Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Recaps

Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Virginia is headed to the ACC Tournament final for the first time since 1994 after pulling out a hard-fought 51-48 victory over Pittsburgh in another close finish at Greensboro Coliseum.

Joe Harris scored 12 points while Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill each netted 10 for the sixth-ranked Cavaliers (27-6), who will face Duke in Sunday’s tourney finale. The Blue Devils upended NC State following Virginia’s win.

Gill made two critical free throws in the closing seconds, and Justin Anderson blocked James Robinson’s potential tying 3-point try in front of the Panthers’ bench as the final buzzer sounded.

Pittsburgh (25-9), a day after knocking off North Carolina in the quarterfinals, shot just 36.7 percent from the floor and 3-of-14 from 3-point range. Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna each scored 15 points in the setback.

Much like the only regular season meeting — one taken by Virginia in a slim 48-45 decision on Feb. 2 — Saturday’s showdown was played at a deliberately slow pace.

“We knew…it would be like that from that first game with them. It was trying to stand and last and fight,” Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said. “They weren’t going to give you anything easy and everybody knew it was kind of hanging on a possession.”

The top-seeded Cavaliers scored the game’s first four points, and that wound up being the biggest lead for either side the entire first half.

Harris’ late 3-pointer sent Virginia into the locker room with a 26-24 lead, and the senior guard went baseline and banked in a runner midway through the second half to stretch the lead past two possessions, 43-36, for the first time all afternoon.

Gill’s one-handed turnaround along the baseline the next time down gave the Cavaliers an eight-point advantage, 45-37, and despite going nearly six minutes without scoring, Virginia played front-runner the rest of the way.

Josh Newkirk’s layup in transition trimmed Pitt’s deficit to 47-44 with under 2 1/2 minutes to play, and Brogdon and Patterson traded layups inside the final minute to keep it a three-point game.

After Robinson stripped Brogdon at the foul line and went coast-to-coast for a contested layup with 10 seconds to play, Pittsburgh sent Gill to the line with 8.5 seconds remaining.

Gill, a 62.5 percent free throw shooter coming in, made both attempts, and Virginia used two fouls-to-give before Pitt reached the bonus.

Pitt, which entered as the No. 5 seed, had just four seconds following the second deliberate foul, and Anderson got a piece of Robinson’s rushed try from the left wing to seal the win.

The Panthers will have their postseason fate decided on Sunday, and head coach Jamie Dixon implied his squad is looking forward to playing in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m proud of how our guys played. We got better this week. We’re healthy and playing our best basketball. I told our guys we have to continue to improve this week and be ready for next week,” Dixon said.

Game Notes

Virginia has not lost in regulation since falling to Duke on Jan. 13 … Pitt, which was playing its first season as a member of the ACC, is 3-9 all-time against Virginia … Akil Mitchell recorded eight points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers … Virginia last won the ACC tourney title in 1976.

Final Score: (7) Duke 75, North Carolina State 67

Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Jabari Parker scored 20 points, Rasheed Sulaimon added 16 and No. 7 Duke pulled away from NC State in the second half for a 75-67 victory in ACC Tournament semifinal action.

The Blue Devils (26-7) will try to extend their record with a 20th ACC tourney title on Sunday against Virginia, which edged Pittsburgh in a defensive slugfest earlier Saturday at Greensboro Coliseum.

Duke, which came in as the No. 3 seed, showed some shutdown ability itself in holding the Wolfpack to 35.5 percent shooting after the break.

“I think we played more connected on the defensive end. We made some subtle adjustments,” said Duke’s Rodney Hood. “We did a good job of helping each other out, especially in transition.”

The perennial contenders received their usual balanced offensive production with 14 points apiece from Hood and Quinn Cook, and wound up shooting 57.1 percent overall.

T.J. Warren netted 21 points to lead the Wolfpack (21-13), but the conference Player of the Year missed nine of his 13 shots in the second half.

“I thought maybe we got tired in the second half. We didn’t seem as fresh as we have been,” NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We’re really disappointed but really proud.”

NC State, which knocked off third-seeded Syracuse as a No. 7 seed on Friday, shot a torrid 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the field in the first half, but still trailed 39-38 following a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes.

Ralston Turner’ 3-pointer early in the second half evened things at 45-45, but the Blue Devils scored the next nine points to take control.

Hood started the run with a jumper, Parker went coast-to-coast for a tomahawk slam, and Tyler Thornton drained one from long range before coming up with a steal and dishing to Amir Jefferson for a dunk with under 14 minutes to play.

Desmond Lee stopped Duke’s run with two free throws, but jumpers from Parker and Hood gave the Blue Devils their first double-digit lead at 58-47.

The Wolfpack pulled within eight after five straight points from Lennard Freeman cut the deficit to 67-59 with under three minutes to go, but the momentum swung again when Parker ripped away an offensive rebound from two defenders and threw down a two-handed slam to punctuate the victory.

Game Notes

Freeman finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for NC State, which also received a 12-point effort from Anthony Barber … Duke is 13-2 in its last 15 trips to the ACC semifinals … NC State was trying to reach the tourney final for the first time since 2007 … Duke and Virginia split the season series with each winning on its home floor.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball