Duke dodged pitfalls to win another ACC crown
By Bud L. Ellis
The 2010 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament ended up with a familiar scene: The Duke Blue Devils celebrating another conference championship.
For the ninth time in 12 years, and for the 18th time overall, Duke captured the conference crown, avoiding the pitfalls of an upset-riddled bracket to ground down Georgia Tech in the title game at Greensboro Coliseum, 65-61.
Duke entered the tournament as the top seed and was one of four teams with an opening-round bye. In the quarterfinals, the Blue Devils knocked off No. 9 Virginia, 57-46. In the semifinals, No. 12 seed Miami – a huge surprise – pushed Duke to the limit before the Blue Devils squeaked by, 77-74.
In the title game, No. 7 seed Georgia Tech awaited, playing its fourth game in as many days. But Duke simply had too much for the Jackets in the final minutes, winning the conference and earning a No. 1 seed into the NCAA Tournament.
From there, Duke wouldn’t be stopped. The Blue Devils won six games in a row and on April 5 celebrated winning the national championship.
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Friday, June 18, 2010 at 1:36 pm by bud
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