Against Louisville, the Duke basketball team showed its championship ability.
It was a dominant and soul-sucking victory that proved to the rest of the country that the Blue Devils should be talked about among the sport’s elite like Arizona and Michigan.
There have been other gritty victories for Duke this season but the toughness it showed on Saturday afternoon in its 72-58 win over Virginia Tech was something different than it flashed all season.
Duke was unsure how much production it would get out of Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr, who were battling illness. As late as Friday night it was unclear if either of them would play against the Hokies, yet they wanted to give it a go after waking up Saturday morning.
Neither player started and Sarr was limited, only playing eight minutes after getting into foul trouble in the first half, but Foster better than anyone could have imagined.
He finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and four assists while playing 26 minutes.
The excuses were already built in for the Blue Devils, and everyone would have understood. Even leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, Virginia Tech came with its run late in the second half to put real pressure on the Blue Devils.
The Hokies made it a six-point game. 62-56, with 6:10 remaining and Duke officially on the ropes. The power of Cassel Coliseum was ready to pull another upset at the hands of the Blue Devils, yet this squad showed what it was made of.
Virginia Tech only scored three points for the remainder of the game after Duke rattled off a 9-0 run behind Cameron Boozer.
Again, it proved the capabilities of this team having the potential to win the National Championship. When everything was stacked against them, they found a way to win the game.
Duke will look to get its players healthy before taking on Boston College on Tuesday night ahead of Saturday’s rivalry showdown against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.