WATCH: Justyn Mutts posterizes Paolo Banchero in upset win over Duke for ACC Tournament title
The Virginia Tech Hokies got one of the biggest basketball wins in school history on Saturday night in winning the 2022 ACC Tournament title. The Hokies stunned the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils 82-67 and near the end of the game, Virginia Tech’s Justyn Mutts put Duke’s future NBA first-round draft pick, Paolo Banchero, on a poster.
Check it out as Mutts sent in the hammer with 2:26 remaining to push the Virginia Tech lead to 76-64.
It was an emphatic dunk and Banchero fell to the ground after Mutts sent it in. The dunk was an exclamation point on one of the biggest wins in school history for the Virginia Tech Hokies. The win gave the team not only their first ACC Tournament crown in school history, but it officially punched their 2022 NCAA Tournament tickets. After stunning Duke, they have locked up the ACC’s automatic bid.
Mutts had a monster game against Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals
Mutts had six points, four rebounds, and four assists in 33 minutes of action on Saturday night against Duke. A few days ago, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against Notre Dame, Mutts posted a double-double and stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
On Saturday night, the Hokies started four players in their starting lineup that either began their careers or originally committed to mid-major programs. Mutts was one of those players. Duke has five future first-round NBA draft picks in their starting lineup.
The play was just a microcosm of how the Hokies operated all night on offense, making smart passes to get quality shots all around the floor. It was a masterful performance from Mike Young’s squad and a firm reminder that as long as he’s around in Blacksburg, the Hokies will be a force to be reckoned with.
Hunter Cattoor was blistering hot in Saturday night’s game, pouring in a career-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. He torched the nets from deep, connecting on 7-of-9 three pointers. Cattoor has shown he’s one of the nation’s premiere sharpshooters all season long and he simply could not be stopped all night long. He scored eight points in the first 10 minutes of the game. The funny part is he might have scored more, but he had to leave the game due to picking up two fouls with 4:13 remaining in the first half. Keve Aluma also had a double-double for the Hokies, pumping in 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. He also corralled 10 rebounds on the night.
Not surprisingly, Catoor took home MVP honors for the 2022 ACC Tournament. It was well deserved after Saturday night’s masterful performance. Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma was also named to the first team All-Tournament team.
Paolo Banchero scored 20 points for the Duke Blue Devils in the loss, connecting on 8-of-11 shots from the field. Banchero and Wendell Moore, Jr. landed on the first team All-Tournament team for the Blue Devils.
Both Duke and Virginia Tech will now await to see their seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.