GREENSBORO -- Duke and Georgia Tech both boast a "Big Three" - one figuratively, one literally.
And whichever trio shows up bigger at Greensboro Coliseum today will likely go home with the ACC tournament title.
"We know we have to get Jon Scheyer under control, considering he's one of the leaders of that team ... and Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, we have to play great defense on those guys, because we know what they can do," said Yellow Jackets senior forward Zachery Peacock, whose seventh-seeded team will try to become the first ACC squad to win four games in four days en route to the title. "But at the same time, I feel like we have a trio of our own [down low] ... and we have to play well, too."
The 6-foot-8 Peacock, 6-9 Gani Lawal and 6-10 Derrick Favors make up a tall triumvirate that is combining for 34.4 points and 21.4 rebounds per game; the Jackets beat N.C. State 57-54 on Saturday to advance.
The top-seeded Blue Devils, meanwhile, counter with sharpshooters Scheyer, Smith and Singler - one of the top-scoring perimeter threesomes in the country, combining for 53.6 points. They beat Miami 77-74 to advance.
On Jan. 9 in Atlanta, Georgia Tech's trio had the upper hand, winning 71-67 when only one of Duke's "Big Three" - Scheyer, who finished with 25 points - scored in double figures.
But the Blue Devils (28-5) countered with an 86-67 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 4 during which Singler posted a career-high 30 points, Smith chipped in 14 and Scheyer had 21. By comparison, Peacock was the only one of Tech's "Big Three" to score in double figures, finishing with 11.
So how do the Yellow Jackets (22-11) contain them this time around?
"Pray..." coach Paul Hewitt said. "... We will defend. We just have to hope they don't shoot it the way they normally do. We're one of the best defensive teams in the country. [But] our last two games we saw instances where we played great defense on 3-point shooters and got torched."
Today's 1 p.m. game marks Tech's first trip to the tournament finals since 2005, when it lost to Duke. The Blue Devils are playing for their second straight league title, and their ninth in the last 12 years.
"It means a lot to us, obviously," Scheyer said. "Not many teams have been able to win the regular season and the tournament. Not only that, it is a special thing."
And a big thing - for one of the Big trios.
"It's going to be a real scrappy game," Peacock predicted. "I know it's going to be up and down. And it's going to be fun to play in."
