In the final week of the regular season, the ACC saw more drama as teams looked to position themselves for ACC tournament runs in Greensboro this week:
1. No. 3 Virginia (28-2, 16-2 in the ACC): After scoring just one field goal in the first 13 minutes of play Monday, the Cavaliers rallied to escape the Carrier Dome with a 59-47 victory against Syracuse, clinching the team’s second consecutive ACC regular-season title. With junior guard Justin Anderson still sidelined with a broken finger, junior forward Anthony Gill stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Cavaliers traveled to Louisville Saturday for their regular season finale and were dealt a 59-57 defeat—their first road loss of the season—on a 15-foot jump shot made by sophomore center Mangok Mathiang with just 2.7 seconds remaining. As the top overall seed in the ACC tournament, Virginia receives a double-bye and will play first Thursday at noon against the winner of the second-round matchup between Clemson and Florida State.
2. No. 2 Duke (28-3, 15-3): The Blue Devils turned in a scintillating offensive performance Wednesday, dominating Wake Forest 94-51 on a season-high 27 points from freshman guard Grayson Allen. Quinn Cook—the team’s only scholarship senior—added 13 points, played his last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke then completed the season sweep of rival North Carolina Saturday with an 84-77 victory in Chapel Hill. Mike Krzyzewski’s team shot 59 percent from the field in the second half and was led by freshman guard Tyus Jones’ season-high 24 points. The Blue Devils are the second overall seed in the ACC tournament and will play first Thursday at 7 p.m. against the winner of the second-round matchup between N.C. State and Pittsburgh.
3. No. 11 Notre Dame (26-5, 14-4): Following an uncharacteristic home loss against Syracuse, the Fighting Irish responded with two outstanding offensive performances resulting in two victories to conclude the regular season. The team traveled to Louisville Wednesday and earned a 71-59 victory against the Cardinals, led by sophomore guard Demetrius Jackson’s 21 points. Mike Brey’s team then hosted Clemson Saturday and secured an 81-67 victory, due in large part to 55 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame—as the third overall seed in the ACC tournament—will wait until Thursday at 9 p.m. to take on either Miami or the winner in the matchup between Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.
4. No. 14 Louisville (24-7, 12-6): The Cardinals struggled to score enough points to match Notre Dame’s impressive 54 percent shooting from the field and were defeated 71-59 at home Wednesday. Rick Pitino’s team then responded in a major way Saturday, dealing Virginia a 59-57 defeat on Mathiang's improbable jumper with 2.7 seconds left in the game. The loss for the Cavaliers was their second of the season and first on the road. Louisville will enter the ACC tournament as the fourth overall seed and will play Thursday at 8 p.m. in the quarterfinals against either North Carolina or the winner of the matchup between Boston College and Georgia Tech.
5. No. 19 North Carolina (21-10, 11-7): The Tar Heels shot 53 percent from the field and dominated Georgia Tech in Atlanta by a 32-point margin Tuesday. Then, despite a solid offensive team performance led by Marcus Paige’s season-high 23 points, Roy Williams’ team was defeated 84-77 in its rematch bid against the Blue Devils. As the fifth overall seed entering the ACC tournament, North Carolina is the top ranked team not to receive a double bye and will play first Wednesday at 2 p.m. against the winner of the matchup between Boston College and Georgia Tech.
6. Miami (20-11, 10-8): The Hurricanes bolstered their NCAA tournament resume with a pair of road victories to conclude regular season play. Jim Larranaga’s team traveled to Pittsburgh Wednesday and escaped with a four-point win, and then dominated Virginia Tech Saturday 82-61. With junior guard Angel Rodriguez out of the lineup against the Hokies, the Hurricanes shot an impressive 15-of-25 from three-point range and never trailed against Buzz Williams’ last-place team. Miami enters the ACC tournament as the sixth overall seed and will play the Wednesday at 9 p.m. against the winner of the matchup between Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.
7. N.C. State (19-12, 10-8): The Wolfpack entered their final two regular season games needing victories to polish up their NCAA tournament resume, and they got them. Senior guard Ralston Turner stepped up to lead the team 42 points in two games as Mark Gottfried’s team won 66-61 at Clemson and defeated Syracuse 71-57. N.C. State—as the seventh overall seed in the ACC tournament—will take on Pittsburgh Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the second round.
8. Syracuse (18-13, 9-9): The Orange opened Monday’s game against Virginia with an excellent defensive effort—forcing 10 turnovers and allowing only 2 points in the first 13 minutes of play—but the Cavaliers then found their rhythm and cruised to a 59-47 victory at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse traveled to Raleigh Saturday to conclude regular season play, and despite holding an eight-point lead late in the first half, the team allowed a 27-2 Wolfpack run and lost 71-57. The game occurred a day after the NCAA imposed a collection of penalties on the university, including scholarship reductions, financial penalties and probation. Head coach Jim Boeheim also received a nine-game suspension from conference play that will be served next season. Due to earlier self-imposed penalties, the Orange will not compete in the ACC tournament.
9. Clemson (16-14, 8-10): The Tigers, who once seemed like they could make a push for an NCAA tournament berth, dropped their final two games of the regular season—66-61 against N.C. State and 81-67 at Notre Dame. The loss at Notre Dame marked the fourth consecutive road loss and sixth loss in the last eight games for Brad Brownell’s team. As the eighth overall seed, Clemson will take on Florida State Wednesday at noon in the second round of the ACC tournament.
10. Florida State (16-15, 8-10): Led by the 19 points scored by freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, the Seminoles snapped their three-game losing streak with a 61-52 home victory against Pittsburgh. Leonard Hamilton’s team finished the regular season 10th in the ACC and will play first Wednesday at noon in the second round against Clemson as the No. 9 seed in the tournament due to Syracuse's absence.
11. Pittsburgh (19-13, 8-10): The Panthers needed a pair of conference victories to strengthen their NCAA tournament resume, but were unable to get even one in their last two games of the regular season—Jamie Dixon’s team kept both games close but lost 67-63 Wednesday against Miami and 61-52 at Florida State Saturday. As the 10th overall seed, Pittsburgh will take on N.C. State Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the second round.
12. Wake Forest (13-18, 5-13): the Demon Deacons concluded regular season play with a pair of road losses—94-51 against Duke Wednesday and 79-61 against Boston College Saturday. First-year head coach Danny Manning’s team lost five of its last six games and finished 12th in the ACC. Wake Forest will play Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the first round against Virginia Tech.
13. Boston College (12-18, 4-14): After losing the previous nine games, the Eagles completed a three-game winning streak to conclude regular season play with a 66-59 victory at Virginia Tech Monday and a 79-61 home victory against Wake Forest Saturday. As he has done many times this season, junior guard Olivier Hanlan led the team against the Demon Deacons with 19 points and 8 assists. Jim Christian’s team—as the 12th overall seed in the ACC tournament—will take on Georgia Tech Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the opening round of tournament play.
14. Georgia Tech (12-18, 3-15): The Yellow Jackets shot less than 33 percent from the field and were dominated at home in their regular season finale against North Carolina, 81-49. Already facing an uphill climb against the Tar Heels, the task at hand became even more difficult for Brian Gregory’s team when leading scorer and junior forward Marcus Georges-Hunt left the game with a foot injury after just 3 minutes of play in the first half. Georgia Tech will enter the ACC tournament as the 13th overall seed and will kick off first-round play Tuesday at 1 p.m. against Boston College.
15. Virginia Tech (10-21, 2-16): The Hokies continued their downward spiral, losing 66-59 against Boston College Monday and 82-61 Saturday against Miami. Buzz Williams’ team concluded the regular season with seven consecutive losses and will enter the ACC tournament as the bottom overall seed. The Hokies will play their first-round game Tuesday at 3 p.m. against Wake Forest.
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