Virginia came out on top in an exciting showdown against Duke with a 69-62 victory in overtime. The final play of regulation saw Duke’s Kyle Filipowski drive to the basket, but the officials initially whistled a foul, drawing outrage from fans. However, after a lengthy review, the call was waved off, a decision that the ACC later admitted was incorrect. Duke’s coach, Jon Scheyer, expressed his confusion about the call, saying, “I still would like an explanation exactly. I don’t have clarity on that.”
Despite the controversy, Armaan Franklin made the big shot for Virginia, a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in overtime. Franklin said he was initially out of position for the play, but adjusted when point guard Kihei Clark found him. Clark also had a strong performance with 16 points and five assists, and Ben Vander Plas added 13 points for the Cavaliers.
Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points, and Tyrese Proctor had 14. Despite Filipowski’s scoreless performance, Duke made a late push, with Roach driving to the basket and Jacob Grandison hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game with 50 seconds left. However, in the end, it was Virginia who took home the victory.
Despite a size disadvantage, Virginia drove to the basket constantly in the opening half, scoring 20 of their 25 points in the paint. Meanwhile, Duke’s Jeremy Roach scored 12 consecutive points for the Blue Devils, giving him more points than Virginia’s 11 at the time. By halftime, Duke had four players with two fouls, and Roach was whistled for his third foul just 31 seconds into the second half.
The game was a thrilling battle between two talented teams. Despite the controversy surrounding the final play of regulation, Virginia’s strong performance, including 42 points in the paint and 20 points off Duke’s 22 turnovers, ultimately led to their victory.
