THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE THREAD

Gill's 16, 'D' lead No. 7 Virginia past Virginia Tech, 67-49

The first time No. 7 Virginia and Virginia Tech met on a basketball court this season, the Hokies played probably their best game of the season and the Cavaliers played what rates as their worst, and the bad taste of the Cavaliers' two-point loss has lingered ever since.

Anthony Gill and his teammates made amends Tuesday night with a crisp and focused approach that picked apart the Hokies' defense and shut down their offense in what became a 67-49 victory, the Cavaliers' seventh straight.

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Late basket helps No. 12 Miami edge Pittsburgh 65-63

Annoyed about his team's effort, Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga grabbed a ball in the locker room at halftime and challenged his players one by one to wrestle it away from him.

The impromptu drill gave the Hurricanes some needed energy, which carried over to a decisive scramble. Point guard Angel Rodriguez scored on an offensive rebound with 1.4 seconds left, and No. 12 Miami edged Pittsburgh 65-63 on Tuesday night.

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With Williams sick, No. 9 North Carolina beats BC 68-65

North Carolina coach Roy Williams spent most of the second half of Tuesday night's game against Boston College in the locker room after collapsing to the court with vertigo.

When it was over, he decided to come back out -- not just to congratulate his ninth-ranked Tar Heels on their come-from-behind 68-65 victory, but also to commend the Eagles and coach Jim Christian on their hard-fought loss.

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Duke stuns No. 7 Virginia 63-62 on Allen's buzzer-beater

With the game in the balance, Duke guard Grayson Allenpowered his way down the lane and flipped the ball off the backboard.

Virginia wanted a walking call. The Blue Devils thought he was fouled.

There weren't any whistles, and Duke wound up with a buzzer-beating win.

The Blue Devils beat the seventh-ranked Cavaliers 63-62 on Saturday on that shot Allen banked in at the horn.

Read more http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400839772

 

Jackson leads Notre Dame to upset of No. 13 Louisville 71-66

Notre Dame's backcourt of Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia was too much for No. 13 Louisville.

Jackson kept the Fighting Irish in the game in the first half, Vasturia led the rally back from an 11-point deficit in the second and other Notre Dame players finally hit some key shots down the stretch in a 77-66 victory Saturday.

Read more http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400839246

 

No. 12 Miami holds off Florida State, 67-65

This time, Miami didn't squander an 11-point halftime lead at Florida State. But it was close.

Despite not making a field goal for the final 4:23, the 12th-ranked Hurricanes fought off a second-half rally from the Seminoles to win 67-65 on Sunday night. It was Miami's third straight victory over its state rival and it avenged a one-point loss at the Tucker Center last season.

Read more http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400839787

 

Johnson, Paige help No. 9 Tar Heels roll past Panthers 85-64

North Carolina spent two weeks on a tough road trip that included two losses, a struggle against the Atlantic Coast Conference's last-place team and a scary moment for its Hall of Fame coach.

Sunday's dominating performance eased some concerns and pressure that had built over that stretch.

Brice Johnson scored 19 points and the ninth-ranked Tar Heels shot 59 percent to beat Pittsburgh 85-64 in the team's best performance in weeks. They had plenty of balance, shared the ball and got out in transition. They even pleased coach Roy Williams with their defensive attention.

Read more http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400839226

 

Brogdon scores 22 and No. 7 Virginia beats NC State 73-53

Malcolm Brogdon might not have a tougher defensive assignment for the rest of the season than he had on Monday night, and No. 7 Virginia's fifth-year senior would do well to repeat what he managed against Cat Barber should a similar opportunity ever arise.

"I love playing against great players. He's a great player, a great scorer," Brogdon said of Barber (24.1 ppg), who leads the ACC in scoring by a wide margin. "I don't know if I was extra juiced up. I'm juiced up every night, but I definitely looked forward to playing him."

Brogdon scored 22 points, helped limit Barber to 14 and the Cavaliers took command with a 13-2 run in a 73-53 victory.

Read more http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400830496

 

Undermanned No. 20 Duke storms back late to stun No. 5 Tar Heels

Duke's short-handed roster full of youngsters proved it was tough enough to push through everything -- a deeper and more experienced opponent, a tough road environment, even a bit of adversity in the form of a key injury.

"We're a group of fighters," freshman Derryck Thornton said.

The Hall of Fame coach of the 20th-ranked Blue Devils isn't about to argue, either.

Grayson Allen scored 23 points, and Thornton came up with the clinching block on the final play to help Duke edge No. 5 North Carolina 74-73 on Wednesday night. Entering Wednesday, there was a difference of only 15 points in the teams' cumulative scores from their 89 meetings.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839773

 

No. 11 Miami rallies past cold Virginia Tech, 65-49

The Miami Hurricanes came from behind on the scoreboard and in the standings Wednesday night.

No. 11 Miami overcame a seven-point first-half deficit and forged a tie for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference by beating Virginia Tech 65-49.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839179

 

No. 18 Louisville beats Syracuse 72-58 to end 2-game slide

Shaky in all phases at the start against Syracuse, No. 18 Louisville used defense to pull together before its offense put things out of reach.

Damion Lee scored 15 points, Trey Lewis added 14 and the Cardinals pulled away in the second half to beat Syracuse 72-58 on Wednesday night.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839206

 

No. 5 North Carolina routs No. 11 Miami 96-71 for ACC lead

Two days after a crushing loss to rival Duke, North Carolina coach Roy Williams gathered his players, showed them just two plays on film and told them to move on no matter how much it hurt.

"That's behind us now," Williams said he told them.

The fifth-ranked Tar Heels responded with a stunningly dominating performance in a critical Atlantic Coast Conference game, romping to a 96-71 victory over No. 11 Miami on Saturday.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839810

 

No. 18 Louisville rallies past No. 20 Duke 71-64

Louisville threw defense, bodies and even elbows at No. 20 Duke, a collective effort that left the 18th-ranked Cardinals tired and sore.

Not to mention satisfied, after a hard-fought 71-64 victory the Cardinals won't forget anytime soon.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839774

 

Georges-Hunt lifts Georgia Tech over Notre Dame, 63-62

When Georgia Tech, trailing Notre Dame by one point, called a timeout with 10.4 seconds remaining, it was no secret that Marcus Georges-Hunt was being discussed in both huddles.

Even so, the Fighting Irish couldn't stop the Yellow Jackets' go-to scorer from delivering the decisive basket.

Georges-Hunt scored on a short jumper with 2 seconds remaining, lifting Georgia Tech to a 63-62 win over No. 19 Notre Dame on Saturday night.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839247

 

No. 12 Miami outlasts No. 3 Virginia 64-61

Miami shook off any lingering effects from its most lopsided loss of the season.

Davon Reed scored 21 points and the 12th-ranked Hurricanes rebounded from a 25-point thrashing at North Carolina with a 64-61 victory over No. 3 Virginia on Monday night.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400830497

 

No. 7 UNC beats rival NC State 80-68 to stay in 1st in ACC

North Carolina has spent the last two games building leads and stretching them out instead of letting an opponent back in the game.

The seventh-ranked Tar Heels need to keep doing that to make a long run in March.

Brice Johnson had 22 points and 11 rebounds to help UNC beat North Carolina State 80-68 on Wednesday night, keeping the Tar Heels atop the Atlantic Coast Conference with yet another win against their nearby rival.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839812

 

No. 11 Louisville pulls away from Pittsburgh 67-60

When Louisville coach Rick Pitino awarded walk-on guardDavid Levitch a scholarship in the fall, Pitino stressed the slight, mop-topped kid from the Louisville suburbs had earned it.

Playing major minutes on the road with the pursuit of a regular season ACC title in the balance, Levitch looked right at home. The junior scored eight points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining as the 11th-ranked Cardinals pulled away from Pittsburgh 67-60 on Wednesday night.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839228

 

Auguste, Vasturia lead No. 23 ND past Wake Forest 69-58

Notre Dame hasn't lost very often during the past two seasons. Those defeats never come in bunches.

Zach Auguste had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the 23rd-ranked Fighting Irish beat Wake Forest 69-58 on Wednesday night.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839248

 

Allen leads No. 15 Duke past Florida State, 80-65

Duke has been dealing with some injured players and even more ranked opponents. The 15th-ranked Blue Devils were emotionally drained -- yet they still found enough energy to beat fading Florida State.

Grayson Allen scored 18 points, Brandon Ingram added 16 and Duke defeated the Seminoles 80-65 on Thursday night.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839775

 

Malcolm Brogdon's 26 points lead No. 3 Virginia by No. 7 UNC

Malcolm Brogdon said he wasn't trying to assert himself any more than usual. It just worked out that way.

Brogdon scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half and No. 3 Virginia used a 16-5 second-half run to break open a tie game and held off No. 7 North Carolina 79-74 on Saturday night, the Cavaliers' 19th consecutive home victory.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400839813