Around the ACC: Pair of ACC teams headed to the Final Four

The strength of the ACC was on full display this weekend as both North Carolina and Syracuse punched their tickets to Houston, Texas. This marks only the sixth time in the conference’s history that it has sent a pair of participants to the Final Four.

• North Carolina: After winning the ACC regular season title and the ACC tournament, the Tar Heels are headed to the Final Four. North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 88-74 Sunday behind a strong rebounding performance from the Tar Heels' frontline. As a team, North Carolina outscored the Fighting Irish 23-6 on second-chance points and the Tar Heels finished with a 32-15 rebounding advantage. North Carolina reached the Elite Eight with a 101-86 pounding of Indiana Friday. The Tar Heels outscored Indiana 34-20 in the paint and topped 100 points in a Sweet 16 game for the first time in program history. Senior Brice Johnson recorded his 20^th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
• Virginia: Leading by 14 at halftime in their Elite Eight matchup against Syracuse, everything appeared set for the Cavaliers to finally reach the Final Four. But a 25-4 second-half run by the Orange sent Virginia packing before the final weekend of the tournament once again. The Cavaliers had difficulty attacking Syracuse's 2-3 zone in the final 20 minutes of play and struggled to get good shots down the stretch of the game. Virginia advanced to Sunday’s contest with a 84-71 win against Iowa State in the Sweet 16. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 14-point halftime lead behind a suffocating performance on defense and a dominating performance in the paint. For the game, Virginia outscored the Cyclones 52-36 in the paint with senior Anthony Gill finishing with a career-high 23 points.
• Miami: The tournament ended on a sour note for the Hurricanes after a 92-69 beatdown at the hands of Villanova. The Wildcats shot 10-of-15 from beyond the arc and broke the game open with a big run coming out of halftime. Miami was done in by foul trouble for center Tonye Jekiri and forward Kamari Murphy. The Hurricanes finished the season 27-8 and will lose three rotation players—Jerkiri, guard Angel Rodriguez and guard Sheldon McClellan—to graduation.
• Duke: The Blue Devils’ hopes of repeating as national champions came crashing down in Anaheim, Calif., with a season-ending 82-68 loss to top-seeded Oregon. The Ducks had five players in double-digits and outscored Duke 21-7 in transition to control the tempo of the game from the opening tip. Thursday’s defeat was likely the last collegiate game for freshman Brandon Ingram—who will almost certainly declare for the NBA Draft—and the final game of center Marshall Plumlee’s five-year Duke career.
• Notre Dame: The luck of the Fighting Irish couldn't make up for a lack of size in the front court against North Carolina's duo of Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson. Although Notre Dame got 26 points from guard Demetrius Jackson and took a second-half lead, the Fighting Irish fell in the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season. Notre Dame advanced to the Sunday's contest with a late run against No. 7 seed Wisconsin. The Fighting Irish scored the final eight points of the game, hitting crucial free-throws and getting a late layup off of a steal by guard Demetrius Jackson to send the Badgers home.
• Syracuse: The Orange became just the fourth double-digit seed to reach the Final Four after beating No. 1 seed Virginia 68-62. Syracuse benefited from 21 second-half points by freshman Malachi Richardson and clamped down on defense in late-game situations to continue a tumultuous season with a trip to Houston, Texas. The Orange had a chance to knock off the Virginia because of a late-rally in Friday’s win against No. 11 seed Gonzaga. Syracuse closed the game on a 9-1 run and a timely bucket from Michael Gbinije and game-saving block from Tyler Lydon propelled the team to its seventh Elite Eight under head coach Jim Boeheim.