In a little over a week both the Duke Women’s and Men’s Basketball teams were crowned champions in the ACC conference tournaments. How did they get the job done?
The Women’s team began their quest for a championship on March 9 in Greensboro NC. The Blue Devils overall conference record of 14-4 allowed them to begin play in the quarterfinals facing the Louisville Cardinals. The teams started the game trading buckets, but quickly turned up the energy and by halftime they were up 31-18 at the half. Duke was dominant on the defensive side of the ball forcing 11 turnovers and holding Louisville to 31 percent shooting. The defense continued into the second half and Duke opened up a 22-point lead. Late in the third quarter the Cardinals went on a run of their own cutting the lead to 15 heading into the final quarter. Duke regained its composure and secured a 13 point victory with the final score of 61-48.
The next day the Blue Devils took on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (the defending champions) in the semifinals. The opening team minutes were full of action, featuring many ties and lead changes. Back and forth went both teams giving it their all, but at the halfway point the Irish had the edge, 31-29. The fight continued into the third quarter as the two teams continued to keep it close, but in the end it was Duke’s defense that gave the win. The Blue Devils took down the defending champs in a 61-56 victory and were headed to face NC State for the title.
On Championship Sunday the Blue Devils were ready to take on seven ranked NC State. After the first 10 minutes of play the Wolfpack had a strong 19-10 lead. The Blue Devils continued fighting and worked their back to only be 7 behind at halftime, 36-29. Coming out of the half Duke was ready, scoring the Wolfpack 24-10 in the third quarter and took a 53-46 lead into the final quarter. Never slowing down, the Blue Devils took down NC State winning the game 76-62. The win was the Blue Devils first ACC tournament title in twelve years and their first under head coach Kara Lawson. While the whole team contributed to the win the MVP was Oluchi Okananwa who came off the bench scoring 22 points and 10 rebounds to grab the victory.
Less than a week later on March 13 in Charlotte, NC it was the Men’s turn to kick things off facing Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early lead of 19-8. The momentum quickly shifted as Duke went on a run hitting shot after shot but then Duke’s star player Cooper Flagg went down with an ankle injury (he wouldn’t play for the rest of the tournament). The Blue Devils continued to fight and by halftime it was 31-26. The Blue Devils came out of the half pushing pace while hitting multiple three pointers positioning them in a 54-43 lead. The Yellow Jackets continued to fight but couldn’t get the job done. Duke walked away with a 78-70 and a trip to the semifinals against North Carolina.
The Blue Devils knew this would be a tall task as the Tar Heels were a strong team. Both teams came out with energy from the beginning with the teams trading baskets. Duke went on a run extending their lead to 27-17. Then the Tar Heels pulled the margin within six, 30-24. The Blue Devils pushed back, holding North Carolina scoreless for the final 5:03 of the half and taking a 45-24. After the break the lead became even larger, 52-28, but the Tar Heels were relentless and cut the score to 66-56. As time was running out both teams made a push and the score became near even 72-71, but the Blue Devils iced the game with free throws in the final seconds. They won 74-71 and were ready to face Louisville in the championship game.
On March 15, the Blue Devils took the court for a chance at their 23 ACC tournament title. In the opening minutes of the game both teams came out aggressively scoring back and forth. Then Louisville went on a run to end the half on top 38-33. Duke opened up the half with a strong run tying the score at 45-45 as the Blue Devils were quick to attack. Duke didn’t slow down and with 6 minutes left they were up 64-55. The Duke Blue Devils walked away with the victory defeating Louisville 73-62.
Both teams have had great regular seasons and conference tournaments. This is the first Duke basketball sweep since the 2010-2011 season. The last time this happened both teams’ tournament run ended in the Sweet Sixteen. Will this hold true for March or will the Blue Devils go all the way?
