Virginia Tech Hokies Face Setback at Cameron Indoor Stadium Against Duke Blue Devils
The Virginia Tech Hokies, ranked 12th, faced a challenging contest against the 16th-ranked Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The final score read 66-55 in favor of the home team. The Hokies now stand with a record of one loss and no draws, while the Blue Devils celebrate their victory with no losses or draws.
The game started off competitively with the Hokies putting up an impressive 17 points in the first quarter but fell short as the Blue Devils secured 23 points. Despite a strong start, Virginia Tech struggled to maintain momentum in subsequent quarters. The second quarter saw them add only 15 points to their tally compared to Duke's 11 points, which kept the game within reach for both teams.
As play resumed after halftime, Virginia Tech encountered difficulties finding their rhythm on offense and managed just eight points in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Duke capitalized on this lull by adding seven points to their score. Heading into the final stretch of play, both teams were eager to assert dominance; however, it was Duke who surged ahead with an additional 25 points against Virginia Tech's effort of another 15.
Key players for Virginia Tech included those who contributed significantly across various statistics: three blocks were recorded alongside four steals and eight assists throughout the game. Offensively speaking, they attempted a total of 49 field goals making about thirty-five percent and showed proficiency from beyond the arc hitting forty-four percent from three-point range over sixteen attempts.
Defensively speaking for Virginia Tech was also notable; they grabbed twenty-nine rebounds including fifteen defensive boards and seven offensive ones which led to two second-chance points but it wasn't enough as they allowed eighteen turnovers which translated into eighteen points off turnovers for Duke.
On Duke's side of things, they demonstrated solid defense by accumulating seven blocks and eight steals while committing fewer turnovers than their opponents (twelve). Their shooting performance was slightly better than that of Virginia Tech's; making forty-two percent from field goal range over fifty-three attempts including forty percent from three-point land out of ten tries.
Looking ahead for fans of Virginia Tech Hokies is another competitive matchup scheduled at John Paul Jones Arena against rivals -the University Cavaliers- on January 29 at six PM Eastern Time. This event will be broadcasted nationally on ACC Network channel six hundred twelve where supporters can tune in to follow all live-action between these two esteemed university teams.