In Wednesday night ACC action, Virginia beat Georgia Tech, 62-56, Miami downed Boston College 73-64, Maryland thumped Florida State 70-62, and UNC took State, 75-63.
Harrison Barnes was the key player as he scored 16 in the second half. State had dominated the early minutes before UNC roared back to win their 10th straight against the Pack.
For Sidney Lowe, widely regarded to be on the hot seat, this is a tough loss. A win over Carolina is huge for any State coach; for one who is struggling, it's doubly critical.
You have to give Maryland a certain amount of credit: year after year, they seem to have their back to the wall and they tend to play their best basketball when they do.
Of course, Florida State is playing without Chris Singleton, but they're still a potent team, certainly defensively, and it's not like Maryland is an offensive dynamo.
But the Terps turned the tables on the Seminoles and were more hard-nosed.
Classic quote from Gary Williams: "It's a huge win. It's definitely going to help us a lot. [Florida State] is a team that beat the number one team in the country at one time, which is huge!"
Ah, Duke... never far from the tiny turtle cranium.
In Atlanta, Mustapha Farrakhan, who at times has been an excellent player, led Virginia to the win over the Yellowjackets, who benched Glen Rice, Jr. for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Paul Hewitt eventually put him in but pulled him out more than once after questionable plays.
For Virginia, Farrakhan and Assane Sene both complained of stomach problems, which led to Tony Bennett going to zone for the first time this season.
The Thriller Dome is no more; 5,537 fans were listed as attending, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that were there were many less than that to see Georgia Tech lose their seventh straight ACC game.
Bet you haven't heard this phrase before: the Hurricanes led by 22 points in the first half on the road. We aren't even sure that has ever happened during their time in the ACC. It's as rare as frog's teeth.
It may also have ended B. C's hopes for a bid.
Reggie Johnson and Malcolm Grant scored 15 each; Durand Scott added 10 and Garrius Adams tossed in 12.
So as of now, unless something significant changes, the conference race comes down once again to Duke and Carolina.
Carolina has the tougher path left, with Maryland at home, a trip to Florida State, and then Duke in the traditional senior day finale, but with only walk-ons and a rental unit in Justin Knox for seniors.
Duke has a dangerous trip to Virginia Tech this weekend before closing at home against Clemson on senior day.
Allow us to make a point about scheduling: why are two teams having their first encounter on the last game of the regular season? This is utterly ridiculous and should never happen. We hope to revisit this issue again fairly soon in more detail.
Carolina has to hope that Virginia Tech can do them a favor and that they don't lose again. If Duke wins Saturday, UNC could still tie, but only if everything goes perfectly.
The odds of Duke losing the last home game Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith will ever play? You never know, but not very high.
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