No. 3 Duke lost 77-72 at No. 20 Virginia Tech on Tuesday night, giving up a game in the ACC championship race and continuing a drought in Blacksburg that dates back to 2015. 

The Hokies were all over the Blue Devils from the start, exploiting a weakness inside with the absence of Zion Williamson, who missed a second straight game after leaving the North Carolina game with a sprained knee in the first minute of that loss. All-ACC candidate Kerry Blackshear was the most valuable player for the Hokies, leading the way with 23 points, 10 rebounds. 

Defending Blackshear was a tall task for Javin DeLaurier, Jack White and Marques Bolden without Williamson's presence down low, and Blackshear's double-double performance was timely as the Hokies, who usually thrive from behind the arc, hit just 30.8 percent of their three-point attempts. 

R.J. Barrett led Duke with 21 points as the final possessions of the close game routinely required the star freshman to take the lead on offense, and the Hokies were all over their rotations on the perimeter to come up with the stops they needed to pull off the upset. 

Buzz Williams described this Virginia Tech -- down Justin Robinson for a seventh straight game in a season already loaded with personnel attrition -- as stressed out but focused. The Hokies have been playing with their backs against the wall for most of the year, and will conclude the regular season with a chance to earn one of the top four seeds and a double-bye in the ACC Tournament. 

Virginia Tech's three-game win streak against Duke in Blacksburg also serves as proof positive of Williams' work in leading the program to a place where they're competing for a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament. After falling short against Virginia twice and at North Carolina, this result gives the Hokies a signature win in conference play that will not only help out its seeding in Charlotte but also in the NCAA Tournament. 

The loss sets Duke back in the ACC race and the battle for the No. 1 overall seed. Getting a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is very much still in the mix for the Blue Devils without the regular season conference title, but it tightens the margin for error with another game against North Carolina and the ACC Tournament still left on the schedule before Selection Sunday. 

Duke will now return home for its next two games, against Miami and Wake Forest, before the regular season finale at North Carolina on March 9. Virginia Tech has a week off then heads to Tallahassee to play Florida State for the right to hold on to that No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.