No. 1 Duke lost Cam Reddish to a knee injury minutes before tipoff against Virginia Tech on Friday, but the freshman trio of of Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Tre Jones held off the Hokies in another classic NCAA tournament game.
Down 75-73 with 29 seconds remaining, Virginia Tech’s Ahmed Hill missed a go-ahead three-pointer, but Virginia Tech gained control of the rebound and quickly called timeout. Replays showed that Virginia Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr. stepped on the out-of-bounds line with possession of the ball, but referees missed the call and the Hokies were left with one final chance.
Buzz Williams called a perfect play – a lob to the front of the bucket – and Hill caught the ball just a few feet from the rim. With a chance to send the game to overtime, Hill’s attempt hit the rim and fell to Zion Williamson, sending the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight.
One week after VCU missed a tip-in that would have sent the Blue Devils home, Duke got another favorable bounce in the dying seconds.
Duke will play No. 2 Michigan State on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
