Virginia Tech kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with an overtime buzzer-beater to take down Clemson 76-75 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday. Darius Maddox drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired after dribbling the length of the floor in six seconds. The sophomore guard entered as a 53.1% 3-point shooter and put his outside stroke on display while rising above Clemson's Al-Amir Dawes for the heroic shot.
The No. 7 seed Hokies need a strong week to have any hope for an at-large bid to the Big Dance when the field of 68 is announced in a few days on CBS. Losing to the No. 10 seed Tigers likely would have been a fatal blow for their chances. Now, they will advance to play No. 2 seed Notre Dame at 7 p.m. ET in Thursday's quarterfinals. The Hokies won the only meeting between the teams earlier this season.
Virginia Tech led by as much as 14 early in the second half before the Tigers rallied to force overtime. Clemson forward PJ Hall missed one free throw but hit the second before Maddox's game-winner. Virginia Tech coach Mike Young called timeout to set up the final play after Hall's second make.
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛!!!! pic.twitter.com/hBrAMmBl4P
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 10, 2022
Maddox, who had not taken a shot since the 8:25 mark of the second half, got the nod and took advantage. For the game, Keve Aluma led Virginia Tech in scoring with 19 points, while Storm Murphy added 15.
