ACC Basketball News & Notes: Final Week of the Regular Season

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What started back in mid-December has come down to the final week. The Atlantic Coast Conference basketball season has just a few days left before the league tournament starts next Tuesday. Speaking of the T. Rowe Price ACC Tournament, three teams have clinched double-byes in that event. Duke (18-1), Louisville (17-2), and Clemson (17-2). Boston College and Miami have been eliminated from the tournament and North Carolina State is on the fence. Here is how the final week looks.

Scoreboard watching has become a must if you are part of the lower tier of the league. On Wednesday night, there was plenty of that going on. The Wolfpack picked up a huge home win when they knocked off Pittsburgh by a 71-63 score. NC State would have five players in double-figures, four of them starters. One of those starters, Dontrez Styles came through with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Marcus Hill was the lone non-starter in double figures with 10 points. The win gives NC State a 5-14 conference record with a Saturday afternoon game at Miami. That will be a gotta-have-it for the Wolfpack.

In another must-win game, Notre Dame (7-12) won a close one at home by two over Stanford 56-54. The Irish had only one player in double figures. However, it was the right guy in Markus Burton with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds. It would offset another double-double by Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Irish will finish the season at home on Saturday playing hosts to California. That’s a big game for both.

That’s because the Golden Bears (6-13) lost to Louisville on Wednesday night by an 85-68 score. California did not shoot the ball well at all going 29.6% from the field (21-of-71) and 28.1 from deep (9-of-32). Shooting like that will not get it done on the road. Jovan Blacksher Jr. had 22 points while Jeremiah Wilkerson had 11 points. Terrence Edwards Jr. had a big night for the Cardinals as he went for 35 points on 11-of-19 from the field, and 7-of-11 from 3-point land.

On Tuesday night, the Syracuse Orangemen put themselves in a position to have some breathing space from those teams that are below them in the standings. But SMU had other ideas and outscored Syracuse by ten in the second half to win by a 77-75 score. The Orangemen had five in double figures with Lucas Taylor and Chris Bell leading the way with 13 points each. They would get 26 points in the paint and off the bench. SMU had six players in double figures led by Kario Oquendo who had 16 off the bench. Turnovers played a role in this one as Syracuse had 14, while SMU had only 6. Syracuse is home on Saturday night to host Virginia.

The last one that could be in trouble for not making it is Florida State. Their loss to Virginia on Tuesday night has them at 7-12 in the league. In a game that had 4 ties and 15 lead changes, the Seminoles had a hard time putting the ball in the basket. They shot 37.1% from the field (23-of-62) and 31.8% from three’s (7-of-22). They had only one player in double figures Jamir Watkins with 18 points. Virginia had three in double figures and should be safe for the tournament. For the Seminoles, they have SMU at home on Saturday. A loss to the Mustangs could leave them on the outside looking in.

The ACC Player of the Week is Chucky Hepburn of Louisville. His career-high 37-point performance last Saturday did it for him. He was 9-of-11 from the field, including 6-of-6 from deep, and 13-of-17 at the free throw line. His 24 first-half points are the most by any player in the league this year.

The ACC Rookie of the Week is Duke’s Isaiah Evans. In the Blue Devils’ win over Florida State last Saturday. Evans went for 19 points in 24 minutes in a starting role. Earlier in the week coming off the bench vs Miami, Evans had 16 points in 25 minutes of playing time. He shot 5-of-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from threes.

Next week, it’s tourney time in the ACC.