No big surprises Wednesday as Louisville beat SMU 62-58 after a bit of a struggle, NC State sent Pitt home, 98-88, Florida State manhandled Cal, 95-89 (it wasn’t that close), and Clemson most likely ended Wake Forest’s season, 71-62.
Ryan Conwell scored 5 points in the final 1:17 to help the Cards beat SMU. Keep in mind that Mikel Brown is out for the entire tournament.
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State finally ended its four-game losing streak with the win over Pitt. However, the defense still isn’t working well, as the Panthers shot 44% from behind the line and 57% overall.
The pack basically outmatched them. This has limits.
Quadir Copeland had 24 points and 8 assists. Cameron Corhen had a career-high 27 points.
FSU had no problem with Cal and at one point had a 22-point lead, and we weren’t at all surprised that Clemson beat Wake Forest. After the play, Wake was killed again, with only 3 points from Omaha Biliew and none from Cooper Schweiger.
Most of the contenders have been eliminated, leaving only the Seminoles as possible Cinderellas.
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On Thursday, State gets another chance against Virginia, a team that beat them by 15 and by 29 the second time around. They won’t win if they defend poorly again.
Louisville and Miami get a quick rematch after Louisville won 92-89 last Saturday. This is an interesting game for several reasons. First, Miami has a chance to stake its claim early in Jai Lucas’ career. The Canes have had a great season, but going deep into the tournament would cement things.
Clemson and UNC tangle again after the Tar Heels’ narrow victory in Chapel Hill on March 3. A neutral court? The Tigers know they can do it. This should be interesting, but it appears Carter Welling is out for the Tigers with a knee injury.
We covered Duke and Florida State in our separate preview.
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Adrian Autry was released after Syracuse’s loss to SMU. Jim Boeheim made some pointed comments, suggesting that Autry’s best players haven’t really succeeded and that no one was going to win without strong support from the NIL.
Thursday’s ACC action
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North Carolina State vs. Virginia || 12:00 || ESPN2
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Louisville vs. Miami || 2:30 p.m. || ESPN2
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Florida State vs. Duke || 7:00 a.m. || ESPN
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Clemson vs. UNC || 9:30 a.m. || ESPN
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