ACC Tournament Roundup - Day Two In Greensboro

In Wednesday's ACC Tournament Action, Duke beat Louisville 70-56, Syracuse knocked off NC State 89-68, Miami surprised Clemson 67-64 and UNC clobbered Notre Dame 101-59.

When your offensive rebounds nearly outnumber your opponents total rebounds - it was 25-31 in this game - you’d better shoot extremely well to win.

Notre Dame didn’t.

The Irish shot 31.1. percent overall and 26.9 percent from behind the line. Toss in 16 turnovers and a 42-4 run and it’s time to say good night. They’ll have to be satisfied with a massive upset of Florida State in the regular season finale and a great final play to knock off Winston-Salem Tuesday night.

UNC did this without Garrison Brooks who sat out with an injury.

Clemson shot lights out in the first half but was only up 36-32 and that was, or should have been, a warning sign for the Tigers. Miami has shown enormous heart in a very tough year and did so again Wednesday, becoming the first 13 seed to reach the quarterfinals where they’ll play Georgia Tech.

Every starter again played at least 29 minutes and Isaiah Wong continues to impress in particular. That may hurt Thursday, but on the other hand, who cares? They’re playing incredibly well.

Buddy Boeheim ripped NC State apart with 27 points and 6-12 from three point range and Syracuse hit 14 overall.

State was just no match for the Orange. It was really too bad since the Pack closed out the season really well but it was just one of those nights and in a completely bizarre season that really had no rhyme or reason.

That sets up an interesting Thursday.

Syracuse gets Virginia for a clash of defensive styles, gritty Miami gets gritty Georgia Tech, Duke plays deep and athletic Florida State while UNC faces off with Virginia Tech.

Our instinct is to pick Virginia, Georgia Tech and Duke - we never bet against Duke.

And the last game?

Tough call.

UNC has a huge size advantage but Virginia Tech is a very, very well coached team. However, they’ve had a Covid pause and that usually hasn't gone well. If they can play up to their potential, Virginia Tech could give UNC a very tough game.

However, while the ACC Tournament is usually unpredictable this year is just off the charts. It’s impossible to guess much of anything so let’s just see how it goes.

Thursday’s ACC Action

• #8 Syracuse vs. #1 Virginia || 12:00 || ESPN2
• #13 Miami vs. #4 Georgia Tech || 2:30 || ESPN2
• #10 Duke vs. #2 Florida State || 6:30 || ESPN
• #6 UNC vs. #3 Virginia Tech || 9:00 || ESPN