ALUMA AND DEFENSIVE EFFORT LEAD HOKIES TO ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

By Wyatt Krueger

Staff Writer

March 11, 2022

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Virginia Tech forward Keve Aluma and North Carolina forward Armando Bacot have been two of the conference’s most dominant big men over the past two seasons.

In three matchups heading into Friday night, Bacot had gotten the better of Aluma and the Hokies. He had won all three matchups and averaged 14.3 points and 16 rebounds in those contests.

On Friday, Aluma came out on the winning side, leading the Hokies to a 72–59 win over the Tar Heels to set up a matchup against Duke in the first ACC Championship in program history.

The Hokies got key contributions from their bench that outscored the Tar Heel reserves 30–6, but Aluma’s consistent and steady presence can’t be overstated.

“[Aluma] does a good job of drawing fouls,” Bacot said of what makes Aluma a tough matchup down low. “It puts me in a tough position guarding him because when I'm playing straight up, he does a good job of using his body and getting me to foul him. So much misdirection to get him the ball – cross screens – and he can shoot the ball too. It's different guarding him than a lot of other players.”

The Second Team All-ACC forward had 18 points and four rebounds on an efficient 6-for-14 shooting day while defending the paint with front court partner Justyn Mutts.

It was a team effort on Bacot as the Hokies sent different looks and double teams all night to get the North Carolina offense out of rhythm, and it worked.

“It was just very difficult against Virginia Tech's defense to consistently get great shots,” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said. “I mean, Armando was 9-of-10 from the field, but it was just very difficult to get the ball into him. They did a great job being physical with him, and as soon as they caught it, they double-team – and this was the first time that they had done this to us.”

Bacot still posted 19 points and 14 rebounds, but Aluma set the tone in the second half, putting in an and-one on the first possession to jump start a 13-2 run out of the locker room.

“I thought we made a couple of shots,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said on the team’s second half start. “Our defense carried us in that run to get some separation and make a little hay.”

Virginia Tech held Carolina to 36.7% shooting from the field, 11.5% shooting from deep and outside of Bacot, the Tar Heel starters shot 11-for-42.

Another tall task awaits as Aluma and Co. face a Blue Devil team loaded with NBA prospects, notably the front court pairing of Mark Williams and Paulo Banchero.

Virginia Tech suffered a 76–65 loss in Durham back on December 22, but this is a different Hokie team that has won 12 of its last 14 games.

“The first half was good, but [in] the second half, they just started getting better,” Aluma said of the previous matchup against Duke. “I know Paolo played pretty well in the second half, so it will be a good game.”

“We'll win tomorrow if we can defend and we can rebound,” Young said. “Can we defend Duke? Can we rebound with Banchero and A.J. Griffin and those others? Tall order."