Tag: darius maddox

Why does George Mason’s Darius Maddox sound familiar to Duke basketball fans?

Duke basketball fans with good memories (and long grudges) might recognize George Mason’s leading scorer, a former ACC transfer.

Darius Maddox didn’t join the George Mason program until the 2023-24 season, and the Blue Devils haven’t faced the Patriots since 2006. So why does the name sound familiar?

Maddox spent three seasons with the Virginia Tech Hokies before his time in Fairfax, and his old program actually beat Duke three times in four games during his time there.

The 6-foot-5 guard admittedly didn’t play a major role in most of those games, but his best performance came in the most impactful Virginia Tech victory. Maddox came off the bench for six points and five rebounds in the Hokies’ 82-67 upset of the Blue Devils in the 2022 ACC Tournament final.

The win punched Virginia Tech’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament, but more importantly, it denied legendary Duke coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] a walk-off conference title in his final season. It served as the middle act in a trio of storybook-ending losses that season, sandwiched between losses to the North Carolina Tar Heels in Coach K’s final home game and in the Final Four.

Maddox averaged 14.0 points in his first season with the Patriots last year, and he’s put together 14.9 points to lead the team so far in 2024-25. He’s dropped a season-high 20 in three different games, including a road loss to Marquette on November 8.

Darius Maddox saved Virginia Tech’s season with an incredible buzzer-beater to top Clemson

March is here but not really here, you know?

Virginia Tech men’s basketball has seen better days. In the third year under Mike Young, the Hokies carved out a respectable overall 20-12 record, which is acceptable, admirable even. But such a record comes with caveats: They finished in a paltry seventh place in the ACC regular-season standings. I’m no bracketologist, but that’s probably not how you want to enter March.

Thanks (or no thanks?) to their regular year foibles, Virginia Tech entered the ACC Tournament on the outside looking in to March Madness. Any early defeat would mean the Hokies were all but certainly going to have a silent month.

That nightmare almost became a reality in the second round against Clemson (+5 favorites) on Wednesday night. Virginia Tech faced a 75-73 overtime deficit, and a little over six seconds to go the length of the court, or their season’s over. Welp. Hokie fans should start filing out to beat the traffic.

Not if Darius Maddox has anything to say.

A game-winning three right through the heart of fellow bubble Clemson, and a stoic stare down after practically screaming, “Yep, I did that.”

Here’s a couple of more angles of this sweet taste of the madness to come.

 

Virginia Tech survives to play No. 2 seeded Notre Dame on Thursday. Another tall order and another win they probably have to have. After Maddox’s heroics, you’d forgive them if they felt invincible.

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