The Chronicle provides a synopsis of every game from the ACC tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Saturday, March 12 (Championship Game)
No. 1 North Carolina 61, No. 2 Virginia 57: The Tar Heels flipped the script on Virginia, stifling the Cavaliers with their defense in the second half to secure the ACC tournament championship. Joel Berry II led all scorers with 19 points and Marcus Paige hounded ACC Player of the Year Malcolm Brogdon into a 6-for-22 shooting night as North Carolina added the postseason title to its regular-season conference crown and all but locked up a No. 1 seed when the NCAA tournament bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday.
Friday, March 11 (Semifinals)
No. 1 North Carolina 78, No. 4 Notre Dame 47: Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks headed to the bench with two fouls together with plenty of time left in the first half, but the Tar Heels rattled off an 18-0 run to end the period to begin running away from the Fighting Irish. A day after Notre Dame erased a 16-point second-half deficit to take down Duke in overtime, there was nothing doing Friday, as five North Carolina players reached double-figures in the rout. Marcus Paige led the charge with 16 points, including four 3-pointers—a welcome sign for the senior, who has struggled from downtown for much of the year.
No. 2 Virginia 73, No. 3 Miami 68: Malcolm Brogdon scored a game-high 24 points as the Cavaliers fended off Sheldon McClellan and the Hurricanes to reach their second ACC championship game in three years. Virginia's traditionally stingy defense forced 16 Miami turnovers that proved to be the difference in a game in which both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Ja'Quan Newton led the Hurricanes with 19 points off the bench.
Thursday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)
No. 1 North Carolina 88, No. 8 Pittsburgh 71: The Panthers kept it close for a while against the top-seeded Tar Heels, but North Carolina rattled off 11 straight points midway through the second half to move on to the semifinals. The Tar Heels displayed their depth and balance on the offensive end, dishing out 18 assists on 33 field goals as the team shot 59 percent from the field altogether. Pittsburgh will now have to wait until Sunday to learn its NCAA tournament fate and see if a few big late-season wins are enough to get the Panthers into the Big Dance.
No. 4 Notre Dame 84, No. 5 Duke 79: Thanks to a big spurt to end the first half, Duke led by as many as 16 points with 14:57 to play, but the Fighting Irish stormed all the way back with a monster run of their own. After forcing overtime with a 22-6 run to end regulation, fourth-seeded Notre Dame scored the first five points of the extra session and outlasted the fifth-seeded Blue Devils 84-79, knocking Duke out of the ACC tournament for the second straight year. Grayson Allen scored 27 points in the loss for Duke, but all five Fighting Irish starters finished the game in double-figures. The Blue Devils missed 16 of their last 18 shots in regulation.
No. 2 Virginia 72, No. 10 Georgia Tech 52: ACC Player of the Year Malcolm Brogdon put on a show in Virginia's debut in the conference tournament, posting a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. The Yellow Jackets kept it close for a while and trailed by just two at halftime, but the Cavaliers' pack-line defense took hold in the second half and limited Georgia Tech to just 33 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes. Head coach Tony Bennett's squad spread the ball around well with 17 assists on 28 field goals, and now advances to the semifinals as it looks to win its second ACC tournament title in four years.
No. 3 Miami 88, No. 6 Virginia Tech 82: The Hurricanes boast two of the best guards in the conference, and the backcourt duo of Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McLellan combined for 40 points on 13-of-22 shooting and 12 assists to carry Miami past the Hokies. Junior Seth Allen did his best to keep Virginia Tech in the game, scoring a game-high 31 points and making 17-of-18 from the free-throw line. Both teams earned 20 or more points from the charity stripe, but it was superior perimeter shooting—the Hurricanes made eight triples against the Hokies' two—that carried Miami into a semifinal showdown against Virginia Friday night.
Wednesday, March 9 (Second Round)
No. 8 Pittsburgh 72, No. 9 Syracuse 71: The Panthers led by 12 with 4:22 remaining, but the Orange stormed back to tie the game with two minutes to play—only to let the game slip away down the stretch and lose to Pittsburgh for the third time this season. Guard Cameron Johnson scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Panthers, including four deep triples that helped break down Syracuse's patented 2-3 zone. The victory gives Pittsburgh's NCAA tournament hopes another boost, and head coach Jamie Dixon's squad will have a chance to make some real noise Thursday at noon against top-seeded North Carolina.
No. 5 Duke 92, No. 12 N.C. State 89: Duke and N.C. State seemingly could not miss for much of the game Wednesday, but a late Marshall Plumlee putback and defensive stand sent the Blue Devils past the Wolfpack for the third time this season. Twelfth-seeded N.C. State took fifth-seeded Duke all the way down to the wire at the Verizon Center in the second round of the conference tournament, but the Blue Devils prevailed with a 92-89 shootout win. Four Duke players scored at least 17 points thanks to 52 percent shooting from the field and 12 3-pointers, with Brandon Ingram and Luke Kennard leading the way with 22 points apiece.
No. 10 Georgia Tech 88, Clemson 85 (OT): The Yellow Jackets trailed by double-digits late in the second half, but stormed back to tie the game and took it to overtime after the Tigers squandered away a chance to get a good look on the last possession of regulation. In the extra session, James White made two quick lay-ups and Clemson's 3-point attempts to tie were well off, sending the Yellow Jackets to the quarterfinals against Virginia.
No. 6 Virginia Tech 96, No. 11 Florida State 85: In a foul-filled affair, the Hokies put nearly 100 points on the Seminoles, led by Seth Allen's game-high 20 points off the bench. The two sides combined for 53 fouls, but went just 51-for-72 at the charity stripe. Five Florida State players finished in double-figures, but it was not enough to avoid a second-round tournament exit.
Tuesday, March 8 (First Round)
No. 12 N.C. State 75, No. 13 Wake Forest 72: Led by freshman Maverick Rowan's game-high 24 points, the Wolfpack dispatched the Demon Deacons to open the week at the Verizon Center. Rowan hit six 3-pointers, teaming with point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber'—who had 22 points of his own and played all 40 minutes—to outshoot the Demon Deacon backcourt of Bryant Crawford and Codi Miller-McIntyre, who combined for 33 points. Wake Forest had several chances to tie on the game's final possession, but chucked up several wild 3-pointers and came away empty. N.C. State played just seven players and will have a quick turnaround to face fifth-seeded Duke Wednesday at 2 p.m.
No. 11 Florida State 88, No. 14 Boston College 66: Four Seminoles finished in double-figures as Florida State coasted past the Eagles in the second game of the afternoon, keeping Boston College winless in league play in Jim Christian's first season in Chestnut Hill. Freshmen Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley scored 13 apiece, but veteran Devon Bookert came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points for the Seminoles, who will face sixth-seeded Virginia Tech Wednesday night. Florida transfer Eli Carter scored 21 points to lead the Eagles, who finished 0-19 against ACC foes.
Keep up with the Blue Zone throughout the week for game recaps as the ACC moves closer to crowning a champion Saturday night.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.