Live at the ACC Tournament: Virginia knocks off Duke

Joe Harris, Virginia

Until around 2 p.m. today, Zanna was the runaway favorite for our Tourney MVP. He was definitely the most fun to watch. But Jabari Parker took the award from him with a monster steal-and-dunk that made just about everyone on press row say, “Wow.” So, Parker is MVP, and Zanna is MFTW (Most fun to watch).

The Cavaliers and Blue Devils staged a championship game for the ages before a rollicking sold-out crowd of 21,533, which at times sounded surprisingly like a home game for the Wahoos. The Coliseum was a boisterous sea of orange and blue, having no shame in shouting down the notoriously vociferous Duke fans. Virginia, the tournament’s top seed, now awaits the decision of the NCAA Selection Committee as to whether it will receive a coveted No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia raced out to an early nine-point lead before Duke made a 12-3 run to tie the game at 19 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. However, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was issued a technical foul after throwing a magic marker on the Blue Devils’ bench. Virginia’s London Perrantes hit both free throws, giving the Wahoos a six-point lead.

Well, actually we knew ye pretty well but your administration didn’t understand simple economics and had to bolt for the Big 17, destroying a decades-long legacy of ACC play. Alas, it all came crashing down today courtesy of a last-second Boris Bojanovsky dunk that put ninth-seeded Florida State into the ACC quarterfinals on Friday. Oh, how many chances there were for Turtle Power! In the end, though, all that matters are the memories...and the money.

And the FSU Golden Girls: