THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE THREAD

N.C. State rolls past No. 25 Florida State 92-72

North Carolina State's offense is rolling heading into March.

Allerik Freeman scored 25 points to help N.C. State beat No. 25 Florida State 92-72 on Sunday night.

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Clarke's tip-in helps Hokies stun No. 5 Duke, 64-63

Nickeil Alexander-Walker's emotions changed in a heartbeat -- not once, but twice.

The freshman guard at Virginia Tech took what he thought would be the game-winning shot. Then he saw it sail over the rim entirely. Then he saw teammate Chris Clarke collect the rebound and lay it back in, giving the Hokies a stunning 64-63 comeback victory over No. 5 Duke.

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Newton's heave helps Miami stun No. 9 North Carolina 91-88

Miami had just seen the last of its 16-point lead vanish with only a few seconds left when Ja'Quan Newton took an inbounds pass and sprinted upcourt.

Time for one more shot, he thought.

And what a remarkable shot it was.

Newton hit a running 3-pointer from a few steps across midcourt at the horn, lifting Miami to a 91-88 upset of No. 9 North Carolina in a wild finish Tuesday night.

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Reed lifts No. 18 Clemson to 75-63 win over Florida State

Clemson coach Brad Brownell was grateful his team set a record with its 11th Atlantic Coast Conference victory. He also hopes the mark doesn't last too long.

"It's something players will remember for a long time. It's good to talk about," said Brownell after the 18th-ranked Tigers defeated Florida State 76-63 on Wednesday night. "Hopefully, it's a record that will be broken again."

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Hunter's 3 helps No. 1 Virginia edge Louisville 67-66

De'Andre Hunter's only thought with 0.9 seconds remaining was how fast he would shoot the ball if he got it in his hands, though he wasn't sure if his desperation heave from the left side of the 3-point circle had the distance or accuracy.

Fortunately for the Virginia freshman guard, his shot had the glass to bank it through as time expired, completing a rally from 13 points down and giving the top-ranked Cavaliers an improbable 67-66 victory Thursday night over stunned Louisville.

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Bagley's big 2nd half leads No. 5 Duke past No. 9 UNC, 74-64

With No. 5 Duke trailing its fiercest rival and struggling to match the magnitude of the moment, coach Mike Krzyzewski had a simple message for his team.

No pressure -- and no set plays, either.

"Take the pianos off your back, quit playing with all the pressure in the world, get a smile on your face," Krzyzewski said. "Just play."

Marvin Bagley III had 18 of his 21 points in the second half along with 15 rebounds, and No. 5 Duke erased a 13-point deficit in the second half and beat No. 9 North Carolina 74-64 on Saturday night.

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Hall's 17 lead No. 1 Virginia past Irish, 62-57

Virginia has known for a while it had the top seed in the ACC Tournament locked up.

Now that the tournament is the top-ranked Cavaliers' next stop, Isaiah Wilkins thinks it's time to knuckle down even more.

"I think we have to have like a full reset," the senior forward said Saturday after celebrating his final home game at John Paul Jones Arena with a 62-57 victory against Notre Dame. "It's a chapter, and it closed. Now we just have to be extra prepared and play free.

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Battle scores 17, Syracuse beats No. 18 Clemson 55-52

Syracuse finally won a close one at home, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Oshae Brissett and Tyus Battle each scored 17 points and Syracuse rallied to beat No. 18 Clemson 55-52 on Saturday to remain in the hunt for a postseason berth.

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North Carolina beats Syracuse 78-59 at ACC and honors Durham

Theo Pinson pinpointed the reason North Carolina had success attacking Syracuse's 2/3 zone.

"Getting me the ball," the Tar Heels senior forward and resident comedian said.

Pinson was joking, but as with all good comedy there was some truth in the punchline.

Pinson had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Kenny Williamsscored 17 points as No. 12 North Carolina beat Syracuse 78-59 on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

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Bagley, No. 5 Duke rout Notre Dame 88-70 in ACC tourney

Marvin Bagley III and No. 5 Duke jumped right over Notre Dame into the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

The freshman phenom had 33 points and 17 rebounds, Grayson Allenmade his first five 3-pointers and Duke rolled to an 88-70 victory in the tournament quarterfinals Thursday night.

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Guy scores 19, No. 1 Virginia tops Louisville in ACC tourney

With leading scorer Kyle Guy back following a brief injury scare, the nation's No. 1 team is off to a strong postseason start.

Guy and his Virginia teammates looked like healthy favorites on Thursday, beating Louisville 75-58 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

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North Carolina beats Miami 82-65 and gets Duke next at ACC

Theo Pinson dived on a loose ball, pulling it away from a Miami player, and quickly pushed it ahead to Cameron Johnson to start a North Carolina fast break that ended with Kenny Williams' layup.

That put the Tar Heels up 10 on the Hurricanes with 2 minutes left, all but wrapping up a second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals meeting between North Carolina and Duke in Brooklyn.

Pinson scored a career-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds, helping the Tar Heels recover from a horrific start and awful shooting by their leading scorers to beat No. 24 Miami 82-65 on Thursday night.

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Clemson beats Boston College 90-82 to reach ACC semifinals

Clemson scored 90 points, a school record for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, against Boston College on Thursday to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2011.

Next up for the Tigers will be a very different kind of game against a very different kind of opponent: No. 1 Virginia. Clemson scored 36 points when it lost to the stifling Cavaliers in the regular season.

"What's that average to?" Clemson coach Brad Brownell asked about the output against BC and Virginia. "We'll take the average (Friday)."

On Thursday, Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points and Shelton Mitchell had 21 as No. 19 Clemson beat Boston College 90-82 to set up a rematch with the Cavaliers and the chance to reach the ACC final for the first time since 2008.

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North Carolina holds off Duke to advance to ACC title

North Carolina was up 16 with 5 1/2 minutes left, all set to cruise to a victory that would snap a six-game Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament losing streak against Duke and put the Tar Heels in the championship for a record 35th time.

Then things got weird -- and college basketball's greatest rivalry produced another memorable finish.

Luke Maye scored 17 points, including North Carolina's last field goal with 5:33 remaining, and the 12th-ranked Tar Heels held off a rally by No. 5 Duke for a 74-69 victory Friday night in the ACC semifinals.

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No. 1 Virginia salts away ACC semifinal vs No. 19 Clemson

On the court and in the crowd, orange was everywhere as Virginia and Clemson clashed in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

In typical fashion, the nation's top team turned in a blue-collar effort and salted the game away, so to speak.

Kyle Guy scored 15 points and No. 1 Virginia advanced to the ACC championship with a 64-58 victory over No. 19 Clemson on Friday night.

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No. 1 Virginia wins ACC title, 71-63 over No. 12 NCarolina

With no one-and-dones, no sure-fire NBA lottery picks, No. 1 Virginia put together one of the most dominant seasons in the storied history of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.

Kyle Guy, Devon Hall and the Cavaliers beat No. 12 North Carolina 71-63 in the ACC championship game Saturday night to finish 20-1 against league competition.

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Last-in Syracuse rallies for 60-56 win over Arizona State

The last team to make the NCAA Tournament gets to play at least one more. Credit Syracuse's fabulous freshman forward and its legendary zone defense for getting a cringe-worthy win.

Freshman Oshae Brissett had his 13th double-double while leading Syracuse's second-half comeback, and the Orange -- the last team to make the NCAA Tournament -- held on for a 60-56 victory over Arizona State on Wednesday night in the First Four.

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Bagley, Duke rout Iona 89-67, breeze into second round

Mike Krzyzewski keeps wringing his hands about his team's youth. And then Duke and its roster of NBA-bound freshmen get on the floor against a more experienced opponent and the Hall of Fame coach's fears largely vanish.

Having Marvin Bagley III certainly helps.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year did whatever he wanted against game but overmatched Iona, pouring in 22 points to go with seven rebounds in his NCAA Tournament debut as the Blue Devils pulled away for an 89-67 victory on Thursday. The 6-foot-11 freshman forward made 10 of 14 shots in 32 minutes -- even making his lone 3-point attempt -- as Duke rolled into a second-round Midwest Region matchup with seven-seeded Rhode Island on Saturday. The Rams held off Oklahoma in overtime in the opening game of the tournament.

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Syracuse tops TCU 57-52 to advance again in NCAA tournament

Forget the matchup between the Syracuse defense and TCU's offense. That was no contest.

The question was whether the Orange could score enough to take that smothering zone to another round.

"We just wanted to stay poised down the stretch," guard Frank Howard said. "We didn't want to get frustrated or start to force anything."

Howard's jumper with 1:27 remaining gave 11th-seeded Syracuse a five-point lead, and the Orange held on for a 57-52 victory over sixth-seeded TCU on Friday night in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. Marek Dolezaj scored 17 points before fouling out, and Syracuse imposed its will defensively.

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9 over 8 and ACC over SEC: Florida State beats Mizzou 67-54

Ninth-seeded Florida State has lots of guys who can score, and the Seminoles used that depth to win their fourth straight NCAA Tournament opener.

Or as coach Leonard Hamilton calls it, a team effort.

Mfiondu Kabengele scored 14 points, and Florida State beat No. 8 seed Missouri 67-54 on Friday night in the West Region.

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