March Madness: Duke's Zion Williamson throws down huge dunk, leaps for block

March 29 (UPI) -- Duke freshman star Zion Williamson introduced himself to the Sweet 16 with a ferocious dunk over Virginia Tech forward Ty Outlaw, and a leaping block.

Williamson had two highlight-reel plays in the first half of the Blue Devils' NCAA tournament game against the Hokies on Friday night, starting with a huge putback dunk.

Duke forward RJ Barrett missed a jumper off the back rim, leading Outlaw to spring for the rebound. Williamson dashed into the paint and skied over the Virginia Tech defender, throwing down a two-handed jam about two minutes into the contest.

Five minutes later, Williamson recorded a superhuman block on Hokies big man Kerry Blackshear Jr. The Virginia Tech forward received a bounce pass and backed down Barrett in the post.

Blackshear threw up a hook shot over Barrett, but Williamson read the play and leaped above the rim for the block, hammering the ball off the backboard. Play stopped briefly as multiple Virginia Tech players thought it was goaltending, but officials didn't call it.

Williamson had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half with four rebounds. Tre Jones led Duke with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Virginia Tech led the Blue Devils 38-34 at halftime. The winner of the matchup advances to the Elite Eight for a contest against No. 2 seed Michigan State.