For the 1st time ever, Virginia Tech has claimed an ACC Tournament Title. The conference crown comes 18 years after the Hokies first joined the ACC in 2004. Coach Mike Young, the man who has led the Hokies to new heights is a man who is no stranger to success. Saturday's ACC Tournament crown means the Hokies will make their 2nd straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in Young's 3rd season there. It marks the 2nd team Young has led to the dance in the last 4 seasons, after Young led Wofford to the round of 32 in 2019.
The Hokies came into the ACC tournament on the wrong side of the bubble. I thought the win over Notre Dame probably would have been enough to get them in as an at-large. However, the Hokies didn't leave it to chance or leave any doubts. They went on to down bluebloods UNC and Duke in consecutive days in the Semi's and Finals.
VA Tech won 4 games in as many days in Brooklyn. They downed Clemson 76-75 in overtime on Wednesday to open the tournament with a win. That win propelled them to their run for the crown. They have now won 4 in a row and are 14-2 in their last 16 games. It has been an amazing late stretch run and coaching job by Young after they started 2-7 in ACC play.
The Hokies cruised past Duke in the ACC Finals, 82-67. Hunter Cattoor was spectacular against the Blue Devils pouring in a game high 31. He would go on to be named ACC Tournament MVP. Keve Aluma had a double-double if 19 points and a game high 10 boards, he also had a game high 7 assists.
Aluma had a great tournament and was named an 1st All-ACC Tournament. Storm Murphy was named to the 2nd team, as did Darius Maddox the hero of the Clemson game. The Hokies hit 45% on their 3 point tries vs Duke and held them to just 4 of 20 shooting from deep. The Hokies offensive execution was sharp and their ball movement was crisp. They had 18 assists on 32 made shots in the game.
The conference title marks the 6th in Young's coaching career. He led Wofford to the SoCon Tournament Title 5 times in his 16 year tenure. This year will mark his 7th NCAA Tournament appearance. Young has a .607 winning percentage overall in his 3 seasons at Virginia Tech. The Hokies are playing extremely well and look like they will be a tough out in NCAA Tournament. We will see who they draw and how much credence the committee will put on their ACC Tourney run in terms of seeding.
