A couple bits of news came out of Duke's media availability Thursday ahead of Saturday's game against North Carolina:

First, the Blue Devils aren't sure if Josh Hairston will be available for Saturday's game, although the sophomore forward sounds like he's doing better than he was ahead of Tuesday's game against Wake Forest.

“Josh is going to practice today," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said before practice Thursday. "He’s doing a lot better."

Just about every ACC game Duke has played at Cameron Indoor Stadium has gone down to the wire, and Saturday was no different as the Blue Devils needed overtime to tame Virginia Tech 70-65.

Here are three final thoughts on Duke’s win:

1. Duke finds a way – again

Trailing in the final minutes against a team that barely has a .500 record, the Blue Devils’ performance against Virginia Tech shows why just about anything seems possible for the team once the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

See video higglights from Duke's 70-65 overtime win over Virginia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

Updated 4:28 p.m.

DURHAM – Duke betrayed its weariness throughout its 70-65 overtime win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Austin Rivers would drive to the basket with some fancy footwork, but his shot would stay on the front rim, lacking the energy to tumble through the hoop. Or Rivers would get to the free-throw line and then miss one of his two shots by leaving the ball short.

Seth Curry would rise for an open 3-pointer, overcompensate for his tired legs and watch the ball sail long.

During one stretch in the first half, the entire Blue Devils team passed on the opportunity to dive on the floor for a loose ball. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout after that and chewed out his players for their lethargy.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Its stride getting stronger and more confident by the game, Duke is moving ever closer to one of its goals.

The Blue Devils subdued Florida State 74-66 on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center, taking another step toward the ACC regular season championship by making 13 3-pointers against a Seminoles team that entered the game having only allowed opponents to shoot 29.1 percent for 3-point attempts on the season.

Andre Dawkins made six 3-pointers to lead the Blue Devils with 22 points while Austin Rivers made four and finished with 20 points.

With the win, No. 5 Duke (24-4, 11-2) moved into a tie with North Carolina (24-4, 11-2) at the top of the ACC standings, although the Blue Devils hold the tie-breaking edge by virtue of their win in Chapel Hill. The teams play each other on March 3 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

When Florida State’s Michael Snaer hit a game-winning 3-pointer to lift the Seminoles to a 76-73 win on Jan. 21, he became the first opponent to win a game at the buzzer at Cameron Indoor Stadium since Joe Smith propelled Maryland to a dramatic victory with a last-gasp tip-in on Jan. 28, 1995.

“I think about it a lot,” Snaer said of his heroic moment. “It was a big shot for us and a special moment for me.”

In between Snaer and Smith’s shots, opposing teams have had some dramatic wins at Cameron, just not quite as time expired. Here are some of the more memorable victories for opponents at Cameron in the last 17 years:

Updated 9:34 p.m.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Wedged around Duke’s memorable wins over North Carolina and N.C. State, there will be little that will stand out about the Blue Devils’ 75-50 triumph over Boston College when folks are reminiscing about this season.

Duke is good. Boston College isn’t.

The Blue Devils played well. The Eagles didn’t.

And that was pretty much that.

DURHAM -- One of the more important moments in Duke’s comeback against N.C. State on Thursday night came in the first half, just as the Wolfpack was building a commanding early lead. 

Seth Curry went up for a loose ball and came down awkwardly. When he got up, he put weight on his ankle to see if he could continue.The grimace on his face suggested Curry’s return was far from certain.

“When he went out, I thought he was gone,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Jose (Fonseca), our trainer, was just telling me that Seth said, ‘Man, I don’t know if I can go,’ and Jose said, ‘You have to go.’ Seth said, ‘It hurts,’ and Jose said, ‘I’ll give you a shot.’”

DURHAM – Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has a sore throat and his voice was more raspy than usual Monday on the ACC teleconference.

Nonetheless, he stressed that a lot has gone right for this year’s Blue Devil team, even if  they are not quite as consistent as he’d like. Heading into Thursday’s home game against N.C. State, Duke is 21-4 and 8-2 in the ACC, balancing perplexing efforts against Miami and St. John's with strong wins over North Carolina and Maryland.

“You’d rather have it more stable,” Krzyzewski said. “But every team in the country is somewhat inconsistent. That’s why every team in the country loses games. Even some of the great players in our country have a bad game.”

No. 10 Duke had a strong second half Saturday afternoon, maintaining its momentum from Wednesday’s win over North Carolina with a 73-55 victory against Maryland at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

From Miles Plumlee’s monster effort on the glass (22 rebounds, an all-time high for a Mike Krzyzewski-coached team) to Seth Curry’s steady offensive performance, there were a lot of things the Blue Devils had to like about the win.

Here are three of the more encouraging things Duke can take from the victory: