Duke makes history in beating Notre Dame for ACC Tournament championship

Dave DeLuca

Duke makes history in beating Notre Dame for ACC Tournament championship image

Duke just made ACC Tournament history.

Few could have predicted that the Blue Devils would win four games in four days — the first time in the tournament's history — to win the conference, and with good reason. Duke has mostly disappointed this season. 

But the No. 5 Blue Devils did just that, beating the Fighting Irish 75-69 in a hard-fought win to get the championship — and stir up discussions about how the NCAA Tournament should be seeded.

MOVE: Duke-Notre Dame live stats

Here is how the game went down:

First half notes 

Lights out

If you thought Duke might be a little fatigued after playing four games in four days, you thought wrong. Duke shot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half, compared to Notre Dame’s 39.4 percent.

Three-headed monster​

Luke Kennard, Grayson Allen and Jayson Tatum combining for 24 points of Duke’s 38 first-half points.

MORE: Duke's stock is rising with strong ACC Tournament performance

Bonzie

Bonzie Colson leads Notre Dame with 15 points and has kept the Fight Irish in it. He cut Duke’s lead to two with six seconds left in the period before Allen finished a layup at the buzzer.

Cold from deep​

Notre Dame and Duke both struggled shooting from three. Duke went just 3 of 10. Notre Dame went 4 of 12. 

Dave DeLuca

Dave DeLuca is an intern at Sporting News and a recent graduate of Buffalo State. He's a former intern and digital editor at The Buffalo News and executive editor of The Record, Buffalo State's student-run newspaper.