Joe Lunardi and his bracketology can go to hell. Virginia Tech is in.
The Hokies got 31 points from Hunter Cattoor, who, remember, was only good enough to play in the SoCon, but led Virginia Tech to an 82-67 win over NBA talent-laden Duke to win the ACC Tournament title game on Saturday in Brooklyn.
Virginia Tech (23-12) needed a buzzer-beating three to beat Clemson in the second round on Wednesday, then beat #2 seed Notre Dame, #3 seed North Carolina and top seed Duke on its way to the program’s first ACC championship.
Cattoor was a big reason why, with 17 points in the first half, on 6-of-7 shooting, 4-of-4 from three, and the 31 overall.
Keve Aluma, who played for Tech coach Mike Young at Wofford, had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hokies led 42-39 at the half, and never trailed in the final 20 minutes.
A Cattoor three with 6:08 left put Tech up 70-60, and Duke never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Virginia Tech shot 50 percent (32-of-64) from the floor and hit 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from three.
Paolo Banchero had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead Duke (28-6).
Story by Chris Graham
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