ACC Basketball

The Florida State Seminoles will play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the ACC men's tournament championship on Saturday night. 

The Seminoles clinched a berth in the title game thanks to their 69-66 win over North Carolina in the semifinal on Friday.    

Georgia Tech was given an automatic berth in the championship game. Its schedule meeting with Virginia was canceled when the Cavaliers withdrew from the tournament Friday afternoon after a positive COVID-19 test within the program. 

The Yellow Jackets are in the ACC tournament final for the first time since 2010. They haven't won the event since 1993. Florida State is looking for its second straight championship after being declared the winner last year by virtue of winning the regular-season title. 

The two teams last faced each other Jan. 30, with Georgia Tech the winner by 11 points.

            

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2021 ACC Tournament Semifinal Results

Georgia Tech advanced past No. 16 Virginia (uncontested game)

No. 15 Florida State def. North Carolina: 69-66

     

2021 ACC Tournament Final Schedule

Georgia Tech vs. No. 15 Florida State

Date: Saturday, March 13

Start Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

                 

No. 15 Florida State 69, North Carolina 66 

Florida State held off a second-half rally by North Carolina to earn a 69-66 win in the third meeting of the season between the ACC foes. They split the first two games, with each team winning on its home floor. 

The Seminoles looked to be in complete control early. Malik Osborne's three-point right before the halftime buzzer extended the lead to 35-24. 

Malik Osborne hit the step-back 3 at the buzzer to end the first half 💰 pic.twitter.com/C26VVHiIGo

— ESPN (@espn) March 13, 2021

North Carolina didn't even hit the 20 points until the 1:57 mark in the first half. Head coach Roy Williams' squad entered this matchup averaging 91 points in the past three games, so the offense's slow start was not something that seemed likely. 

Osborne was terrific off the bench early, with nine points on three three-pointers in the first half. He was held scoreless in the second half. 

The Tar Heels made their run early after the break, turning that 11-point deficit into a 53-48 lead midway through the second half. Florida State got back on track by scoring six straight points to go back on top by one with 8:28 left to play. 

SPLASH 3X 💦 @Doctork24_

Tied up at 5⃣4⃣ | 7:49 2H #CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/YC0YnIU5Ni

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 13, 2021

After the Seminoles took a 62-59 lead on a Sardaar Calhoun three-pointer, North Carolina used a 5-0 run—including R.J. Davis' free throws after being fouled by Calhoun on a three-point attempt—to go back up by two points with roughly three minutes in regulation. 

UNC and and No. 15 Florida State trading buckets with less than five minutes to go on ESPN 🍿 pic.twitter.com/BDsnggSLgw

— ESPN (@espn) March 13, 2021

Florida State went scoreless for more than two minutes after Calhoun's three until Anthony Polite put the team back on top 65-64 with a three of his own at the 2:09 mark. 

The Seminoles defense tightened up down the stretch, holding North Carolina to two points on 1-of-8 shooting in the final 3:14. Day'Ron Sharpe missed two crucial free throws in the final 20 seconds with the Tar Heels trailing 67-64. 

With one second remaining, North Carolina had an opportunity to tie, but the inbounds pass hit off Leaky Black's hands and time expired. 

First time since 1996 that neither UNC or Duke will be in the #ACC Tournament championship, first time since 1990 that a team from North Carolina will not be in it.

Crazy, crazy, crazy stuff.@wcnc

— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) March 13, 2021

North Carolina shot just 33.8 percent from the field and missed 14 of 25 free-throw attempts. Caleb Love (13 points), Armando Bacot (12 points) and Kerwin Walton (11 points) were the only Tar Heels who scored more than seven. 

Balsa Koprivica had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Seminoles. Scottie Barnes was the only other Florida State player to score in double figures (11 points), but four others scored at least seven points.     

The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team will be able to take part in the NCAA tournament if it is included in the 68-team field. 

Syracuse announced Friday it has cleared COVID-19 protocols and will be eligible to travel to Indianapolis for the tournament:

Syracuse announces it has cleared protocols, per local health officials, and will be eligible to travel to Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament, should it be selected into the field as of its most recent testing results. pic.twitter.com/qLbylsacFL

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 12, 2021

There were concerns about a potential COVID-19 issue on the Orange stemming from their Thursday game against Virginia in the ACC tournament. 

The ACC announced Friday that Virginia withdrew from the tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program. 

The Cavaliers beat Syracuse 72-69 on Reece Beekman's three-pointer at the buzzer in an ACC tournament quarterfinal game.

Orange athletic director John Wildhack said in a statement Friday (via Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com) that all Tier 1 individuals within the program have tested negative for COVID-19 and "no member of the program will be required to enter quarantine.”

ESPN's Joe Lundari has Syracuse among his last four teams in the field as of Friday. The Orange finished the regular season with a 16-9 overall record (9-7 in the ACC). They have made the NCAA tournament in each of the past two years it has been played, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2018. 

Georgia Tech is heading to the ACC Tournament championship game after the conference announced Virginia couldn't play Friday's scheduled semifinal because of COVID-19 protocols following a positive test within the Cavaliers program.

The Yellow Jackets advance to face the winner of the other semifinal, Florida State vs. North Carolina, in Saturday's title game.

The ACC provided a statement from commissioner Jim Phillips:

A statement from Commissioner Jim Phillips: pic.twitter.com/GZrXAmy71v

— The ACC (@theACC) March 12, 2021

Rivals' Brad Franklin provided statements from Virginia's athletic director Carla Williams and head coach Tony Bennett on their program's status ahead of the NCAA tournament:

#UVa says its status for the NCAA Tournament remains TBD. pic.twitter.com/xYqFMmtDRs

— Brad Franklin (@Cavs_Corner) March 12, 2021

Virginia, the tournament's top seed, beat Syracuse on a Reece Beekman game-winning three at the buzzer in the quarterfinals Thursday.

The Hoos are a lock for the NCAA tournament, so getting pulled from the conference tourney isn't a season-ending result, but they were vying to improve their seeding for the Big Dance. They are currently projected as a No. 4 seed by Bracket Matrix.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech should be safely in the 68-team field as well, but it's now one win away from removing all doubt by securing the ACC's automatic bid.

The Yellow Jackets overcame a four-point halftime deficit to post a 70-66 win over Miami in the quarterfinals. Jordan Usher (15 points), Michael Devoe (13) and Jose Alvarado (13) also scored in double figures for the No. 4 seed.

Josh Pastner's squad is getting hot at the right time with seven straight wins heading into the ACC final.

Their win over the Hurricanes, the No. 13 seed who posted a 4-15 mark in conference play, wasn't convincing, but Alvarado is confident they'll play better after returning from a six-day break.

"We were sitting down [idle] too long," he told reporters. "We're a team that needs to be in rhythm."

That said, a day off before a championship game where the opponent will be playing on shorter rest should be an advantage for Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The Seminoles and Tar Heels will tip off Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN for the right to face the Yellow Jackets.

The Florida State Seminoles will finally open their ACC tournament campaign on Friday against a team they recently lost to. 

Leonard Hamilton's team did not take the hardwood on Thursday because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Duke Blue Devils camp. 

To get back to the ACC tournament final, the Seminoles have to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels, who beat them toward the end of the regular season and have two wins under their belt in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

On the other side of the bracket, the Virginia Cavaliers will have to take down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the third time this season to advance to Saturday's championship game. 

Both of the previous meetings between the Cavaliers and Yellow Jackets were low-scoring affairs, so it may end up as the least entertaining of the two semifinals. 

              

ACC Tournament Semifinals Schedule

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 6 North Carolina (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Games can be live-streamed on ESPN.com or the ESPN app. 

          

Bracket Predictions

Virginia vs. Florida State In Final

Florida State has had to wait almost a week to take out its frustration from the loss in the regular-season finale to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

That defeat was the second in a three-game span that also featured a stumble against the Tar Heels at the Smith Center. 

The Seminoles should come out with plenty of motivation to avenge that loss and get the Notre Dame defeat out of their minds. 

Florida State has not lost consecutive games this season, and it has three double-digit victories following a defeat, including a 93-64 trouncing of the Boston College Eagles in between the results versus North Carolina and Notre Dame. 

The keys for Florida State are to contain the interior and shoot better than it did in the second half versus the Tar Heels. 

Scottie Barnes and Co. mustered just 29 second-half points, shot 38.8 percent from the field and lost the rebounding battle by eight. 

The No. 2 seed shoots 47.2 percent from the field and averages 37.4 rebounds per game. Both totals were not reached in the loss to UNC.

As long as Florida State makes more shots, like it has in bounce-back games, to limit the rebounding prowess of UNC's big men, it could set up a rematch with Virginia in the final. 

The Cavaliers have a blueprint to defeat the Yellow Jackets from their two victories on January 23 and February 10.

In those wins, Tony Bennett's team limited Georgia Tech to 111 combined points. Josh Pastner's squad managed 49 points in the second meeting. 

Virginia dictated the pace of play in the second game because it held Georgia Tech to 19 percent from three-point range and 36 percent from the field. 

If the Cavaliers once again smother the area around the arc, they could force Georgia Tech into some bad shots and win the rebounding battle off those misses. 

The reigning NCAA tournament champion can combine that strong defense with an improved offensive game. It increased its point total in each of the last three games. 

On Thursday, Virginia knocked down 11 three-point shots and had four players reach double figures, led by Sam Hauser's 21 points. 

If Virginia spreads the ball around on offense and is a bit tighter defensively than it was while giving up 69 points to the Syracuse Orange, it should have a chance to avenge the 81-60 loss it suffered against Florida State on February 15.

            

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.  

The ACC announced the Duke Blue Devils will drop out of the ACC men's basketball tournament and Thursday's quarterfinal game against Florida State has been canceled, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Duke released the following statement:

SAD NEWS: We will not continue competing in the 2021 ACC Tournament due to our school’s and conference’s health/safety protocols. The determination was made following the positive COVID-19 test for a member of our program’s Tier 1 personnel after Wednesday’s game.

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 11, 2021

Statements from K and AD Kevin White re: Duke’s exit from the ACCT due to COVID: pic.twitter.com/o9DAokQNW9

— Joe Ovies (@joeovies) March 11, 2021

Jeff Goodman of Stadium first reported Duke received a positive COVID-19 test.

Florida State will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Duke entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed and advanced through the first two rounds with wins over Boston College and Louisville.

According to Dana O'Neil of The Athletic, the ACC is confident this news won't affect other teams.

The 13-11 Blue Devils likely needed to win the tournament or at least make a deep run to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. Only one of 113 projections on Bracket Matrix had Duke making the field as of Wednesday.

The last time the NCAA tournament took place without the Blue Devils was 1994-95, when the team finished 13-18.

Duke was forced to adjust its early-season schedule as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, canceling several nonconference games in December after its season opener against Gardner-Webb was postponed because of positive tests.

There has recently been a spike in cases on Duke's campus with more than 100 new cases since Friday, per Kate Murphy of the News and Observer.

The 2020 ACC tournament was canceled because of the pandemic, with Florida State awarded the championship as the No. 1 seed. The NCAA tournament was later canceled as well.

The ACC tournament is the most important Power Five conference competition in regards to the NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble. 

On Thursday, the Syracuse Orange and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will try to solidify their places in the field of 68. The Duke Blue Devils were looking attempt to push back toward the conversation, but the ACC announced their game with Florida State was cancelled after a Duke player tested positive for COVID-19.

Syracuse opens the four-game quarterfinal slate against the Virginia Cavaliers in what could be a frustrating game for both offenses. 

Georgia Tech should have the easiest task of the bubble trio, as it plays the 13th-seeded Miami Hurricanes, who took advantage of a few favorable matchups to win twice at the Greensboro Coliseum. 

The nightcap between the Virginia Tech Hokies and North Carolina Tar Heels will not have any affect on the bubble, but it could play a role in their NCAA tournament seeding.

               

ACC Tournament Quarterfinal Schedule

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

No. 1 Virginia (-5.5) vs. No. 8 Syracuse (O/U: 133) (Noon ET, ESPN2)

No. 4 Georgia Tech (-9.5) vs. No. 13 Miami (O/U: 138.5) (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 6 North Carolina (-4) (O/U: 140) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

       

Betting Tips

Virginia vs. Syracuse (Under 133)

Thursday's opener between Virginia and Syracuse could be a defensive stalemate between the Cavaliers' pack line defense and the zone of the Orange. 

Syracuse needs to show more defensive discipline to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive. ESPN's Joe Lunardi listed the Orange as the last team in on Wednesday night. 

Jim Boeheim's team reached that status thanks to its win over the NC State Wolfpack and the Xavier Musketeers' loss in the Big East tournament. 

Life on the bubble could be a precarious situation for Syracuse in the coming days if it fails to score against Virginia. 

The Cavaliers held the Orange to 58 points in their lone regular-season meeting on January 25. That game featured 139 points, but the total was high for the typical Virginia game. 

Tony Bennett's team averages 68.5 points per game and concedes 60.1 points per game. If those totals are applied to Thursday's over/under, the under appears to be a good call. 

Since the Cavaliers put up 81 points on Syracuse, they have scored more than 70 points on a single occasion and had seven of their 10 games go under 130 total points. 

Syracuse's offense has been more efficient, but it did struggle in its last contest against a top defense. It beat the Clemson Tigers 64-54 in its regular-season finale. 

If Virginia shuts down Syracuse's outside shooting, we could be in for a slow-paced affair. The Orange shot 48.3 percent from three-point range on Wednesday, but they only made five shots from deep in their loss to Virginia. 

The Cavaliers won the rebounding battle by 13, recorded 13 more assists and shot almost 12 percent better from the field on January 25. 

If we see similar defensive totals posted by Virginia and its offense plays at the pace it has recently, the quarterfinal clash could finish in the 60s.

             

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.

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Notre Dame guard Prentiss Hubb apologized Wednesday for flipping off Wake Forest fans following the Fighting Irish's win over the Demon Deacons on Tuesday. 

Hubb released the following statement on the matter:

@NDmbb pic.twitter.com/6nzIf1Ww9D

— Prentiss Hubb (@PHubb_3) March 10, 2021

Notre Dame closed the game on a 17-2 run and came from behind to beat Wake Forest 80-77 on a buzzer-beating three by Trey Wertz to advance to the second round of the ACC tournament.

Hubb had an up-and-down game for the Irish, going 5-of-15 from the field and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc for 14 points with four assists and three rebounds.

On the season, the junior guard leads the Irish with 14.6 points per game, and he is also their top playmaker with 6.0 assists per contest.

In Notre Dame's surprising upset win over No. 15 Florida State to close out the regular season, Hubb led the way with 22 points and five assists.

The win over FSU gave Notre Dame momentum entering the ACC tournament, which was much-needed considering the team's struggles for much of the season.

Notre Dame is still only 11-14 even after wins over FSU and Wake Forest, and it faces an immense challenge in the second round of the ACC tournament against the sixth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Irish need to run the table and win the ACC tournament in order to reach the NCAA tournament, and while the odds of that happening are slim, upsetting UNC isn't out of the question.

Notre Dame lost 66-65 to the Tar Heels earlier this season, and the Irish are arguably playing their best basketball right now.

Provided Hubb is able to move past his actions and inconsistent showing against Wake Forest, Notre Dame could have a realistic shot at pulling off yet another upset.

The Duke Blue Devils began their last-ditch effort to qualify for the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a win in the ACC tournament first round on Tuesday. 

The victory over the Boston College Eagles did nothing to change Duke's status well off the March Madness bubble. 

To even get close to the bubble conversation, the Blue Devils must reel off a few more victories inside the Greensboro Coliseum.

However, that may be a hard task to achieve against a Louisville Cardinals team that beat Duke on two occasions in the regular season. 

Despite those results, Duke is listed as a 2.5-point favorite for the second-round game, which means the Cardinals carry the most betting value of any team playing on Wednesday. 

             

ACC Tournament 2nd-Round Schedule

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

No. 8 Syracuse (-3) vs. No. 9 NC State (Over/Under: 146.5) (Noon, ACC Network)

No. 5 Clemson (-9) vs. No. 13 Miami (O/U: 126) (2:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Duke (-2.5) (O/U: 140.5) (6:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

No. 6 North Carolina (-6.5) vs. No. 11 Notre Dame (O/U: 150) (9 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

      

Betting Tips

Louisville (+2.5) vs. Duke

For some reason, the struggling Duke team is favored to beat the ACC's No. 7 seed by 2.5 points. 

Louisville won three of its last five regular-season games. Its best win of that stretch came against the fourth-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on February 1. 

The Cardinals have two wins over Duke, one by five points at home and the other by seven points in overtime in Durham, North Carolina. 

In the overtime triumph, Louisville held Duke to 19 percent from three-point range and earned eight more rebounds. 

Duke looked much better from the field on Tuesday, but that was because it was playing the worst team in the ACC. The Blue Devils blew out the Boston College Eagles by shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 46.9 percent from three-point range. 

Those totals will likely regress against a tougher opponent, which is why there should be plenty of concern for Duke to win a second game in two days. 

Mike Krzyzewski's team entered Greensboro off an 18-point loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, and it failed to close out in overtime in the two games prior to that. 

There should not be much trust, if any at all, right now in betting in Duke's favor, so Louisville makes sense as a 2.5-point underdog and at +120 (bet $100 to win $120) on the moneyline.

              

Clemson (-9) vs. Miami

Miami's two-game winning spurt is not indicative of its form throughout the entire season.

The Hurricanes struggled for consistency because of a large number of injuries and absences, and its quick run could end on Wednesday against a team it recently lost to. 

The Clemson Tigers defeated Miami by eight on February 27. That was one of the lowest loss margins suffered by the Hurricanes in February. 

Clemson's defense will be the key to victory in the No. 5-versus-No. 13 matchup. It held Miami to 58 points in its last meeting and concedes 61.8 points per game. 

The concern with Clemson covering a nine-point spread is its offensive output, but it has reached the 70-point mark in three of its last five contests. 

In the seven times in which the Tigers produced more than 70 points, it won five of those games by double digits. 

If the Tigers open their ACC tournament run with that type of outing, they could comfortably cover the single-digit spread.

      

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.

     

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