No. 7 Blue Devils Hold Off Canes, 80-76, to Reach ACC Title Game

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Freshman Paolo Banchero had 18 points and 11 rebounds and No. 7 Duke held off Miami with free throws in the final minute as the Blue Devils advanced to the ACC championship with an 80-76 victory Friday night.

Top-seeded Duke (28-5) will face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 3-seed North Carolina and No. 7-seed Virginia Tech in Saturday night’s championship at Barclays Center.

Fellow rookie AJ Griffin, who went to high school just north of New York City in White Plains, scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 22nd appearance in the ACC title game.

Kameron McGusty scored 24 points to lead the Hurricanes (23-10), who beat the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in January. Duke was able to get the best of Miami in the rematch with timely plays down the stretch on both ends, including Wendell Moore Jr., blocking an Isaiah Wong drive and then converting a layup to give his team a three-point edge.

The size and strength of the Blue Devils in the paint was hard to handle for the Hurricanes. Banchero, was 8-of-10 from the field with almost all of his damage coming inside.

McGusty and Jordan Miller (17 points, 11 rebounds) got plenty of good looks on mid-range jumpers and near the rim. The two combined to shoot 19-of-35 as the Hurricanes finished .470 (31-66) from the floor.

After Sam Waardenburg knocked down a corner three with five minutes left that tied the score at 65, Duke held Miami to zero field goals over the next four minutes.

The Hurricanes led by as many as 11 in the first half, but Griffin scored 12 straight points late for Duke and sophomore Jeremy Roach closed the half with a full-court dash and layup to knot it at 36.

Roach and sophomore Mark Williams each finished with nine points. Williams also grabbed 10 rebounds as Duke posted a 40-31 advantage on the glass.

Saturday’s championship game tips at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.