Around the ACC: Week 12

It was another busy week in the ACC as the Blue Devils avenged last week's loss against Notre Dame to climb closer to the top of the standings and Virginia bounced back from its first loss of the season in a big way:

1. No. 2 Virginia (21-1, 9-1 in the ACC)

After being dealt their first loss of the season by Duke, the Cavaliers looked to rebound against Tobacco Road’s other team Monday when they traveled to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina. Justin Anderson imposed his will on both ends of the court and Virginia used a dominant second half to put away the Tar Heels 75-64. Picking off right where it left off, Tony Bennett’s squad dominated Louisville Saturday with its first-half play. However, the Cavaliers nearly let the game get away from them after Anderson was forced to sit the second half with a finger injury. A big-time hook shot from Darion Atkins with 1:04 remaining gave Virginia enough distance to hold off the upset, but what came next made the win bittersweet at best.

Saturday night, the team announced that Anderson would be sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a fractured finger. Now without their second-leading scorer for the remainder of conference play, the Cavaliers will encounter their biggest dose of adversity yet—despite just navigating a tough stretch of three consecutive top-12 opponents with a record of 2-1.

2. No. 10 Notre Dame (21-4, 9-3)

Notre Dame pushed past Boston College 71-63 Wednesday, boosted by lights-out shooting in the first 20 minutes. Bouncing back after last week’s disappointing loss to Pittsburgh, the Fighting Irish built up a 25-point lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Jerian Grant and Steve Vasturia recorded 17 points apiece and Notre Dame overcame a late rally by the Eagles to earn win number 21. From there, the Fighting Irish geared up for Saturday’s rematch against Duke. After posting 23 points against the Blue Devils in South Bend, Grant struggled mightily Saturday against a stifling Duke defense, posting just seven points on 3-10 shooting—including a 1-of-7 performance from the free throw line. With its best man stalled, things quickly spiraled out of control for Notre Dame, and the Blue Devils would go on to win 90-60.

3. No. 12 North Carolina (18-6, 8-3)

Fresh off an emotional win versus then-undefeated Virginia and only 10 days removed from head coach Mike Krzyzewski's 1,000th career victory, Duke returned home Wednesday to take on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets gave the Blue Devils their best shot, but Duke came away with a 72-66 win, boosted by Justise Winslow’s 15 points and 10 rebounds. After the final buzzer sounded, there was plenty of reason for celebration.

With the victory, Krzyzewski became the winningest coach in ACC play, surpassing Smith with 423 career conference wins. After the game, Krzyzewski was also presented with the game ball from his 1,000th win against St. Johns. Come Saturday, it was business as usual in Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the Fighting Irish made the trek to storied stadium for the first time since the 1994. Powered by arguably its best defensive performance of the year—including a sensational Grayson Allen block—Duke walloped Notre Dame 90-60 in front of a raucous sea of Cameron Crazies.

5. No. 9 Louisville (19-4, 7-3)

Louisville began the week with a 63-55 road win against Miami. Terry Rozier posted a team high 22 points and Montrezl Harrell flirted with a double-double—finishing with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds. But the Cardinals’ offensive rhythm was noticeably absent against a Cavalier squad that held Louisville to a mere 13 points in the first half. Although some of that performance is due to Virginia’s outstanding defense, the Cardinals just could not shoot Saturday night. The game included a 12-minute drought during which Louisville failed to score a field goal. With only 38 seconds left, a Harrell jumper brought Louisville within four, but Virginia converted on the next possession and handed Rick Patino’s squad its third conference loss with a 52-47 defeat.

6. Syracuse (15-8, 6-4)

Tuesday night, the Orange battled Virginia Tech in a nail-biter decided by a last-second shot. Syracuse guard Michael Gbinje played all 40 minutes against the Hokies, making his biggest impact of the game in the final seconds. With time winding down and the score tied, Gbinje spun around his defender to hoist up a game-winning floater that put the Orange ahead 72-70 with only one-tenth of a second remaining.

The next day, Syracuse would self-impose a ban on its men’s basketball program, blocking itself from participation in any postseason tournament, including both the 2015 ACC and NCAA tournaments. The ban comes weeks—or even days—before an expected announcement by the NCAA regarding an investigation into possible academic violations by the school that date back to the 2007 season. Going up against Pittsburgh Saturday in their first game since the self-imposed ban, the Orange struggled down the stretch, falling 83-77. Syracuse was clinging to a slim one-point lead with four minutes remaining, but was outscored by the Panthers 13-6 in the game's closing minutes.

7. Clemson (14-9, 6-5)

Clemson opened the week with a Wednesday night road bout against Florida State. The Tigers caught fire late to surge past the Seminoles in a 62-56 victory. Donte Grantham, Jaron Blossomgame and Jordan Roper all scored in double digits. Looking to extend its win streak to five, Clemson journeyed south to take on Miami Sunday night. But the Hurricanes had other plans in mind. The Tigers held a 25-24 advantage going into halftime, but their inability to establish an inside presence and draw fouls—Clemson failed to make a single free throw the entire game—ultimately led to a 56-45 loss.

8. Pittsburgh (16-8, 5-5)

Just two days after a roaring upset against Notre Dame, Pittsburgh survived a scare in its last nonconference game of the year. On paper, the Bryant Bulldogs—only in their third year as a Division I program—should not have posed any real threat to the Panthers, but they did. Shooting better than 50 percent from the floor and going 6-of-14 from behind the arc, Bryant gave Pittsburgh a real run for its money. The Panthers needed every one of Jamel Artis’s career-high 32 points to wind up on the winning end of the 72-67 battle. Pittsburgh would rebound, though. Playing Syracuse on their home court Saturday, the Panthers made the necessary plays in the closing minutes of the game to top the Orange 83-77 in front of a sellout crowd.

9. Miami (15-8, 5-5)

Miami took on ninth-ranked Louisville Tuesday. Davon Reed led the way with 19 points and Tonye Jekiri grabbed six offensive boards, but the Cardinals pushed past the Hurricanes 63-55. Miami would bounce back, though, Sunday night when it hosted Clemson. Sheldon McClellan notched 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Jekiri pulled down 16 rebounds to help the Hurricanes stop a three game skid with a 56-45 victory against the Tigers. Miami has a few days off before taking on Wake Forest Wednesday.

10. N.C. State (14-10, 5-6)

N.C. State fell to worse than .500 in ACC play after losing to Wake Forest Tuesday night. The Wolfpack traveled to Winston Salem having won their last bout—an overtime thriller against Georgia Tech—but failed to produce a similar positive outcome against the Demon Deacons. Anthony "Cat" Barber scored 28 points and nabbed three offensive boards, but Wake Forest’s 57 percent field goal shooting and 11 blocks helped the Demon Deacons sink N.C. State 88-84. With only four weeks left in conference play, every game is becoming more important for the Wolfpack as they try to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. However, with back-to-back games against conference heavyweights Virginia and Louisville looming, it does not look like N.C. State is going to catch a break anytime soon.

11. Florida State (13-11, 5-6)

Florida State hosted Clemson Wednesday in a game that saw both teams go through cold shooting stretches for large chunks of time. Boris Bojanovsky’s 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench buoyed the Seminoles, but after two halves the Tigers held the 62-56 advantage. Florida State bounced back Saturday, when it ran past Virginia Tech 73-65 after catching fire from 3-point range. Six different Seminoles found the net from downtown as the team combined to hit 8-of-18 attempts from deep. Xavier Rathan-Mayes notched 11 assists to go along with 12 points and lead an unselfish Florida State offense that dished out 18 dimes on 25 field goals. The Seminoles host the Blue Devils Monday night in their next contest.

12. Wake Forest (11-13, 3-8)

The Demon Deacons showcased their ability to win close games Tuesday, hanging on to beat N.C. State 88-84 at home. Codi Miller-McIntyre had 23 points and five assists as Wake Forest earned a rare conference victory. Then the Demon Deacons traveled to Atlanta Saturday to do battle with Georgia Tech. Wake Forest struggled mightily against the Yellow Jackets—Konstantinos Mitoglou scored 15 points, but the Demon Deacons shot less that 30 percent from the field and were out rebounded 41-33 en route to a 73-59 defeat.

13. Georgia Tech (11-12, 2-9)

Eight of Georgia Tech’s nine conference losses have been decided by single digits, and Wednesday’s loss to Duke was no different. By all accounts, the Yellow Jackets played with more energy and purpose than the Blue Devils, but they still came up short and fell to Duke 72-66 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Head coach Brian Gregory has four weeks before the ACC tournament to figure out how to change that and help his team pull out victories in close games. Saturday’s matchup against Wake Forest, on the other hand, was not a close affair. Georgia Tech outplayed the Demon Deacons on both ends of the floor, with guard Chris Bolden putting 14 points and going 4-of-7 from 3-point land.

14. Boston College (9-13, 1-9)

Boston College endured a grueling week that saw two bouts with ranked opponents—at No. 10 Notre Dame and at home against No. 12 North Carolina. In South Bend, things got out of hand quickly for the struggling Eagles, as the Fighting Irish built a 25-point lead in the first 15 minutes of play. Notre Dame would go on to win 71-63. In its battle against the Tar Heels, Boston College ran out of gas on the home stretch. When North Carolina guard Marcus Paige got hot in the final 10 minutes of play—when he scored 10 of his 13 points—the Eagles suddenly appeared out-matched and were dealt their ninth conference loss in 10 tries with a 79-68 defeat.

15. Virginia Tech (9-14, 1-9)

Virginia Tech led Syracuse 70-68 with less than a minute remaining Tuesday night, but a clutch steal by Rakeem Christmas turned into two Syracuse points and set up Micheal Gbinije’s eventual game-winning drive to the basket. In the blink of an eye, the Hokies had coughed up the lead and the game in what turned out to be a very exciting 72-70 Syracuse win. A few days later against Florida State, Virginia Tech failed to answer the Seminoles’ lights-out perimeter shooting that carried Florida State to a 73-65 victory. But on the bright side, the Hokies get troubled Georgia Tech at home Monday night—a great opportunity to notch their second conference win of the season.