With this week's ACC tournament at the Barclays Center in New York kicking off Tuesday, The Chronicle previewed all 15 teams in the conference and broke down Duke's path to the ACC title game. Check back as we update the bracket in real time throughout the week and recap each contest leading up to Saturday night's championship game.
Click on the team names below for breakdowns of each unit and how they can make a run this postseason.
First round: Tuesday, March 6
No. 12 Boston College 87, No. 13 Georgia Tech 77
Led by Ky Bowman's double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds, the Eagles took a double-digit lead by halftime and never trailed in the game. Georgia Tech trimmed a 20-point Boston College lead to seven with 2:32 left in the game, but could not complete the comeback to save its season.
No. 10 Notre Dame 67, No. 15 Pittsburgh 64
In a game that was far closer than anybody expected, Pittsburgh competed until the end with the Fighting Irish and even pulled within two points with less than a minute left, but could not secure a critical defensive rebound that would have given the Panthers a chance to tie or win the game. Pittsburgh's season of futility ended without an ACC win and an 8-24 overall record, and Tuesday's contest was its closest margin of defeat in any ACC game this year.
No. 11 Syracuse 73, No. 14 Wake Forest 64
The Orange jumped out of the gates to a 20-4 lead, and though Wake Forest quickly trimmed the deficit to just 26-22 with an 18-6 run of its own, the Demon Deacons never made it a one-possession game. Freshman Marek Dolezaj led Syracuse with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Second round: Wednesday, March 7
No. 9 Louisville 82, No. 8 Florida State 74
The Cardinals closed the first half on a 27-5 run to break the game open, taking a 41-22 lead into the locker room. They stretched that advantage to 68-45 with less than 10 minutes before Florida State started chipping away, but it was too little, too late for the Seminoles. Louisville shot 10-of-16 from long distance and had three players score at least 15 points.
No. 12 Boston College 91, No. 5 N.C. State 87
N.C. State roared back from a 17-point deficit to tie the game five different times in the last five minutes, but could never take the lead. Boston College guard Jerome Robinson made the go-ahead midrange jumper with 21 seconds left, and a lazy pass by Allerik Freeman straight into the arms of his defender gave the Eagles the ball back. Then, after Markell Johnson made a driving layup to cut it to two with 7.3 seconds left and the outcome still in doubt, he called for a timeout when the Wolfpack didn't have any left, resulting in a technical foul that effectively ended the game. Robinson and Ky Bowman combined for 50 points to lead Boston College.
No. 10 Notre Dame 71, No. 7 Virginia Tech 65
Notre Dame looked lifeless in the first half, with star forward Bonzie Colson shooting just 1-of-10 from the field and appearing out of gas in his second game in as many days after missing nearly two months due to a fractured foot. But with their NCAA tournament hopes on the line, the Fighting Irish stormed back from a 21-point deficit with less than 14 minutes to go. After scoring just 26 points in the first 26 minutes of the game, Notre Dame scored 49 the rest of the way, and it finally took the lead on a desperation 3-pointer by Colson that banked off the glass and in as the shot clock expired with less than two minutes left.
No. 6 North Carolina 78, No. 11 Syracuse 59
The Tar Heels held an opponent to fewer than 60 points for the first time all season, seizing control with an 11-0 run spanning more than five minutes in the first half and never looking back. Four North Carolina players scored at least 13 points, and senior Theo Pinson had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in an impressive all-around performance.
Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 8
No. 1 Virginia 75, No. 9 Louisville 58
Virginia wore the Cardinals down with its suffocating pack line defense, holding them to just 36.7 shooting in the first quarterfinal of the day. Five Cavaliers scored in double figures, led by Kyle Guy's 19 points, and Virginia closed the game on a 19-6 run after Louisville pulled within four.
No. 4 Clemson 90, No. 12 Boston College 82
Normally a defensive-minded team, the Tigers scored 90 points for the first time all season to come out on top in a shootout. Clemson shot 12-of-28 from 3-point range, and guards Gabe DeVoe and Shelton Mitchell combined to score 46 points. Although the Eagles trimmed a 16-point deficit to two with less than six minutes left, they never took the lead.
No. 2 Duke 88, No. 10 Notre Dame 70
Marvin Bagley III took over in the second half for the Blue Devils, finishing with 33 points and 17 rebounds to help Duke pull away after it entered the locker room with a slim four-point lead. Playing its third game in three days, Notre Dame shot poorly from long distance and appeared to run out of steam down the stretch.
No. 6 North Carolina 82, No. 3 Miami 65
The Tar Heels scored the last 13 points of the game in the last 3:50, beating Miami down the floor in transition multiple times and earning a semifinal rematch with Duke for the second straight year. After falling behind 14-0 through more than seven minutes, North Carolina's offense finally came alive, led by senior Theo Pinson's 25 points and 11 rebounds. At least one of the two rivals is guaranteed to play in the ACC championship for the 22nd year in a row.
Semifinals: Friday, March 9
No. 1 Virginia 64, No. 4 Clemson 58
After struggling to start the game, the Cavaliers took control with a 16-0 run late in the first half, holding Clemson scoreless for more than eight minutes. The Tigers hung around after the break, but never made it a one-possession game. Virginia guard Ty Jerome ran the Cavaliers' offense well, dishing out 10 assists to lift them into the championship game for the third time in the last five years.
No. 6 North Carolina 74, No. 2 Duke 69
The Blue Devils used a 13-0 run to trim a 72-56 deficit to just three points with less than a minute left and had two chances to pull closer or tie the game, but couldn't even get a shot to hit the rim on either of them. A slow start put Duke in an early hole, and though it rallied to take a very brief lead, the Tar Heels quickly regained control and denied the Blue Devils a chance to retain their ACC title.
Championship: Saturday, March 10
No. 1 Virginia 71, No. 6 North Carolina 63
The Cavaliers' offense was an efficient machine in a well-played title game by both sides, shooting 9-of-17 from long distance and 20-of-22 from the line. Guards Devon Hall, Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome each scored at least 12 points and Virginia led for the last 28 minutes of the game to cap a near-perfect season with an ACC championship to go along with its regular-season crown.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.