Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Recaps

Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Malcolm Brogdon had 23 points and the sixth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers defeated the seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils, 72-63, to capture their first ACC Tournament title since 1976.

Joe Harris added 15 points for the Cavaliers (28-6), who avenged a 69-65 loss to Duke on Jan. 13. Anthony Gill tallied 12 points and seven rebounds.

Virginia, which shot 25-of-38 from the foul line, improved to 2-5 all-time in tournament title games.

Jabari Parker ended with 23 points, eight boards and two steals for the Blue Devils (26-8), who were trying to capture their 20th conference tournament crown. Rodney Hood and Amile Jefferson had 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Holding a 59-57 lead with 2:54 to play, the Cavaliers used a 12-3 run to pull away and claim their second ACC Tournament title in school history.

After Akil Mitchell converted a tip-in and Harris was good from long distance, Quinn Cook drained a trey and it was 64-60 with 1:28 on the clock. Brogdon went on a personal 7-0 spurt — hitting a jumper and then five consecutive free throws — to make it 71-60 as 39 seconds remained.

Earlier, Virginia jumped out to leads of 9-2 and 16-7, but the Blue Devils responded with a 12-3 surge to tie the game as Parker was good from beyond the arc with 3:53 left before intermission.

The Cavaliers came back with the next six points to grab a 25-19 margin. London Perrantes capped the flurry with a pair of free throws after Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was issued a technical foul for tossing a marker towards his own bench.

Hood’s 3-pointer with 58 seconds left got Duke within 28-25 at the half.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle until Virginia’s late run. The Cavaliers were only able to expand their lead to four and endured five ties before then.

Game Notes

Virginia beat North Carolina by a 67-62 score to win the ACC in ’76 … Duke leads the all-time series by a 116-50 margin … Virginia has 28 wins for the first time since winning 29 in 1982-83 … The Blue Devils fell to 19-12 in ACC Tournament title games … Duke shot 38.1 percent and went 8-of-14 from beyond the arc.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball