Maddox powers Hokies again, this time to Tech's first ACC Championship Game

By Sam Alves

Staff Writer

March 11, 2022

BROOKLYN, N.Y. –– Sophomore Darius Maddox is no stranger to the big moment these days. Good thing for Virginia Tech, because it will play for its first ACC Tournament championship on Saturday night against Duke at 8:30 p.m.

Despite coming off the bench, Maddox led the game in scoring with a career-high 20 points in the Hokies’ 72-59 win over North Carolina –– a team that had beaten Tech twice this season and knocked Tech out of the conference tournament the last two seasons.

Though Maddox didn’t hit a game-winner like he did at Miami late in the regular season or in Tech’s first game of the tournament against Clemson, he did finished a timely four-point play to push Tech’s second-half lead to 17.

“I think we ran [the same play] twice before, and the defender seemed like he knew exactly where I was going [the first two times,] so I gave him a little push,” Maddox said. “Coming off it, I got a good amount of separation, and when I let it go, I knew it was good.”

The shot helped counter Carolina’s 9-0 run that thinned Tech’s 20-point lead to 11, the type of stand the Hokies lacked in their first two games of the tournament.

Maddox’s in-game adjustment wasn’t the only one Tech made with its season on the line. To counter Carolina’s size, the Hokies sent out a four-guard lineup –– one which prominently included Maddox –– often in the second half.

Tech head coach Mike Young said he didn’t like the idea of four guards on the floor when preparing for the game, though.

“Then the doggone thing worked so well,” Young said with surprise. “[North Carolina] had a hard time matching Brady [Manek] on a guard. I think they went with Puff Johnson, with a smaller lineup.

“It was maybe the key to our team in the second half –– another mover, another ball handler, another catch-and-shoot guy. [Maddox] can floor it and get between his legs and create stuff for himself. That's a pretty special guy.”

Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis also credited Tech’s small-ball lineup for the Hokies’ success.

“With their small lineup, there was always an opportunity where there was one of our bigs guarding their guards,” Davis said. “And Virginia Tech is a little bit different from the standpoint [that] they were getting the switches. And their guards aren't necessarily one-on-one, take you out on the perimeter.

“Now Armando [Bacot,] now Brady [Manek] are having to guard perimeter players coming off of down screens and [dribble handoffs.] Those are things they don't necessarily do very much….That small lineup bothered us.”

So too did Tech’s post defense against Bacot, who did lead the Tar Heels with 19 points and the game with 14 rebounds.

“It was more of a unique double team from what I've seen, just them coming from the baseline,” Bacot said. “And then they kind of zoned up on the weak side. Early on, a lot of my reads, it kind of threw off my timing on passes and stuff just because they did a good job on the weak side playing between two men. It's kind of hard, and I like going baseline a lot, so it definitely affected a lot of things we were trying to get into.”

Across the board, Tech’s superb defense kept the game close until the offense woke up after a late 9:30 tip. It held UNC to 37% shooting from the floor and a 3-for-14 (21%) mark from deep. The Hokies shot 43% from the field and made 4-of-9 3-pointers to take a six-point lead into the break.

In the latter 20 minutes, Maddox led all scorers with 13 points, pushing Tech’s bench total to 30 points. Carolina only had six, and the Tar Heels missed all 12 of its 3-point attempts in the second half.

The Hokies got six bench points in their first game against Carolina in the team’s first matchup and 15 in the second almost a month later. The Hokies lost both of those games.

“You get into…two, three, now four games [in four days,] the luxury of having eight dependable guys –– guys that you know that you can plug in and are going to move the team forward –– is a big, big deal,” Young said.

As is the upcoming ACC Championship game, the last contest guaranteed in a season Tech started 0-4 and later 2-7 in the conference. The turnaround –– both from the team and Maddox personally –– has been remarkable.

“I remember Darius last year,” Nahiem Alleyne said after Tech’s home win against Virginia on Valentine’s Day, “he couldn’t remember a play. But now he’s really locked in.”