Nolan Smith scored 27 points and dished out six assists as No. 2 seed Duke coasted past No. 6 seed Virginia Tech, 77-63, to advance to the championship game of the 2011 ACC Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C.
Duke (29-4) will face archrival North Carolina, which beat Clemson in overtime on Saturday in the semifinals, in the title game of the ACC Tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
Smith, who suffered a toe injury during Duke's win over Maryland on Friday, made 8-of-16 field goals and 9-of-13 free throws in 39 minutes. Kyle Singler totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds and Seth Curry added 10 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 47.2% from the floor and 84.6% from the charity stripe (22-for-26).
The Blue Devils controlled the game right from the start, jumping out to a 26-16 lead after a three from Smith with 7:37 remaining in the first half. Duke closed out the half on a 13-12 run to take a 39-28 lead into the break. The Blue Devils outscored the Hokies 38-35 in the final half to preserve the win.
Malcolm Delaney finished with 19 points for Virginia Tech (21-11), which made 21-of-57 field goals (36.8%). Erick Green scored 17 points, Victor Davila had 11 points and Jeff Allen added two points and seven rebounds for the Hokies.
2011 ACC Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 10 - First Round
#9 Miami defeats #8 Virginia, 69-62 (OT)
#5 Boston College defeats #12 Wake Forest, 81-67
#7 Maryland defeats #10 N.C. State, 75-67
#6 Virginia Tech defeats #11 Georgia Tech, 59-43
Friday, March 11 - Quarterfinals
#1 North Carolina defeats #9 Miami, 61-59
#4 Clemson defeats # 5 Boston College, 70-47
#2 Duke defeats #7 Maryland, 87-71
#6 Virginia Tech defeats #3 Florida State, 52-51
Saturday, March 12 - Semifinals
#1 North Carolina defeats #4 Clemson, 92-87 (OT)
#2 Duke defeats #6 Virginia Tech, 77-63
Sunday, March 13 - Championship
#1 North Carolina vs. #2 Duke, 1:00 p.m. ACC Network/ESPN