It was another big week Around the ACC, but by the end the Blue Devils found new life in the conference regular season race:
1. No. 3 Virginia (19-1, 7-1 in the ACC): Virginia had most of the week off as it began preparing for the No. 4 Blue Devils at home. Although there was a sellout crowd at John Paul Jones Arena, there wasn't much to cheer about when the buzzer sounded. Cavalier guard Malcolm Brogdon had a game-high 17 points and Justin Anderson had—what at the time seemed to be a defining moment in the game—a jaw-dropping alley-oop, but Virginia saw a nine point lead slip away as Duke finished the game on a 22-7 run thanks to hot shooting to pull the upset 69-63. Without their undefeated record, the Cavaliers will be facing the toughest remaining part of their schedule going to visit No. 12 North Carolina and then hosting No. 9 Louisville this week.
2. No. 10 Notre Dame (20-3, 8-2): The luck of the Irish only seems to kick in intermittently, as seen in Notre Dame's two games this week. Playing host to then-No. 4 Duke Wednesday, guard Jerian Grant helped the Fighting Irish play spoiler for Coach K's 1,001st win. Grant had 23 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds to allow Mike Brey's squad to pull off the 77-73 victory. However on the road against Pittsburgh, it was a whole different story. The Fighting Irish had a one-point lead going into halftime, but the Panthers—on the back of big man Jamel Artis' 20-point performance—won 76-72. The Fighting Irish will take on Boston College before their rematch with Duke Saturday.
3. No. 12 North Carolina (17-5, 7-2): The Tar Heels started the week off against Syracuse. Behind Marcus Paige's 22 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals, North Carolina overcame 20 turnovers at home to notch a 93-83 win and win its sixth straight. But things got a bit harder when Roy Williams' squad went to Louisville to take on the then-No. 13 Cardinals. After a strong first half, the Tar Heels saw a 18-point lead slip away as Louisville stormed back to force overtime before handing the Tar Heels a 78-68 loss and avenging its Jan. 10 loss. Next up for North Carolina is a visit from No. 3 Virginia followed by a road trip to Boston College.
4. No. 9 Louisville (18-3, 6-2): Louisville started the week with a matchup against Boston College on the road. It wasn't much of a nail-biter as the Cardinals won easily 81-72 with a nice performance from guard Chris Jones, with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Things were more interesting during a home battle against North Carolina. After going into the break down by 11, behind a monster performance from Montrezl Harrell of 22 points and 15 rebounds the Cardinals found a way to win in overtime by a margin of 10. Next week Louisville will face Miami and then take on No. 3 Virginia in Charlottesville.
5. No. 4 Duke (18-3, 5-3): This week has been a whirlwind for Duke. Coming off Coach K's 1,000th win, the Blue Devils headed to South Bend, Ind., to battle the Fighting Irish. Though Jahlil Okafor had a solid performance with 22 points and 17 rebounds, Grant and a late drought were too much for the Blue Devils to avoid their third conference loss. After the dismissal of junior Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke headed to Charlottesville with only eight scholarship players on the roster. After being down by 11 points at one point, the Blue Devils heated up in the final five minutes to hit six of their last eight 3-pointers to steal a 69-63 win and stay in the ACC regular season race. Next week, the Blue Devils return to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on Georgia Tech before welcoming Notre Dame to try to avenge their earlier loss.
6. Syracuse (14-7, 5-3): The Orange only had one game this week, against then-No. 13 North Carolina. Despite a standout performance from Trevor Cooney—who had 28 points—and a 22-point, 12-rebound effort from Rakeem Christmas, Paige and the Tar Heels proved too much by making nine triples against Syracuse's zone. The Orange look to bounce back this week against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.
7. Clemson (13-8, 5-4): First up for the Tigers this week was a hot N.C. State team. Clemson was able to hold the Wolfpack to only 29 percent shooting from the field while the Tigers were shooting a healthy 47 percent after building a 36-16 halftime lead. This led to an eventual 68-57 Clemson win. Next up for the Tigers was Boston College. Thanks to a strong 24 point performance from junior guard Jordan Roper—who had 18 points against N.C. State—and an ineffective Eagles' starting lineup, the Tigers won 64-49. Up next for Clemson is a Florida road trip with stops at Florida State and Miami.
8. N.C. State (14-9, 5-5): This week has been a mixed bag for the Wolfpack. After taking the Fighting Irish into overtime last week, only to lose by three points, N.C. State took a bad loss against Clemson because Trevor Lacey and company couldn't get it going on the offensive end. Against Georgia Tech, the Wolfpack looked to stop a three-game slide. After amassing a strong lead in the first half, the Yellow Jackets fought hard to send the game to overtime. But with ice in his veins, Lacey hit a dramatic, buzzer-beating triple to give his team an 81-80 win. The only game for N.C. State this upcoming week is an in-state battle against Wake Forest on the road.
9. Miami (14-7, 4-4): Miami was trending up going into this week, but then took a hard nosedive in its last two bouts. Against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes went cold, with two starters—including star guard Angel Rodriguez—scoring zero points and the team taking a huge loss 70-50. Facing Florida State, Miami took a one-point 51-50 loss after only scoring 18 points in a second half in which the Seminoles scored 30. After falling far in the standings in one week, Miami will face No. 9 Louisville and Clemson at home.
10. Pittsburgh (13-8, 3-5): The Panthers had arguably their highest and lowest points this week. First, against Virginia Tech, the Panthers saw themselves down five at halftime and fought back to send the game into overtime. As though to make up for his missed 3-pointer against Virginia, guard Adam Smith—who had 26 points with six threes in total—hit a triple with four seconds left to ice the game and give Virginia Tech its first ACC win this season. But Pittsburgh came back hard against Notre Dame. Both teams shot the ball well, but the Panthers had superior ball movement and a late runner from James Robinson gave Pittsburgh their third conference win. The Panthers will play non-conference Bryant University and Syracuse this week.
11. Florida State (12-10, 4-5): The Seminoles kept things interesting this week as they first faced Wake Forest, then faced off against Miami. The Seminoles and Demon Deacons battled for 50 minutes after two extra sessions, with Florida State eventually prevailing 82-76. Against Miami in a low-scoring nail-biter, Florida State was down by as much as 16, but was able to come back thanks largely in part to Montay Brandon, who scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting. Next for the Seminoles is a bout against Clemson and a road contest against the Hokies in Blacksburg.
12. Wake Forest (10-12, 2-7): Against the Seminoles, the Demon Deacons fought to stay in the game through two overtimes, however in the end Wake Forest was unable to get shots to go down in a 82-76 loss. Next, the Demon Deacons faced the Hokies at home. It was a close one throughout, but thanks to Codi Miller-McIntyre—who hit all seven of his shots and had 19 points—the Demon Deacons took the win 73-70. Next for Wake Forest after ending its four-game losing streak is N.C. State and a road contest against Georgia Tech.
13. Boston College (9-11, 1-7): The Eagles got their first conference win last week against Georgia Tech in a tight 64-62 game, but weren't able to continue the momentum this week. Against then-No. 10 Louisville, Chris Jones' 28 points were too much as the Eagles fell 81-72. Finally, against Clemson, the going got tough for Boston College as Roper's 24 points highlighted a 15-point win for the Tigers. Next for the Eagles are No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 12 North Carolina.
14. Virginia Tech (9-12, 1-7): Virginia Tech and Virginia had a Commonwealth battle that saw the Hokies push the Cavaliers to their limits last Sunday before Virginia prevailed after a late Adam Smith 3-pointer spun out. Next, Virginia Tech bounced back to earn its first ACC win against Pittsburgh. As the game went into overtime, this time Smith's last-second triple fell to give his team a 70-67 win.But the Hokies' luck did not continue against Wake Forest. Miller-McIntyre's perfection from the field helped spell another loss as the Deacons won 73-70. The Hokies will next face Syracuse and Florida State.
15. Georgia Tech (10-11, 1-8): Georgia Tech also got their first ACC win in an improbable blowout of then-No. 23 Miami this week. The Yellow Jackets were on fire shooting 57 percent while the Hurricanes only could muster 34 percent and never found a rhythm. After that, though, the Yellow Jackets faced N.C. State. Although they were down at the half, the Yellow Jackets fought back and forced overtime before Lacey's dramatic triple handed them another close ACC loss. Next for the Yellow Jackets are No. 4 Duke and Wake Forest.
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