Only one team remains unbeaten in ACC play, and Duke fell below .500 through at least five conference games for the first time since 2007.
No. 20 Notre Dame (16-2, 5-0)
The luck of the Irish continued into this week, as Notre Dame has now trailed or been tied in the final two minutes of all five of its ACC games but still managed to win all of them. On Thursday, the Fighting Irish trailed by four with less than three minutes remaining at Miami but ended the game on a 10-1 run to win 67-62. Two free throws by forward Bonzie Colson tied the game with 1:35 left, and a terrible pass on the Hurricanes' ensuing possession resulted in a turnover and a layup by V.J. Beachem to give Notre Dame the lead for good.
Two days later, the Fighting Irish trailed Virginia Tech by one with less than two minutes left, but scored two quick buckets to take the lead and then sealed the victory with one of the best defensive plays of the year. The Hokies rolled the ball inbounds down by three with 46 seconds left, but Notre Dame point guard Matt Farrell caught Virginia Tech guard Justin Robinson napping and dove for a steal before he could pick the ball up. Farrell got up and passed to Temple Gibbs for a fast-break layup to put the Fighting Irish ahead by five, and they iced the win with four free throws down the stretch.
THIS STEAL
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) January 14, 2017
Matt Farrell's CLUTCH play for @NDMBB..
You're gonna need to watch this a few times#MustSeeACC ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gs0O5DA7PX
Notre Dame will face its toughest road test yet Wednesday at Florida State as it looks to stay atop the ACC standings.
No. 9 Florida State (16-2, 4-1)
The Seminoles started a roller-coaster week with a statement win against No. 7 Duke at home 88-72, dominating the Blue Devils with 56 points in the paint. But Florida State ran out of gas against North Carolina on the road Saturday, getting outrebounded 56-34 in a 96-83 loss that snapped its school-record 12-game winning streak. Freshman forward Jonathan Isaac had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but no other Seminole had more than five boards in the loss.
Florida State will wrap up its six-game gauntlet against ranked teams this week with home games against Notre Dame and Louisville.
No. 11 North Carolina (16-3, 4-1)
The ACC's highest-scoring offense has been firing on all cylinders this week, fueling North Carolina to two fast-paced wins. All five starters scored at least 12 points as the Tar Heels held off Wake Forest 93-87 Wednesday, and point guard Joel Berry led the way with 26 points in Saturday's victory against the Seminoles. Forward Luke Maye grabbed 15 rebounds off the bench to help North Carolina score 25 second-chance points, and the Tar Heels lead the nation with an average rebound margin of 14.1.
No. 14 Louisville (15-3, 3-2)
The Cardinals jumped out to a 21-point halftime lead against Pittsburgh Wednesday but had to withstand a furious second-half rally and gave a season high in points in a narrow 85-80 victory at home. Quentin Snider scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Louisville outrebounded the Panthers 45-30.
On Saturday, the Cardinals beat Duke at home for the second straight year, as 7-foot center Anas Mahmoud dominated the Blue Devils' inexperienced frontcourt with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Louisville recovered from a seven-point first-half deficit with a 20-5 run and then rattled off seven straight points early in the second half to take the lead for good in the 78-69 victory.
No. 19 Virginia (13-3, 3-2)
The Cavaliers followed up a victory against Wake Forest last weekend with a 77-73 road win against Clemson Saturday, with London Perrantes pouring in a season-high 25 points. The senior point guard broke a 70-70 tie with a 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining to give Virginia the lead for good in its only game of the week. The Cavaliers have a relatively light week ahead with games against Boston College and Georgia Tech before traveling to face Notre Dame and No. 3 Villanova at the end of January.
Georgia Tech (11-6, 3-2)
The Yellow Jackets are improbably better than .500 in ACC play after beating Clemson 75-63 and N.C. State 86-76 this week. Ben Lammers shined in the post against the Tigers with 23 points and 10 rebounds Thursday, and it was the Georgia Tech backcourt's turn to take center stage Sunday against the Wolfpack. The Yellow Jackets made a season-high 10 3-pointers, shooting 62.5 percent from beyond the arc, as freshman Josh Okogie scored 27 points and Quinton Stephens added 22.
Syracuse (11-7, 3-2)
The Orange are still looking for their first ACC road win after a 83-73 defeat at Virginia Tech Tuesday, but they avenged their Jan. 1 loss at Boston College with a convincing 76-53 win at home Saturday. Freshman guard Tyus Battle led all scorers with 21 points, and Syracuse held the Eagles to 39.6 percent shooting after they shot a blistering 57.1 percent from the field and knocked down 16 3-pointers in the teams' matchup just two weeks ago.
The Orange's schedule gets a lot tougher the rest of the way, starting with road trips to North Carolina and Notre Dame this week for their first ACC games against ranked opponents.
Miami (12-4, 2-2)
After letting their game against Notre Dame slip away in the closing minutes Thursday night, the Hurricanes blew out Pittsburgh 72-46 Saturday on the road in head coach Jim Larranaga's 600th career win. Senior Davon Reed led all scorers with 18 points, and Miami shot 55.6 percent from the field while holding the ACC's two leading scorers—Jamel Artis and Michael Young—to a combined 17 points. The Hurricanes will stay on the road this week to visit Wake Forest and Duke.
No. 7 Duke (14-4, 2-3)
The Blue Devils sorely missed Amile Jefferson—who remains day-to-day with a right-foot bone bruise—in both their games this week, road losses at Florida State and Louisville. Duke finished both games with double-digit deficits in paint points and struggled to handle the ball against two physical defenses, coughing it up 16 times against the Seminoles before committing a season-high 18 turnovers against Louisville.
The Blue Devils will now have the week off to lick their wounds before hosting Miami and ESPN's "College Gameday" next Saturday.
Virginia Tech (13-4, 2-3)
Forward Zach LeDay led five Hokies in double figures with 22 points to help them beat Syracuse Tuesday in a game Virginia Tech led for the last 30 minutes of play, but the Hokies lost at home for the first time this season against Notre Dame Saturday. After Virginia Tech rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to take a one-point lead on forward Chris Clarke's three-point play with 1:52 remaining, the Hokies turned the ball over on their next three possessions as the Fighting Irish closed the game on a 10-4 run.
Boston College (9-9, 2-3)
Jerome Robinson scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting to lead the Eagles to their upset win against N.C. State Wednesday, with Boston College shooting 18-of-19 from the free-throw line. But the Eagles fell flat at Syracuse Saturday, committing 20 turnovers and scoring a season-low 53 points.
Boston College will get a chance at its first win against a ranked opponent since 2014 with home games this week against Virginia and North Carolina.
Pittsburgh (12-6, 1-4)
Although the Panthers still have the top two scorers in the ACC in Artis and Young, they have now lost three games in a row and have given up at least 70 points in 10 straight contests. Artis scored a career-high 43 points in the losing effort at Louisville Wednesday, and though the senior forward added 15 points Saturday against Miami, Young scored just two points on 0-for-10 shooting in the blowout loss. Every Pittsburgh player other than the high-scoring duo combined for just 49 points in the two games.
N.C. State (12-6, 1-4)
It was hard to get much worse than a 51-point loss against North Carolina last Sunday, but the Wolfpack might have done it this week. N.C. State lost at Boston College and at home against Georgia Tech, allowing both opponents to shoot better than 46 percent from the field. Freshman phenom Dennis Smith Jr. led the team in scoring both nights and poured in 31 points in a losing effort Sunday against the Yellow Jackets.
After Wednesday loss against the Eagles, Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried told the Raleigh News & Observer's Joe Giglio his team "took a step forward and did a lot of things better." N.C. State are still waiting for that progress to become a reality on the court.
Clemson (11-6, 1-4)
The Tigers' NCAA tournament hopes are quickly evaporating in the midst of a four-game losing streak after a double-digit defeat at Georgia Tech Thursday and a home loss to Virginia Saturday. Preseason first-team All-ACC forward Jaron Blossomgame scored at least 20 points in both games on a combined 18-of-27 shooting and is averaging 18.4 points per contest, but is not getting a lot of help from his teammates in ACC play.
Wake Forest (10-7, 1-4)
The Demon Deacons narrowed a 19-point second-half deficit to one with 9:46 remaining against North Carolina and stayed within single digits the rest of the way, but could never tie it up or take the lead in the closing minutes of the 93-87 loss. Wake Forest got back into the game with a flurry of 3-pointers and finished the day 11-of-27 from beyond the arc, but struggled to defend the Tar Heel frontcourt. After a weekend off, the Demon Deacons will stay home to host Miami Wednesday.
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