Duke Has History, but Virginia Owns ACC Title

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The swirl of Virginia orange and royal Duke blue in the Greensboro Coliseum stands seemed to rise and fall with each possession, each drive to the basket, each steal, each rebound, each tie and each lead change in this heart-stopping Atlantic Coast Conference tournament final Sunday afternoon.

Virginia fans had come in droves to see their beloved 'Hoos end decades of frustration and win their first tournament championship since 1976. The Duke faithful were here in force as well, perhaps to see the expected: Another title to add to their already gaudy collection of 19.

But in a game where history, experience and the seeming natural order in the A.C.C. all seemed to work in favor of Duke, it was defensive tenacity and poise down the stretch that led Virginia to a title it had not held in 38 years.

Guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 23 points, including 10 in the final six minutes as Virginia pulled away to beat Duke, 72-63, for its second conference tournament title in 61 years. Joe Harris had 13 of his 15 points in the second half and was named the tournament's most valuable player.

The finish was almost an anticlimax to a tense second half that had six ties and six lead changes before top-seeded Virginia, which had won the regular-season title for the first time since 1981, ended the suspense in the closing minutes.

Through it all, Virginia (28-6) never lost its poise. Indeed, it was Duke's ability to stay cool that was a question. The third-seeded Blue Devils (26-8) were assessed two technical fouls during the game, including one against Coach Mike Krzyzewski in the first half.

'Our guys played with great composure,' Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. 'We needed that. I don't know what happened with the technicals. I didn't see it. But the mark of a team to win a championship and a conference tournament, you have to play with that kind of poise, composure down the stretch.

'They haven't gotten flustered. That's been a trademark of them all year.'

Krzyzewski was still upset about the call after the game.

'I have no clue,' he said when asked about the technical, which came during a timeout late in the first half when he was seen throwing a pen on the floor toward his own bench. 'You can throw a clipboard, too,' he said. 'I didn't do it in reaction to anything.

'There's no way that there should be a technical foul on that. I mean, that was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Shameful. Shameful.'

Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon was also called for a technical foul. It came with 39 seconds to go in a game that was already decided.

Technical fouls were not the difference. In the first half, it was grinding pressure from a team ranked No. 1 in the country in scoring defense that held Duke to seven points in the opening 11 minutes of the game and limited Duke star freshman Jabari Parker to 2 of 10 from the field. And in the final 20 minutes, it was Virginia's ability to answer when Parker and Duke's offense came to life.

Parker scored 15 points in the second half, 23 for the game, and three times scored to give Duke the lead. But Virginia responded by retaking it each time, never allowing Duke the luxury of padding its small advantage and gaining momentum.

It was a Brodgon layup that put Virginia ahead for good, 55-53, with 5 minutes, 50 seconds to go. The Cavaliers stretched it to 11 points in the final minute.

'It felt amazing,' said Akil Mitchell, who had seven points and 15 rebounds for Virginia while assigned to defend Parker. 'It's what you dream of. It's what we wanted to do. Now we've still got work to do. That's all I'm really focused on now. But for the last couple minutes of the game, you just, you just want to close it down and start to celebrate.'

For Virginia and its fans, it was a long time coming.

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