It’s a lucky date for Virginia Tech
Ty Outlaw hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 88 seconds left and No. 20 Virginia Tech beat No. 3 Duke 77-72 on Tuesday night while Blue Devils star freshman Zion Williamson sat out his second straight game with a sprained right knee.
Kelly Blackshear Jr. had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Ahmed Hill scored 17 points for host Virginia Tech (22-6, 11-5), which beat Duke at Cassell Coliseum for the third straight time. The Blue Devils (24-4, 12-3) had been the only team in the country yet to lose on the road this season.
Duke hasn’t won at Virginia Tech since Feb. 25, 2015. On three of the last nine Feb. 26ths, Virginia Tech has upset a top-five Duke team.
RJ Barrett scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Blue Devils from dropping out of a first-place tie with No. 2 Virginia and No. 5 North Carolina in the ACC. Cam Reddish added 17 points as Duke dropped its second in three games, including an 88-72 loss to North Carolina when Williamson was injured.
at No. 4. Kentucky 70, Arkansas 66: Tyler Herro had career highs of five threepointers and 29 points, including two free throws with five seconds remaining, and Kentucky rallied from a 15point deficit. Keldon Johnson added 13 points, and Nick Richards came off the bench to grab 15 rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 50% from the field.
at No. 5. North Carolina 93, Syracuse 85: Coby White scored a career-high 34 points and North Carolina pulled away late. Cameron Johnson added 16 points for the Tar Heels (23-5, 13-2), who have won 11 of 12 games and own their highest ranking of the season.
at Indiana 75, No. 19 Wisconsin 73 (2OT): Romeo Langford, a freshman guard who had 22 points and seven rebounds, made the goahead layup with less than a second to go in the second overtime to lift Indiana to the upset win. Justin Smith had 12 points and six rebounds, and Rob Phinisee and Alijami Durham scored 11 points each for the Hoosiers (14-14, 5-12), who ended a five-game skid. Ethan Happ had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers (19-9, 11-6).
at No. 21. Buffalo 77, Akron 64: CJ Massinburg had 23 points and 10 rebounds to rally Buffalo for its 25th straight home win — the second-longest streak in the nation behind Houston’s 33. Nick Perkins scored 25 points and the Bulls (25-3, 13-2) outscored the Zips 14-2 over the final four minutes in a game that featured 12 lead changes.
at Ohio State 90, No. 22 Iowa 70: Freshman Justin Ahrens scored a career-high 29 points, including nine in a 68-second span during a 12-2 run that put the Buckeyes up 74-56 with 8:42 left. Kaleb Wesson chipped in 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes (18-10, 8-9), who got their first win in five tries against ranked teams this season. Joe Wieskamp had 17 points to lead Iowa (21-7, 10-7).