With a gritty second-half performance against Miami Saturday, Duke moved back to .500 in conference play. The Blue Zone takes a look at how the rest of the ACC fared this week.
No. 9 North Carolina (18-3, 6-1)
Following a statement win last weekend at home against Florida State, the Tar Heels stayed hot with an easy 85-68 victory against Syracuse. In head coach Roy Williams' 800th win, North Carolina pulled away late after the Orange got within three early in the second half, as Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks and Justin Jackson combined to score 54 points. Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass., Boston College gave North Carolina all it could handle for 38 minutes, but a Joel Berry II 3-pointer with 1:14 to play was the dagger in the Tar Heels' 90-82 triumph.
No. 15 Notre Dame (17-3, 6-1)
The Fighting Irish's perfect 5-0 start in conference play came to an end this week. Florida State knocked off Notre Dame, 83-80, despite 18 points from Steve Vasturia. The sharpshooting senior drilled four treys on six attempts against the Seminoles but struggled Sunday at Syracuse. Fortunately, the Fighting Irish were buoyed by a career-high 30 points from V.J. Beachem as they routed the Orange 84-66 to stay tied atop the league standings.
No. 10 Florida State (18-2, 6-1)
Finishing a six-game stretch against ranked opponents, the Seminoles bounced back from a loss at North Carolina with a pair of top-15 wins in Tallahassee, Fla. Freshman Jonathan Isaac starred for Florida State, averaging 19.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in the two games against Notre Dame and Louisville.
After holding off the Fighting Irish's late surge Wednesday, the Seminoles started Saturday's contest against the Cardinals on a 14-0 run, but had to gut it out in a defensive battle that came down to the wire. Florida State's last made shot from the field came with 3:52 remaining, but five late free throws and several key stops were enough for a 73-68 win.
No. 16 Virginia (15-3, 5-2)
The Cavaliers feasted against a pair of ACC bottom-feeders this week, cruising to easy wins at Boston College and at home against Georgia Tech. No Virginia player scored more than 13 points Wednesday, but the vaunted Cavalier defense limited the Eagles to only 54 points. If that was not enough, the Yellow Jackets managed just 49 points Saturday and Marial Shayok posted a career-best 19 points to lift Virginia—which will visit Notre Dame and No. 1 Villanova this week—to a 13-point win.
No. 12 Louisville (16-4, 4-3)
The Cardinals didn't miss a beat in their first game without Quentin Snider—who is out with a hip flexor injury—exploding for 92 points Tuesday night against Clemson for their second-highest scoring output of the year. Louisville saw five players score in double figures in the 32-point blowout, but the Cardinals struggled at Florida State, trailing wire-to-wire even with a valiant comeback that came up just short. Jaylen Johnson's dunk with 2:06 remaining trimmed the deficit to one, but Louisville did not score the rest of the game.
Virginia Tech (15-4, 4-3)
Thanks to a pair of one-point wins, the Hokies are back above .500 in ACC play. Virginia Tech used a Seth Allen lay-in with 15 seconds to play to top Georgia Tech 62-61 Wednesday, and Allen led the Hokies with 17 points in an 82-81 win Sunday night at Clemson. Zach LeDay added 16 points and five rebounds off the bench as Virginia Tech held on despite a late Tiger push.
No. 18 Duke (15-4, 3-3)
With a week off after two straight losses, the Blue Devils sputtered in the first 20 minutes Saturday night, falling behind Miami 36-25 at the break. But with a massive 20-0 run sparked by strong defense from senior captain Matt Jones, Duke turned the 11-point deficit into a 70-58 victory against the Hurricanes. The Blue Devils host N.C. State Monday night before visiting Wake Forest Saturday afternoon in search of their first road win of the year.
Wake Forest (12-7, 3-4)
In the Demon Deacons' best week this season, Wake Forest earned a pair of ACC victories. With Miami in Winston-Salem Wednesday, the Demon Deacons scored 96 points led by a dominant 27-point, seven-rebound outing from forward John Collins. Wake Forest's 17-point margin of victory was its largest of the year against an ACC opponent, and the momentum carried over to Saturday, when the Demon Deacons helped head coach Danny Manning collect his first ever ACC road victory in his third year at the helm. Collins once again led Wake Forest with 21 points and nine boards as it beat N.C. State 93-88 in Raleigh.
Georgia Tech (11-8, 3-4)
The Yellow Jackets nearly escaped with an upset in Blacksburg, Va., but Quinton Stephens missed a potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer in the one-point loss. Georgia Tech then struggled to find an offensive groove against Virginia, managing less than 50 points for the second time this year as it dropped below .500 in ACC play.
Syracuse (11-9, 3-4)
With a pair of road losses this week, the Orange extended their losing streak away from the Carrier Dome to eight games. Tyler Lydon shot 11-of-14 from the field at North Carolina, pouring in 26 points, but it was nowhere near enough to bolster a struggling Syracuse offense against the Tar Heels. And the Orange did not fare much better at Notre Dame, where Lydon's 24 points and Andrew White III's trio of 3-pointers did nothing to help the Orange stick with one of the ACC's best offensive units.
Miami (12-6, 2-4)
After getting routed at Wake Forest early in the week, the Hurricanes visited Cameron Indoor Stadium for a primetime showdown against Duke. But after jumping out to an early advantage, Miami's offense appeared listless for much of the second half, committing 12 turnovers and putting up just 22 points after intermission. The Hurricanes went scoreless for nearly six minutes early in the second half while the Blue Devils rallied and started to pull away.
N.C. State (13-7, 2-5)
In response to his call for the Wolfpack to "get a little tougher" after a loss to Georgia Tech last weekend, head coach Mark Gottfried's squad snapped a three-game losing streak with a 79-74 victory Tuesday against Pittsburgh. But N.C. State could not keep the momentum up, as it fell to Wake Forest in Raleigh and now faces a difficult week ahead with road games at Duke and Louisville.
Boston College (9-11, 2-5)
The Eagles were trounced 71-54 against Virginia in their fourth loss in five games, but with North Carolina in town Saturday as the overwhelming favorites, Boston College hung tight for nearly the entire game thanks to 33 points from freshman guard Ky Bowman—a former Tar Heel football recruit. But the Eagles could never get enough stops to take the lead in the second half and got outrebounded 43-31 against North Carolina's overwhelming frontcourt
Pittsburgh (12-7, 1-5)
The Panthers stretched their losing streak to four games with a loss Tuesday night at N.C. State. Michael Young posted 25 points—including four 3-pointers—and guard Cameron Johnson added five triples of his own, but Pittsburgh blew a seven-point lead in the final eight minutes and missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that would have sent the game to overtime. The Panthers will have had a week off when they host Louisville Tuesday night.
Clemson (11-8, 1-6)
The Tigers appeared to have a chance to pick up a crucial victory at Louisville Thursday, where they were tied at 31 with two minutes left in the first half. But the Cardinals closed the half on a quick 10-0 run and then outscored Clemson by 22 in the second half to send the Tigers to their largest margin of defeat in three years. Clemson then fell 82-81 to Virginia Tech Sunday night for its sixth straight loss despite a pair of 20-point performances from Jaron Blossomgame and Avry Holmes.
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."