THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE THREAD

BeeJay Anya watched his teammates put up all the shots they wanted for more than 39 minutes. Then the burly forward made the only two that mattered in the final 45 seconds.

Anya's tip-in got North Carolina State within a point of LSU and his left-handed hook just before the buzzer lifted the eighth-seeded Wolfpack to a 66-65 victory in the NCAA tournament on Thursday night.

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It was a game of inches. Not surprisingly, Rick Pitino and a couple of his scrappy guards got it done for Louisville.

Freshman Quentin Snider made the winning free throws Friday and Terry Rozier closed it out with a steal, helping the fourth-seeded Cardinals to a 57-55 victory over 13th-seeded UC Irvine and the tallest player in the tournament, 7-foot-6 Mamadou Ndiaye.

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It wasn't until 27 seconds remained in the game that Virginia coach Tony Bennett looked up at the scoreboard and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Cavaliers seem rather determined to use the NCAA tournament to put a tinge of gray in their sixth-year head coach's smooth black hair.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points, Justin Anderson re-emerged as a scoring threat and second-seeded Virginia survived another opening-round scare, defeating 15th-seeded Belmont 79-67 on Friday in the round of 64.

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- Duke's youngsters saw plenty in their first NCAA tournament game: the buzz of a fast start to a big lead, the challenge of putting away an overmatched opponent that keeps playing hard, even an irate Hall of Fame coach.

Quinn Cook scored 22 points to help the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils get off to a torrid start and beat Robert Morris 85-56 on Friday.

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Villanova went from a top seed to No. 1-and-done.

NC State is back in the Sweet 16, attacking one of the top teams in the nation for 40 minutes and stunning Villanova 71-68 on Saturday night. The Wolfpack went wild as the final horn sounded and danced around the court in celebration.

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Notre Dame coach Mike Brey guided the Irish to a thrilling, 67-64 overtime win over Butler in the NCAA tournament hours after losing his mother to a heart attack at age 84.

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North Carolina coach Roy Williams declined to disclose how he celebrated in the locker room after getting back to the Sweet 16. The smile on his players' faces made it clear it was something they had never seen.

Marcus Paige scored 22 points, including 20 in the second half, and the fourth-seeded Tar Heels North beat No. 5 seed Arkansas 87-78 in the NCAA tournament on Saturday to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in three years.

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Jahlil Okafor showed off all the moves -- a spin, a dribble drive, a short jumper -- that have made Duke's freshman big man possibly the nation's top player.

When he's playing like that, the Blue Devils have a shot to finish as the nation's best team right alongside him.

Okafor scored 18 of his 26 points in a dominating first half, and top-seeded Duke beat San Diego State 68-49 on Sunday in the NCAA tournament, sending the freshmen-led Blue Devils back to the Sweet 16 to continue their push for coach Mike Krzyzewski's fifth national title.

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Rick Pitino and Louisville are heading to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year.

Terry Rozier scored 25 points Sunday night to lift the fourth-seeded Cards to a 66-53 victory over fifth-seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAA Tournament.

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Momentum sagging and Wichita State surging, Mike Brey called timeout and offered his Notre Dame players a reminder.

There was no screaming. No frantic scribbling of X's and O's. That's not Brey's style. Or his team's.

"I said, 'Fellas, been here before,'" Brey said. "Little did I know it was going to be a lightning strike, a flat-out lightning strike."

One that carried the Irish all the way to the brink of the Final Four.

Demetrius Jackson scored 20 points and third-seeded Notre Dame blitzed the Shockers in the second half of a surprisingly easy 81-70 victory Thursday night in the Midwest Region semifinal to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in 36 years.

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Justise Winslow says coach Mike Krzyzewski never treated him and the other Duke freshmen like, well, freshmen.

These young Blue Devils certainly aren't playing like it, either -- and have Coach K one win away from another NCAA Final Four.

"He gave us his trust and just believed in us," said Winslow, one of the three freshman starters. "When you have that, you play like yourself."

Winslow, playing at home in Houston the day after his 19th birthday, had 21 points and 10 rebounds for South Regional top seed Duke in a 63-57 Sweet 16 victory over revived Utah on Friday night.

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Montrezl Harrell is not ready for the end of his college career at Louisville just yet. Anton Gill helped make sure it continues at least one more game.

Harrell scored 24 points, Gill keyed a late-game surge with seven points off the bench, and Louisville beat North Carolina State 75-65 on Friday night in the East Regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

"We don't want to go home," said Harrell, a junior who plans to enter the NBA draft. "We took our bumps and bruises throughout the season, but we came together at the right time. Everything just jelled at the right time."

Louisville (27-8), the fourth seed in the East and seeking to make its third Final Four in four years, will play seventh-seeded Michigan State in the East final on Sunday. The Spartans downed No. 3 seed Oklahoma 62-58 in Friday's nightcap in the Carrier Dome.

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Two star freshmen, a solid senior and some of the trademark defense Duke has long been known for have the Blue Devils back in the national championship game.

And in Indianapolis, no less.

Justise Winslow scored 19 points, fellow freshman Jahlil Okafor added 18, and senior Quinn Cook had 17 to lead top-seeded Duke to an 81-61 victory over Michigan State on Saturday and into yet another title game in the city known for a 500-mile auto race.


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Over a matter of mere minutes, the youngsters at Duke grew into salty old pros.

Call them freshmen. But please, do not call them kids.

Led by Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, Duke's talented group of potential one-and-doners played like veterans down the stretch, outscoring Wisconsin by 14 points over the final 13 minutes Monday night to grit out a 68-63 victory for the program's fifth national title.

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- Wake Forest has reinstated Madison Jones from an offseason suspension from all basketball-related activities.

Coach Danny Manning suspended the rising senior in March. He didn't specify a reason then, saying that Jones "needs to make better decisions and earn his way back."

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Kennedy Meeks scores 25 points, pulls in 11 rebounds as UNC rolls Temple

Top-ranked North Carolina launched a season of lofty expectations by proving it can win handily without standout guardMarcus Paige.

Kennedy Meeks had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and three other Tar Heels scored in double figures Friday night in a 91-67 win over Temple.

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No. 6 Virginia beats Morgan State 86-48 in opener

Tony Bennett and his Virginia players have their eyes on a deep NCAA run behind fifth-year stars Malcolm Brogdonand Anthony Gill. The Cavaliers' opener brought encouraging signs from a player Bennett is counting on to support those two.

Center Mike Tobey had 15 points and eight rebounds and the No. 6 Cavaliers shook off early shooting problems to beat Morgan State 86-48 on Friday night.

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Final Four star Allen scores 26, No. 5 Duke tops Siena 92-74

Grayson Allen picked up right where he left off.

The breakout star of Duke's Final Four run scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half to lead the fifth-ranked Blue Devils past Siena 92-74 on Friday night in the first round of the 2K Classic.

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Jackson scores career-high 27 for No. 19 Notre Dame

Demetrius Jackson deflected credit to his teammates for his big night.

Jackson scored a career-high 27 points to lead No. 19 Notre Dame to an 87-56 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

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Jones, Allen lead No. 5 Duke past Bryant, 113-75

No. 5 Duke got together for a team meeting to talk about the flaws in its lopsided season-opening victory.

Then the Blue Devils came out for Game 2 and managed an even bigger rout.

Grayson Allen had a career-high 28 points, Matt Jones scored all of his career-best 19 in the first half, and Duke beat Bryant 113-75 on Saturday night in the 2K Classic.

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