March Madness is upon us! In our first 3 ACC games of the ACC Tournament, the games were decided by a total of 5 points. Tonight’s game should bring a similar type feel as well.
#9 Florida State 76 vs. #8 Clemson 73
It was close in the end, but the Florida State Seminoles beat the Clemson Tigers but thanks in part to the performance of freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Rathan-Mayes scored a career-high 30 points along with 5 three pointers to lead the way for the Seminoles, who will now play UVA tomorrow at noon in the ACC Quarterfinal round.
The Seminoles led the game 57-37 with 9:09 remaining before a series of inbounding mishaps. Clemson closed the deficit to 73-75 with 25 seconds remaining but the Seminoles defense held on. Clemson closed the last 3:45 on a 21-9 run. Senior guard Rod Hall led the way for the Tigers with 25 points.
#5 North Carolina 81 vs. #12 Boston College 63
The Tarheels made quick work of the Boston College Eagles in our 2nd game of the Second Round of the ACC Tournament. The Tarheels were without big man Kennedy Meeks , who sat out due to illness, but it didn’t matter. The Tarheels lead pretty much the whole game and lead 43-30 at halftime.
Marcus Paige lead the way for UNC to the tune of 17 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. Brice Johnson owned the paint scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Boston College was paced by forward Aaron Brown who scored 20 points. BC Junior star Olivier Hanlan scored 18 points as well but he struggled mightily from the field, shooting 5-19. He was 7-10 from the free throw line however.
#7 NC State 81 – #10 Pittsburgh 70
It was the Trevor Lacey and Cat Barber Show for the Wolfpack all night in a victory against Pittsburgh. Cat Barber had 34 pts, shooting 9-13, 4-5 from 3-pt land and Trevor Lacey had 21 pts, shooting 8-14 from the field to lead the way for NC State. The Wolfpack advance to face Duke in the ACC Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at 7 PM.
With the loss, the proverbial NCAA Tournament “bubble” has probably burst for Pittsburgh now. The loss is the Panthers 4th straight in ACC play, including the regular season. At 19-14 on the season overall, you have to expect an NIT bid on the horizon for Pitt.
#6 Miami 59 – #14 Virginia Tech 49
It wasn’t pretty but Miami found a way to “Survive and Advance,” which is theme in the month of March as we enter the Madness! The Canes did enough to get past a young Virginia Tech team and advance to the Quarterfinal Round against Notre Dame tomorrow night at 9 PM.
Miami was without guard Angel Rodriguez but they mustered enough offense during a rather sluggish game. Guard Sheldon Mcclellan led the way for the Canes with 16 points, which was also a game high. Virginia Tech drew within 1 point with 5:31 remaining in the game but Miami closed the game on a 15-6 run to seal the victory.
ACC Quarterfinal Matchups
March 12th
#1 UVA vs. #9 Florida State Noon
#4 Louisville vs. #5 North Carolina 2 pm
#2 Duke vs. #7 NC State 7 pm
#4 Notre Dame vs. #6 Miami 9 pm
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