Before hosting fourth-ranked Duke on Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum, Joe Lunardi of ESPN had a simple message for Virginia Tech: "The Hokies save six weeks of anguish with an upset win." There is going to be six weeks of anguish in Blacksburg.
In a game that the Hokies never led, Virginia Tech missed a golden opportunity to secure a résumé-building win with a 14-point loss at home to the Blue Devils. Duke is 9-0 in the ACC and 20-1 overall, and it is going to take some kind of effort to beat them. Here are three observations after Virginia Tech fell to 16-7 overall and 5-5 in the conference before going on its bye this week.
1. Duke is good, very good
Top to bottom, the Blue Devils are an elite team. They don't panic, they run their offense, and they are a legit National Championship contender. Cameron Boozer had 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Virginia Tech made some runs in the second half and got the deficit down to six points, but couldn't come up with a big shot, and slowly Duke pulled away on the offensive end. Again, they are as good as advertised and are one point away from being undefeated. Again, it's going to take some kind of effort from someone to knock them off this season in ACC play.
2. First half doomed Virginia Tech
You have to bring your 'A' game to beat Duke, and that wasn't the case for the Hokies. They struggled offensively; some of that had to do with the Blue Devils' defense, but the shot selection at times left a lot to be desired. That can't happen if you're going to take down the No. 4 team in the country.
The Hokies' defense let Duke get what they wanted in the opening half with little resistance. The Blue Devils were 18-for-29 from the field (62%), and they just went 4-for-11 from behind the arc. They didn't shoot a free throw in the opening half either. You can't allow 41 first-half points and get dominated in the paint and allow 26 points there. Way too easy at times. Tech stepped up defensively in the second half, but it was too little, too late.
3. This isn't a bad loss in the over big picture
Sure, the Hokeis could have done themselves a big favor by winning this game, but in the overall picture, this wasn't a terrible loss. Yes, winning it would have been more ideal, but it doesn't really hurt their NCAA Tournament chances. Now, it puts more pressure on Virginia Tech coming off the bye with some Quad 1 chances on the road that become some must-wins. Hopefully, Tyler Johnson returns after the bye as well.