ACC Championship Game: Duke Vs Florida State

Last night’s semi-final game in the ACC Tournament was the 6th ranked matchup between Duke and UNC to be decided by a single point. Duke has now won all six.

The game was tied 44-44 at the end of the half.  The score was tied again at 54-54 with 12:38 left on the clock and again at 63-63 with 8:53 remaining.  Big ol’ Zion tied the game at 65-65 with a jumper at the 7:05 mark and the score would see-saw back and forth until the clock showed 31 seconds remaining.

The finale was not for the faint of heart.  Williamson went for a lay-up, missed it, rebounded his missed shot and managed to tap it in to take the lead for good.

The win against the Tarheels set up the title match tonight against Florida State; the team that shocked the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday night.  UVA center Jack Salt dejectedly said of the loss, “They punked us.  They got us on the glass.  They got us in the lane.  They just picked up apart.”

ZION STEALS AND SLAMS 💥 pic.twitter.com/AHlsuIOuPj

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 16, 2019

Six different teams have won the ACC Tournament over the last seven years.  The Noles were the champs in 2012.  That was then.  This is now and only one team in the nation has Zion Williamson.  Charlotte loves Duke so it’s like a home court advantage for the the Blue Devils.

In their only other meeting this year, the Blue Devils edged out FSU 80-78 in Tallahassee.  Former Duke Center Christian Laettner wondered on ESPN’s College Game Day whether Duke’s big guy would be too fatigued for tonight’s game citing he showed signs of exhaustion on the court last night against the Tarheels.  He said he hopes that’s not the case tonight because Duke is going to need “everything he’s got.”

I have a sneaking suspicion Zion is going to be totally stoked for this Championship Game.  Coach K knows how to lead his team to victory.  I’m going with Duke to win it all and get a top seed in the NCAA March Madness Road to the Final Four in Minneapolis.