ACC Basketball

Syracuse star Buddy Boeheim was suspended one game by the ACC for hitting Florida State's Wyatt Wilkes during their ACC tournament matchup Wednesday. 

Later on Wednesday, Wilkes said in a video that he didn't believe Boeheim threw a punch and didn't think he should have been punished by the league. 

"I don't think he should be suspended, personally," Wilkes said. "That's just me. Obviously I'm not part of the [ACC] or anything like that, or doing a review. Everyone can have their own opinion. ... I've been hit with about 30 elbows in my career that were a whole lot worse than that one. From his perspective, I think that he felt like I cracked down on him a little hard on the box out. Obviously the play was clean, but just from the angle ... I did box out hard. I really didn't want him getting that rebound."

The punishment split opinion after the fact, with some arguing that the suspension was warranted and others finding it incredibly harsh:

Boeheim and Wilkes spoke on the court after Syracuse's 96-57 win. Boeheim also apologized in a statement. 

Both coaches from the game—Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy's father, and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton—downplayed the incident. 

"I saw the play, the kid pushed him twice," Jim Boeheim told reporters. "I think it was inadvertent. It wasn't much of a punch."

"I don't want anything to take away from how well they played and what type of fine young man he is," Hamilton added. "The game is physical. We expect guys to go out and bang and be aggressive. If something inadvertently happens sometimes we want to categorize it in one way or another. I've lost my composure sometimes. I've made some mistakes."

Unless Syracuse (16-16) beats Duke on Thursday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, Boeheim's college career may be over. While he technically has one year of eligibility remaining after the shortened 2019-20 COVID-19 season, both Buddy and Jim Boeheim have indicated in the past that the senior guard likely won't play next season. 

Boeheim leads Syracuse in scoring (19.3 PPG) this year, adding 3.1 assists per contest while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from three. Without Boeheim, the Orange are even bigger underdogs against No. 7 Duke (26-5) on Thursday. 

Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim appeared to take a shot at Florida State's Wyatt Wilkes during Wednesday's ACC tournament game.

Midway through the first half, it looked as if Boeheim punched Wilkes in the stomach as the former turned to get back on defense after Joseph Girard III made a three-pointer for the Orange.

After Syracuse's 96-57 win over the Seminoles, Boeheim offered an apology for the incident. 

"I swung my arm while turning to go back up the court," he said, via TMZ Sports. "It was wrong to act out in frustration. I apologized to Wyatt Wilkes multiple times in the handshake line. I pride myself in respecting the game and our opponent. I will not react that way again."

Even though Wilkes doubled over for a few moments, there was no foul called and no review conducted by the officials.

Boeheim was ultimately suspended one game by the ACC.

Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton didn't call timeout as Wilkes recovered, and play continued.

"There's not a better kid in the ACC than Buddy Boeheim," Hamilton said after FSU's 96-57 loss. "... We are going to move on and let how well they played be what people talk about related to this game."

Boeheim is a son of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. The senior led the team in scoring during the regular season (19.3 points per game). He has never been ejected from a game in his college career or assessed a flagrant or technical foul.

Syracuse is the No. 9 seed in the tournament after going 9-11 in conference play and 15-16 overall. It hasn't finished with a losing record since 1968-69 (9-16).

Wilkes is a senior guard for the Seminoles. He averaged 4.0 points per game during the regular season.

Florida State (17-13, 10-10 in the ACC) ended the regular season with eight losses in its final 12 games. The Seminoles entered the ACC tournament as the No. 8 seed and are trying to make their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament.

Longtime Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim said Wednesday the university has worked to formulate a succession plan.

Boeheim explained on ESPN Radio Syracuse he didn't want to provide many details because it could impact the Orange's recruiting, but he said the school will decide when to make the information public, and he expects to have a say in choosing his successor.

"There's a plan," Boeheim said. "I'm just telling you there's a plan."

The 77-year-old central New York native played college basketball at Syracuse from 1963 through 1966 and then joined the team's coaching staff as an assistant under Roy Danforth in 1969.

Boeheim was promoted to head coach in 1976 and held the role for the past 46 seasons. His career record stands at 1,098-424 (.721 winning percentage), but he vacated 101 victories as part of NCAA sanctions levied against the program in 2015.

His 997 official wins rank sixth in men's college basketball history and second among Division I coaches. One of the most amazing distinctions about is tenure is the Orange have never finished below .500.

That remarkable streak is under threat this season, however, as Cuse stands at 15-15 heading into the final game of the regular season against Miami on Saturday.

Boeheim, who previously confirmed he doesn't plan to retire after this season, said the succession plan is to ensure a smooth transition whenever he does step away.

"At the end of the day, I can promise you that I'm trying to leave this program in the best position that it can be in when I leave," Boeheim told ESPN Radio Syracuse. "I think we will be able to do that."

Mike Hopkins, who was named Boeheim's successor in 2015, left the program in 2017 after 23 years as an assistant to become the head coach at Washington.

Dan Raley of Sports Illustrated reported in February that Hopkins could still be considered as a potential successor by Syracuse.

Boeheim's current assistants are Adrian Autry, Gerry McNamara and Allen Griffin.

If you didn't already get your tickets for Saturday's game between Duke and North Carolina, then you might be out of luck.

The average ticket price at StubHub exceeds $5,000 for what will be the final home contest for legendary Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski:

This may not even be a good game in terms of the action on the court.

Duke blew out UNC by 20 points during the last meeting between the teams in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Although the Tar Heels have since won five of their past six, they figure to be big underdogs. 

But whether this is another epic encounter in one of college basketball's biggest rivalries is of secondary concern. Anticipation has been building toward this occasion for months because of what it represents for Krzyzewski.

Coach K divulged in October that the V Foundation auctioned off four tickets to the game for $1 million:

The atmosphere inside Cameron Indoor Stadium is always special for Duke vs. UNC. For those lucky enough to attend Saturday's clash in person, it won't be a moment they soon forget.

Paolo Banchero will be the first collegiate player featured in an NBA 2K season in the newest launch of NBA 2K22.

"Season 5: Power Within" is headlined by Kevin Durant, Rui Hachimura and Banchero, the latter entering MyTeam mode with a 95 overall rating.

The forward is in his first season at Duke, averaging 16.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Banchero has been a go-to option for a 23-4 squad that is considered a top contender for a national title, while he also has a bright future at the professional level.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman lists the 6'10" player as the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2022 draft class.

Gamers can get an early look at the "future NBA superstar" even before he reaches the league. 

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski says he is feeling "better" after leaving the bench at halftime of the Blue Devils' win over Wake Forest with an illness.

The 75-year-old told SiriusXM on Thursday:

"I'm better. We went through a very taxing part of our season, with four games in eight days, late travel. I still prepare the same way. That day, for Wake, I wasn't feeling that good. During the game, during the first half, I got lightheaded on the bench. I called Jon Scheyer and Chris Carrawell over and I said, 'Look, I'm not feeling great. You guys do more. Just don't hold back.'

Then I started feeling a little bit better during the half. Then, as I'm walking off the court at halftime ... I really thought I could pass out. I got to the locker room and my medical people gave me IVs and whatever. I'm better. I think you get exhausted. I don't know if it was my way of celebrating my 75th birthday and saying, 'Knucklehead, you are 75. You better do something a little bit different.' I'm better, and I'm glad it was that and not something else."

Scheyer took over in the second half for Krzyzewski, leading the Devils to a narrow 76-74 home victory. The associate coach is set to take over for Krzyzewski once he retires following the 2021-22 season.

“Clearly, Coach wasn’t himself,” Scheyer told reporters Tuesday. “He wasn’t right.”

Duke is set to return to the floor Saturday against Florida State. Krzyzewski is expected back at his normal spot on the bench leading the nation's ninth-ranked team. He previously missed a game against Wake Forest earlier this season with a non-COVID illness. 

Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski nixed a plan that would have made Tommy Amaker his successor. 

In his new book Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski (h/t Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post), Ian O’Connor wrote that Krzyzewski talked Amaker out of accepting an offer from the Blue Devils in order for current assistant Jon Scheyer to take over for him after the 2021-22 season. 

According to O'Connor, Krzyzewski wanted Scheyer as head coach because he "believed he would maintain more control over the program" in his retirement. 

“He can be Don Corleone when he needs to be," one Duke insider told O'Connor.

The discussion between Krzyzewski and Amaker took place on a Zoom call last year, with Coach K telling him if he came back to Duke for the 2021-22 season as an assistant before taking over next year, it would "create an awkward dynamic with Scheyer" and force another assistant already with the program to be demoted. 

One source close to Amaker told O'Connor that the Harvard head coach was "heartbroken" after that call. 

Amaker played point guard for Krzyzewski at Duke from 1983 to 1987. He helped the Blue Devils reach the national championship game in the 1986 NCAA tournament and was named NABC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1986-87. 

After graduating from college, Amaker joined the Blue Devils' coaching staff as an assistant in 1988 and remained through 1997. The 56-year-old left the program to become head coach at Seton Hall in 1997.

Amaker has since gone on to be the head coach at Michigan (2001-07) and Harvard. He's in his 15th season with the Crimson, having led them to four appearances in the NCAA tournament. 

Scheyer, 34, played for the Blue Devils from 2006 through 2010. He briefly had a professional playing career after graduating before being hired as an assistant by Krzyzewski in April 2013. 

Duke promoted Scheyer to associate head coach in 2018 after Jeff Capel was hired as head coach at Pittsburgh. He was named the coach in waiting in June when Krzyzewski announced he would retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. 

Krzyzewski is in his 42nd season with the Blue Devils. The 75-year-old has won five national titles, three Olympic gold medals as Team USA's head coach and has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (2001) and College Basketball Hall of Fame (2006).    

Clemson guard David Collins was ejected from Thursday's game against Duke for a flagrant foul on Wendell Moore Jr. late in the first half.

Moore had stripped Collins and completed a breakaway dunk, but Collins undercut him while he was on the rim and caused him to land hard on the ground in a scary fall. Moore remained in the game after being evaluated.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was visibly incensed as he made his way onto the floor to check on Moore.

The No. 7 Blue Devils are looking to bounce back from Monday's upset loss to unranked Virginia.

The No. 7 Duke men's basketball team suffered a 69-68 upset loss to unranked Virginia on Monday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Virginia guard Reece Beekman drilled a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to push the Cavaliers in front. Duke star freshman Paolo Banchero had a last-gasp attempt, but it didn't connect.

Beekman, a sophomore, finished with seven points, three assists and two steals to help the Cavaliers improve to 15-9 and 9-5 in the ACC. The game-winner was just Virginia's second three-pointer in 12 attempts.

Senior forward Jayden Gardner poured in 17 points with eight rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Sophomore forward Kadin Shedrick added a career-high 16 points off the bench on perfect 8-of-8 shooting. 

The Cavaliers did a great job shutting down Banchero, limiting him to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. It was the first time he was held under 10 points this season. He recorded a game-high nine rebounds with three assists and three blocks, but he also turned the ball over four times.

Duke's five-game winning streak ended, and it fell to 19-4 overall and 9-3 in conference play. Sophomore center Mark Williams led the Blue Devils with 16 points, and freshman guard Trevor Keels had 12 points, all in the second half.

Virginia will try to keep the momentum going Saturday when it hosts Georgia Tech. Duke will look to bounce back Thursday in a road matchup against Clemson.