Freedom’s just another word for converting from the line
Hard to say why, but when it comes to prosperity at the foul line, no team is historically more accommodating for Duke than Virginia Tech. As was evidenced yet again on New Year’s Eve at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Ever since the schools from neighboring states flrst met on a basketball court in February of 1912, the Blue Devils have emerged victorious 54 of 67 times, an .806 winning percentage.
In three of their meetings the Devils were perfect at the free throw line, most recently the last game of calendar year 2024. That’s out of just five times in Duke history one of its teams converted all 10 or more foul shots.
In December of 1966 Duke made every one of its 29 free throws against the Hokies. The Devils made 24 of 24 against Davidson in 1978, and then 15 of 15 against Virginia Tech on Dec. 31, 2024. Otherwise Duke made 14 of 14 against South Carolina in Dec. 1961 and 10 of 10, again versus Virginia Tech in Dec. 2019.
The ACC men’s record for most free throws made without a miss in a single game is 32 of 32, by Wake Forest against North Carolina in 2005. That game at the Smith Center went to triple overtime and was the sole defeat suffered by the Tar Heels from Nov. 22 through Feb. 9, when they lost to Duke — one of UNC’s four defeats en route to the first NCAA title of Roy Williams’ coaching career.
Perhaps surprisingly, Duke’s showing against Virginia Tech wasn’t the ACC’s only faultless free throw performance this season. Louisville made all 13 foul shots in a 22-point loss to Tennessee. And Pitt made all 12 free throws in beating Virginia Tech, apparently exploiting a foul line flaw most evident to coaches who played for Duke. [Joking.]
On the flip side of the foul shooting coin, Louisville missed 14 of 39 free throws against UNC last week (.641) and won by 13 points.
And, if you want to indulge in a bit of silliness, there’s the blemishless 2-for-2 outing by Syracuse in a loss to Maryland earlier this season in the Gotham Classic at Brooklyn.
By the way, of these episodic dead-eye squads only Clemson (second) and Pitt (third) were among the league’s most accurate free throwers as of Jan. 3.
| ENJOYING A FOUL BALL Best Team FT Accuracy, Single Game, Current Season, Minimum 10 Attempts (Through Contests Of 1/3/25) |
||
|---|---|---|
| FT% | FT-FTA | ACC Team v. Opponent |
| 1.000 | 15-15 | Duke (W) v. Va. Tech |
| 1.000 | 13-13 | Louisville (L) v. Tenn. |
| 1.000 | 12-12 | Pitt (W) v. Va. Tech |
| .938 | 15-16 | Clemson (W) v. Wake |
| .917 | 11-12 | Notre Dame (W) v. G'town |
| .917 | 11-12 | Virginia (W) v. Coppin St. |
| .917 | 11-12 | Virginia (L) v. SMU |
| .917 | 11-12 | Stanford (L) v. Clemson |
| .909 | 19-21 | Clemson (L) v. So Car. (OT) |
| .909 | 10-11 | Duke (W) v. Wofford |
| .909 | 20-22 | Wake (W) v. NC A&T |
| .903 | 28-31 | UNC (L) v. Kansas |
| .900 | 18-20 | Stanford (W) v. Cal. |
| .900 | 9-10 | Virginia (L) v. Florida |
