Following the mold from an exceptional regular season, the ACC tournament provided a plethora of ups-and-downs that resulted in an unlikely champion:
1. No. 11 Notre Dame (29-5, 14-4 in the ACC): Notre Dame started the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the conference. Their first game was against a sneaky Miami team, which already had a couple of big upsets under their belts from earlier in the year. The Fighting Irish opened the game with a huge run, which resulted in an 18-point lead at halftime. The lead swelled to 20 before Miami pieced together a 19-2 run, eventually taking the lead. The Fighting Irish regained the lead thanks to a Steve Vasturia 3-pointer 6:13 left in the game and never let go, holding on for a 70-63 win.
The Fighting Irish faced a tough challenge in the semifinals against one of the hottest teams in the nation: Duke. As was the case in the Miami game, the No. 3 seed jumped out to a huge lead in the first half thanks to Bonzie Colson and Demetrius Jackson. The Blue Devils fought valiantly in the second half, cutting the lead to only four, but they had nothing left in the tank. Notre Dame closed the Devils out on a 6-0 run, eventually winning 74-64.
In the tittle game, the Fighting Irish faced a streaking North Carolina team. The No. 3 seed, like it had the two games before, jumped out to a first-half lead. However, the Tar Heels roared back and stretched their lead to nine. The Irish responded with a 15-0 run thanks to great play from Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton. Notre Dame never relinquished its lead, winning 90-82 and capturing the school’s first ACC championship. With the win, the Irish secured a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.
2. No. 19 North Carolina (24-11, 11-7): North Carolina clinched the fifth seed in the ACC tournament, and drew Boston College as its first opponent. The Tar Heels dismantled the 13th seed 81-63 behind 17 points apiece from Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson. The No. 4 seed Louisville awaited the Tar Heels in the quarterfinals.
The Cardinals surged to a five-point lead at half-time, but the No. 5 seed had an answer in the following half. Outscoring Louisville 38-23 in the second half—once again thanks to Paige and Johnson—North Carolina won 70-60, earning the right to take on the top-seeded Cavaliers in the semifinals.
This time it was the Tar Heels who took the first half lead. However, junior guard Malcolm Brogdon and Virginia wouldn’t go quietly. The No. 1 seed was able to cut the lead to one, but North Carolina prevailed thanks to the stellar shooting provided by freshman forward Justin Jackson. This 71-67 upset led to a surprising finals matchup against the Fighting Irish.
The Tar Heels had to play without the lead most of the game, but a 9-0 run to start the second half put them in the driver's seat to win yet another ACC title. However, Notre Dame's 3-point shooting proved too much for the No. 5 seed, and they lost 90-82. North Carolina earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
3. No. 2 Duke (29-4, 15-3): The Blue Devils had won 11 games straight before entering the tournament as the second seed. They had a bye into the quarterfinals, where they played N.C. State. The Wolfpack handed Duke its first loss of the season in an 87-75 decision in their only meeting this year. However, the Blue Devils extracted their revenge this time, routing the N.C. State 77-53 thanks to a balanced scoring effort that saw six players post double digits.
In the semifinals, the No. 2 seed faced the No. 3 seed Notre Dame. After splitting the two regular-season matchups, Duke fell behind quickly in the first half. The No. 2 team in the nation spent the entire second half fighting to take the lead with great play from Jahlil Okafor, who had 28 points in the game. However, the Fighting Irish were too far ahead and took the third meeting 74-64. Despite the loss, the Blue Devils earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the 13th time in school history.
4. No. 3 Virginia (29-3, 16-2): One of the best seasons ever from a Virginia team earned them the overall No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament. With a bye to the quarterfinals already secured, the Cavaliers looked to take on Florida State. Virginia was in typical stout defensive form, holding the Seminoles to 17 points in the first half and doubling up the score. Although Xavier Rathan-Mayes led a second-half push for the No. 9 seed, it wasn’t enough to surmount the early, gaping deficit. The Cavaliers won 58-44 in junior guard Justin Anderson’s return to the court.
In the next round, Virginia faced North Carolina, a team it had beaten in the regular season. Unfortunately, a 25-point game by Malcolm Brogdon couldn’t elevate the Cavaliers to victory. Virginia earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play Belmont in its first game.
5. No. 14 Louisville (24-8, 12-6): Louisville earned a No. 4 seed in the toughest conference in college basketball this year. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they couldn’t capitalize on their double bye, losing their opening game to North Carolina 70-60 thanks to another poor shooting performance. Louisville has been depleted by the loss of Chris Jones, but it did earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play UC Irvine in the first round.
6. N.C. State (20-13, 10-8): The Wolfpack secured a No. 7 seed in the tournament and faced Pittsburgh in its first contest. Sophomore guard Anthony “Cat” Barber led the way to an 81-70 victory with a career-high 34 points.
The Wolfpack lost in the next round to a red-hot Duke team 77-53. After lighting up the scoreboard a day earlier, Barber was held scoreless in this game, and the rest of the Wolfpack couldn’t pick up the scoring slack. N.C. State earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament this year and will play LSU in the first round.
7. Miami (21-12, 10-8): Sixth-seeded Miami faced Virginia Tech in its opening game in the tournament. The Hurricanes made quick work of the Hokies, beating them 59-49. Junior guard Sheldon McClellan played all 40 minutes and led the way with 16 points in the game. Miami’s tournament run ended in the quarterfinals with a 70-63 loss to Notre Dame. The Hurricanes will be a No. 2 seed in the NIT.
8. Florida State (17-16, 8-10): The Seminoles were the ninth seed in the tournament and won their first round matchup against Clemson 76-73. The Seminoles received a huge performance from Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who scored 30 points in the game. The Seminoles ran out of steam next round and lost to Virginia 58-44 in the quarterfinals.
9. Clemson (16-15, 8-10): The Tigers had a mediocre regular season in a tough ACC. They received the No. 8 seed, but lost in their opening game to Florida State 76-73. Clemson made a second-half push thanks to 25 points from senior guard Rod Hall, but ultimately it wasn’t enough.
10. Pittsburgh (19-14, 8-10): The No. 10-seeded Panthers lost their only game in the tournament to North Carolina State 81-70. Pittsburgh is now on a four-game losing streak. However, the Panthers look to turn their luck around in the first round in the NIT, where it earned a No. 4 seed and will square off against George Washington in the first round.
11. Boston College (13-19, 4-14): The Eagles finally had something to cheer about, wining their first game in the ACC tournament against Georgia Tech 66-65. Junior guard Olivier Hanlan hit a jumper with 10.9 seconds left that eventually won the game. The Eagles' luck ran out in the next round when they lost to North Carolina 81-63.
12. Virginia Tech (11-22, 2-16): The Hokies had a dismal regular season, winning only two conference games. But they won their first game in the tournament 81-80 against Wake Forest. Freshman guard Jalen Hudson hit the game-winner for the most important two of his 32 total points. The Hokies were bounced the next round, losing to Miami 59-49.
13. Wake Forest: (13-19, 5-13): The Demon Deacons had a poor showing in the ACC tournament, exiting in the first round after being upset by Virginia Tech in a nail-biter despite 45 points from the duo of Devin Thomas and Codi Miller-McIntyre.
14. Georgia Tech (12-19, 3-15): Much like Wake Forest, the Yellow Jackets had a rough tournament. They lost their only game to Boston College on Hanlan's shot in the final seconds, as Corey Heyward's final attempt in the waning seconds bounced off the rim.
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