THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE THREAD

No. 18 Florida State, behind Kabengele, tops NC State 78-73

Trent Forrest has been in pain with a toe injury throughout the season. The Florida State guard hasn't missed a game yet, though, and he pushed through to provide a second-half spark Saturday.

Mfiondu Kabengele came off the bench to score 16 points, Forrest added 11 of his 13 points in the second half and the No. 18 Seminoles held off North Carolina State 78-73.

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Long ball propels No. 2 Virginia over Syracuse 79-53

Shot after shot the net kept swishing, and Kyle Guyand the Virginia Cavaliers kept smiling.

Guy hit a career-high eight 3-pointers to lead a long-range barrage that produced 18 makes from beyond the arc, and No. 2 Virginia beat Syracuse 79-53 on Monday night. Ty Jerome and De'Andre Huntereach had five 3s as the Cavaliers tied the school record for 3-pointers, the most ever allowed by the Orange.

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No. 3 North Carolina beats Boston College 79-66

North Carolina forward Luke Maye grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in an easy victory over Boston College, and then he was off in transition.

Quickly turning his attention to the No. 3 Tar Heels' regular season finale against archrival Duke, Maye said of Saturday night's game with the Atlantic Coast Conference title at stake: "It's huge for us."

"We wanted to put ourselves in a position to win it," he said after Carolina beat BC 79-66 on Tuesday to set up a showdown with the Blue Devils in Chapel Hill. "And we have that opportunity."

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Sluggish Blue Devils barely hold off Wake Forest

No. 4 Duke again didn't have Zion Williamson. The Blue Devils also didn't have their best version of Cameron Reddish, and for a few uneasy minutes, they were without Tre Jones.

The Blue Devils did have RJ Barrett, and that -- plus a fortunate bounce on the final shot -- was just enough to beat Wake Forest.

Barrett scored 28 points, and Duke held on to beat the Demon Deacons 71-70 on Tuesday after Chaundee Brown's jumper rimmed out at the buzzer.

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No. 14 Florida St. rallies to top No. 15 Va. Tech in OT

Staring down a 14-point halftime deficit, No. 14 Florida State didn't panic.

M.J. Walker scored nine of his 11 points after halftime, including a critical 3-pointer in overtime, and Florida State rallied to top No. 15 Virginia Tech 73-64 on Tuesday night.

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Alexander-Walker leads No. 15 Virginia Tech past Miami

In a pregame ceremony, the Virginia Tech recognized three seniors who arguably changed the fortunes of the program. Then, a sophomore stole the show.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and No. 15 Virginia Tech beat Miami 84-70 on Friday night to tie the school record for regular-season victories with 23.

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No. 3 UNC tops No. 4 Duke 79-70 to clinch share of ACC title

Third-ranked North Carolina handled every push fourth-ranked Duke could manage, both in building a big lead and then hanging onto what was left of its edge in the final minutes.

When it was over, the Tar Heels were ready to cut down nets, too.

Freshman Coby White scored 21 points and UNC took down its biggest rival again, beating the short-handed Blue Devils 79-70 to earn a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship.

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Jerome helps rally No. 2 Virginia past Louisville 73-68

Four Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles in six years might make it seem like old hat at No. 2 Virginia, but after the Cavaliers earned that fourth one by coming back to beat Louisville 73-68 on Saturday, Ty Jerome said it was time to celebrate.

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No. 14 Florida State surges past Wake Forest 65-57

Florida State made no excuses for its sluggish first half.

The No. 14 Seminoles fell behind 14-2 to Wake Forest, a team near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Then came a second-half surge -- 18 straight points -- and a 65-57 victory. Florida State won for the 12th time in 13 games to finish fourth in conference.

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Blackshear, No. 16 Virginia Tech beat Miami 71-56 in ACCs

Ty Outlaw and No. 16 Virginia Tech got a quick offensive start. The Hokies didn't need a whole lot more to advance in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Outlaw hit three 3-pointers during the Hokies' game-opening 11-point run and they never trailed in beating Miami 71-56 on Wednesday in the second round.

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Williamson has 29 points in return, No. 5 Duke rolls in ACCs

Zion Williamson said he never listened to the analysts who suggested he should forego the remainder of his college career at Duke and focus on the NBA.

"I knew I was going to be back," Williamson said. "Everybody has their right to their own opinion, but I knew I was coming back the whole time."

With each soaring dunk Thursday night, Williamson sent a resounding message to the rest of the college basketball world that he is back -- and so are the Blue Devils.

In his first game since a bizarre shoe blowout caused him almost six full games with a sprained knee, Williamson was electrifying, breaking a 66-year-old Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament record by going 13 of 13 from the field -- with five soaring dunks -- and scoring 29 points to propel No. 5 Duke over Syracuse 84-72.

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No. 3 North Carolina beats Louisville 83-70 in ACC quarters

Roy Williams continues to preach to Coby Whiteto play aggressive while staying under control.

The freshman point guard is learning to walk that fine line for third-ranked North Carolina.

Luke Maye had 19 points and nine rebounds, White added 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists -- and committed just one turnover -- and North Carolina beat Louisville 83-70 on Thursday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.

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Guy, Salt help No. 2 Virginia beat NC State 76-56 in ACCs

Jack Salt has been content as the guy setting screens for second-ranked Virginia's best offensive players, chasing down rebounds and wrestling for post position.

On Thursday, it was the big man's turn to be an offensive star.

The redshirt senior had a career-high 18 points to help Virginia rally past North Carolina State 76-56 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals, providing an unexpected offensive boost. Salt is generally a role player behind Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De'Andre Hunter.

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No. 5 Duke edges No. 3 UNC 74-73 in ACC semifinals

Zion Williamson didn't hesitate when he saw his shot for the lead coming off the rim late in a tense game with Duke's fierce rival. He bounced right back up in traffic for the kind of play that only he can make with his athleticism and size.

Yes, the Blue Devils' freshman star now has his delayed big moment against North Carolina.

Williamson tipped in his own miss to put the fifth-ranked Blue Devils ahead for good, and Duke survived a final-play shot to beat the third-ranked Tar Heels 74-73 on Friday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.

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Florida State upends No. 2 Virginia 69-59 in ACC semifinals

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said his team's goal this season has been to establish itself among the hierarchy of the Atlantic Coast Conference largely dominated the past several years by Duke, North Carolina and Virginia.

While that has been a challenging task for what he called his "unknown team," the 12th-ranked Seminoles took a big step toward gaining some national notoriety on Friday night with 69-59 win over No. 2 Virginia.

David Nichols scored 14 points as the Seminoles (27-6) advanced to the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the first time since 2012. Phil Cofer had 11 points and 7-foot-3 center Christ Koumadje added nine points and nine rebounds for the Seminoles, who'll play No. 5 Duke for the title on Saturday night.

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Zion leads Duke to ACC title, wins tourney MVP

Zion Williamson remembers crying in his mother's arms after suffering a knee sprain that would sideline him for nearly six full games and threaten fifth-ranked Duke's title potential.

Less than a month later, Williamson was standing amid fallen confetti, raising an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship trophy and cutting down a strand of net while sporting the widest of smiles.

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Kabengele, Mann lead 4th-seed FSU over hot-shooting Vermont

Florida State got a first-round scare from sharp-shooting Vermont.

In the end, the Seminoles were just too long and too strong for the upset-minded Catamounts.

Mfiondu Kabengele had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Florida State withstood a barrage of 3-pointers from 13th-seeded Vermont in a 76-69 victory Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional.

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Duke's Zion Show has successful NCAA Tournament debut

Everything was set for Zion Williamson's starring turn on the biggest stage in college basketball.

The Duke megastar made his NCAA Tournament debut some 90 miles away from his high school, in front of what was essentially a hometown crowd, with a CBS camera dedicated to his every move.

Too much hype for a freshman? Not this one.

Williamson, as expected, had a spectacular showing and proved once again he's the most prolific player in the game right now.

He scored 25 points in an explosive performance to lead top-seeded Duke to an 85-62 win over North Dakota State in Friday night's first round game.

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Top-seeded UNC overcomes slow 1st half to beat Iona in NCAAs

North Carolina completed a perfect first round for top seeds in this NCAA Tournament, but not before Iona became the latest No. 16 seed to show these matchups are no sure thing.

Cameron Johnson scored 21 points, and North Carolina quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit to hot-shooting Iona, going on to win 88-73 on Friday night.

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No. 1 Virginia avoids 2nd straight huge NCAA tourney upset

This time, Virginia was not one-and-done against a 16 seed.

It looked possible, at least through the first half, as the Cavaliers were tested in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Down 14 points in the first half Friday against Gardner-Webb, another early exit was quite possible.

Shades of UMBC all over again? Not quite.

A year after becoming the first team to be stunned in a 1 vs. 16 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Virginia gathered itself and beat the Runnin' Bulldogs 71-56 in the South Region opener Friday.

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