ACC Basketball Scores: UVA Survives Louisville, Clemson Destroys FSU, & GT Beats VT
Do not take your opponents lightly. That’s what Miami probably did a couple of games ago against Louisville. Virginia must not have taken notice of how that game played out.
The Cavaliers won 61-58 but it was not easy. After leading 29-26 at halftime, the Cavaliers stretched their lead out to eight points on multiple occasions, including 60-52 with 3:07 remaining. That did not stop the Cardinals from making a late rally.
Two free throws by Louisville star guard El Ellis closed the gap to four at 60-56 with 1:16 remaining. The Cardinals had a chance to tie the score at the end of regulation, but a 3-point shot by Kamari Lands was off the mark.
Virginia only shot 44.2% from the field, and was out rebounded by Louisville 31-30. The road win did move the Cavaliers up in the ACC rankings to being tied with Pittsburgh for first place (see full rankings below).
Another important game took place as Clemson looked to get back on track after losing three games in a row. The game against Florida State was redemption for the Tigers.
FSU basically did not show up to their road contest at Clemson. The Noles were obliterated 94-54 in a game that was ugly from the early portion of the contest until it concluded.
Clemson gained its first double-digit lead with 16:26 remaining in the first half with the score 13-3, increased the lead to 29-12 with 8:10 remaining in the first stanza, and ballooned the lead to 43-19 at the 2:51 mark before closing the half up 47-26.
The second half was more of the same, and FSU did not surpass the 40-point plateau until there was 12:07 remaining in the contest, with a 3-point bucket made by Baba Miller to make the score 66-42. Then, Clemson connected on four 3-point shots, a dunk, and a layup over the next six minutes to push the lead to 82-44 with 6:28 remaining.
For the game, the Tigers shot 35-58 for 60.3% from the floor, including going 12-25 from downtown for 48%. Clemson forward PJ Miller led all scorers with 22 points from 8-10 shooting, and he grabbed six rebounds as well.
Elsewhere in the ACC, Georgia Tech won a home contest versus Virginia Tech by a final of 77-70. It was just the third conference win for the Yellow Jackets. Dallan Coleman knocked down 6-10 from the floor, including 3-4 from behind the 3-point line, to lead GT in scoring with 21 points.
ACC Title Contender Notes and Schedule
Virginia will now host a hapless Notre Dame team this Saturday at noon on ESPN2. The Cavaliers have earned a great chance to claim the regular season ACC title, and the Irish should not be much of a matchup.
The wins by Pittsburgh and Clemson keep both teams in the hunt for the regular season title, and leave each team with five more ACC contests remaining.
Both Pittsburgh and Clemson will play this upcoming Saturday. Clemson will play a road contest at Virginia Tech at 5 p.m. on the ACC Network, while Clemson travels to Louisville to play at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.
The other ACC contender, the Miami Hurricanes, will host Wake Forest this Saturday at 2 p.m. on ACCN/ESPN. On paper, that’s the best matchup in the ACC this weekend, which leads to the conference standings.
ACC Basketball Standings
1) Pittsburgh and Virginia | 12-3
3) Miami | 12-4
4) Clemson | 11-4
5) North Carolina State | 10-6
6) Duke, Syracuse and Wake Forest | 9-6
9) North Carolina | 8-7
10) Boston College and Florida State | 6-10
12) Virginia Tech | 5-10
13) Georgia Tech | 3-13
14) Notre Dame | 2-13
15) Louisville | 1-14
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