Virginia and Notre Dame kept rolling, meaning Duke has a chance to make a statement with two road games against the top two teams in the ACC this week:
1. No. 2 Virginia (19-0, 7-0 in the ACC): The Cavalier’s pummeled an overmatched Georgia Tech team at home and escaped a pesky Virginia Tech squad to stay unbeaten at 19-0. Junior guard Justin Anderson gave the Cavaliers a spark right when they needed it, leading Virginia on a 12-0 late in the second half to give the Cavaliers a 50-47 win on the road. Malcolm Brogdon led the way for Virginia against the Yellow Jackets, chipping in 13 points and four assists, giving the Cavaliers their 21st straight home win 57-28. Virginia now faces a tough stretch, with contests against No. 4 Duke, No 10 Louisville, No. 12 North Carolina and N.C. State looming.
2. No. 8 Notre Dame (19-2, 7-1): Notre Dame handled Virginia Tech on the road 85-60 behind 18 points from Jerian Grant. However, the Fighting Irish played a wild one against N.C. State Sunday night. After overcoming an early 18-point deficit, the Fighting Irish roared back behind Grant’s 25-point effort. If Grant got them back in the game with his offense, he won it with his defense, blocking a shot in the final seconds to preserve an 81-78 overtime win against the Wolfpack. The Fighting Irish look like real ACC contenders and the results of their two games against the Blue Devils in the next few weeks will likely have a huge impact of whether or not they can maintain that status.
3. No. 12 North Carolina (16-4, 6-1): The Tar Heels have continued their success after a couple of tough losses early on in the season. North Carolina cruised past Wake Forest 87-71 Wednesday behind Brice Johnson’s 19 points and the second-half surge of Kennedy Meeks. Meeks scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime to lead the Tar Heels to victory. Against Florida State, Johnson showed his toughness, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to help North Carolina survive the Seminoles, 78-74. The Tar Heels take on Syracuse, No. 10 Louisville and No. 2 Virginia in their next three games.
4. Syracuse (14-6, 5-2): After going 1-1 last week, the Orange were looking to get back on track this week, but they went 1-1 again. Syracuse has been lacking consistency all season, and this past week was nothing new. Michael Gbinijie had 17 points as the Orange held off Boston College 69-61. Against Miami, Syracuse was tied at halftime before the Hurricanes went on a 16-6 run that buried the Orange. Miami prevailed 66-62 in a critical Saturday matchup. Syracuse now faces a daunting schedule the rest of the way, with six of its 11 games against ranked ACC foes.
5. No. 4 Duke (17-2, 4-2): It took a few more games than many pundits predicted, but history was made Sunday with head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 1,000th career win. The historic win came behind 22 points from Tyus Jones and a double-double from Jahlil Okafor, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Blue Devils went on an 18-2 run to put away the Red Storm in the second half. As Duke gained the lead in the second half, the Blue Devils looked like a Krzyzewski-coached team, playing good defense and hustling for loose balls.
As the final horn sounded, Blue Devils players engulfed their coach at midcourt as they truly had reason to celebrate. Earlier in the week, Duke continued its momentum after besting then-No. 6 Louisville on the road, beating Pittsburgh 79-65 led by Jones and his 22 points. If the Blue Devils want to keep surging in the ACC, they will have to do it against No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 2 Virginia on the road this week.
6. No. 10 Louisville (16-3, 4-2): After losing to Duke last week, Louisville got back on track, rolling past Pittsburgh Sunday 80-68 after a week-long break from games. Terry Rozier led the way with 26 points and Louisville shot a season-high 65 percent from the floor. Montrezl Harrell added 18 points and seven rebounds as the Cardinals rebounded against the Panthers. Games against No. 12 North Carolina, No. 2 Virginia and No. 23 Miami loom for the Cardinals after a game at Boston College.
7. No. 23 Miami (14-5, 4-2): The Hurricanes had a big week, with wins against N.C. State and Syracuse. Miami held off a late rally from the Wolfpack in the waning seconds. An Abdul-Malik Abu dunk made it 56-52 and brought N.C. State within four with two minutes left, but Sheldon McClellan made enough plays to help the Hurricanes pull away form the pesky Wolfpack. McClellan scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Against Syracuse, Tonye Jekiri had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Miami went 10-of-29 from beyond the arc against the Orange’s 2-3 zone defense. With the teams at the top facing tough stretches coming up, the Hurricanes have a chance to quietly make a nice ACC run if they keep up their strong play.
8. N.C. State (13-8, 4-4): The Wolfpack lost a heartbreaker to Miami, coming within four points in the last two minutes of the game, but the Hurricanes pulled away. Abdul-Malik Abu led the way with 19 points and five rebounds. The Wolfpack had Notre Dame on the ropes in overtime at home Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as Notre Dame prevailed 81-78 in overtime. Trevor Lacey scored 13 points for the Wolfpack, who have lost three of four by a combined 10 points since upsetting then-No. 2 Duke two weeks ago.
9. Pittsburgh (13-7, 3-4): Pittsburgh had a tough week, losing to Duke 79-65 and Louisville 80-68. Jamie Dixon’s squad played well at times, but ultimately did not have enough firepower to overcome offensive deficiencies against two top-10 opponents. The Panthers have a relatively young team, though, so a difficult season could provide teaching moments for a traditionally proud program still looking to make its mark in the ACC.
10. Clemson (11-8, 3-4): The up-and-down season for the Tigers continued, as they beat Wake Forest 59-57 Saturday on Josh Smith’s put back with 0.5 seconds left and Donte Grantham’s 13 points. The Tigers fell to Florida State 59-55 earlier in the week before their latest nail-biter victory.
11. Florida St. (10-10, 2-5): Freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes chipped in 17 points, leading the Seminoles past the Tigers, 59-55 last Monday. Florida State’s 12-point second half lead slipped to 56-55, but the Seminoles ultimately held on to win. Saturday, the Seminoles fell to a surging North Carolina squad 78-74. Rathan-Mayes excelled in defeat, though, scoring 35 points and showing why he could be a rising star in one of the most talented leagues in the country.
12. Boston College (9-9, 1-5): The Eagles fell to Syracuse 69-61 after a late Boston College rally ended when the Orange got some much-needed defensive stops. Sunday, the Eagles gained their first ACC win by edging Georgia Tech, 64-62. Oliver Hanlan scored 25 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:10 remaining, to give the Eagles the hard-fought road win.
13. Wake Forest (9-11, 1-6): No. 15 North Carolina rolled past the Demon Deacons 87-71 for their fourth straight win Wednesday. Wake Forest could not get anything going on offense all night, with the Tar Heel defense limiting its possessions. Clemson won on a late put-back Saturday 59-57 to cap a difficult week for the Demon Deacons, who have had several close losses already in conference play. Devin Thomas added 17 points in a losing effort.
14. Georgia Tech (9-10, 0-7): It was more of the same this week from the Yellow Jackets, who have struggled to find their footing so far in league play despite putting in some great stretches of basketball. Georgia Tech was crushed by Virginia 57-28 Thursday, as the Cavalier defense suffocated the Yellow Jackets, then Georgia Tech suffered another heartbreaking loss. The Yellow Jackets fell Sunday to Boston College 64-62 thanks to Hanlan's clutch plays down the stretch. Marcus Georges-Hunt had 20 points for Georgia Tech, which desperately seeks its first ACC win.
15. Virginia Tech (8-11, 0-6): The Hokies fell to Notre Dame 85-60 Thursday at home and never got much going against the Fighting Irish, as Ahmed Hill was one of the few bright spots and scored just 13 points. Sunday, Virginia Tech showed much more fight and took rival Virginia to the wire, leading for much of the second half before faltering and eventually losing 50-47. The Cavaliers needed a 12-0 run late in the game to secure the win. It was the sixth straight loss for the Hokies, who played four consecutive ranked teams and also look for a way out of the ACC standings cellar.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.