jumper to put Duke up two, but Virginia Tech must be pleased that Mason Plumlee has picked up two fouls. Kelly is now guarding Jeff Allen while Miles is picking up center Victor Davila. Nolan Smith is asserting himself on the offensive end, driving the basket with no fear. The Virginia Tech band couldn't resist making fun of his injury, however, chanting "Owww my toe" when Smith went to the foul line.
Score tied 8-8, FIRST HALF 15:35 remaining: Smith is clearly out of his offensive rhythm, as he's missed a 3-pointer badly and also couldn't get a layup to fall off a strong drive to the lane. The Plumlees have carried over their physicality on the offensive boards from last night's contest into today's game. Mason already has a couple of offensive boards, one of which he converted into an easy layup. Miles is also staying active in the post, as he opened the scoring with a nice hook shot that rolled in. Virginia Tech's Jeff Allen, who torched the Blue Devils in the previous meeting, is being guarded by both Plumlees as well as Singler on occasion.
Starting Lineups: Virginia Tech—F Jeff Allen, F Terrell Bell, C Victor Davila, G Erick Green, G Malcolm Delaney
Duke—F Mason Plumlee, F Miles Plumlee, F Kyle Singler, G Seth Curry, G Nolan Smith
As you can see, Nolan Smith will be starting today against Virginia Tech. We'll watch closely to see if his toe injury appears to bother him at all during the game.
NOLAN SMITH UPDATE: Smith is in the layup line with the rest of the Blue Devils, taking jumpers and jogging lightly. He seems to be fine planting on his left foot when shoots, which has to be a good sign. ESPN's Dick Vitale also tweeted earlier that he spoke to head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who said Smith will play this afternoon. We'll let you know if he starts as usual, although if Coach K's statements to the press last night after the Maryland game are any indication, expect Seth Curry to see ample time at the point guard spot.
PREGAME: We're coming to you live from the Greensboro Coliseum as the second-seeded Blue Devils get set to take on sixth-seeded Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m. The Hokies pulled off a come-from-behind win over Florida State last night, upsetting the Seminoles 52-51 courtesy of an Erick Green jumper with 4.7 seconds remaining. Florida State's Derwin Kitchen then came down the floor and appeared to hit a game-winning shot from the baseline, but replay showed the ball was still in his hands as the clock expired.
We just saw a great finish to the UNC-Clemson semifinal game, with the Tar Heels prevailing in overtime 92-87 behind 40 points from Harrison Barnes. A Duke win today means that the Blue Devils would face North Carolina for a third time this season, but Sunday's potential meeting would be the first on a neutural floor. The Tar Heel fans are beginning to stream out of the Coliseum, but many in the upper bowl are staying put in their seats, presumably preparing to root against the Blue Devils. They wasted no time booing lustily when Duke's television advertisement played on the jumbotron inside the stadium.
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