Check here for game stories from all the ACC basketball action on Saturday. Now that we’re conference play, stories will be listed in alphabetical order, by which ACC team won the game.
———–
No. 18 Duke beats Florida State 78-56
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Duke didn’t shoot the ball well nor did it have one of its big runs against Florida State.
Rather, the 18th-ranked Blue Devils gave their Hall of Fame coach a milestone win by aggressively crashing the glass, converting on turnovers and cashing in at the free-throw line.
Rodney Hood scored 18 points to help Duke beat Florida State 78-56 on Saturday, giving Mike Krzyzewski his 900th victory in his 34th season at the school.
Jabari Parker added 14 points for the Blue Devils (16-4, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot 31 percent but nearly doubled the Seminoles on the glass while scoring 29 points off both turnovers and offensive rebounds.
Krzyzewski is the all-time leader in career victories in men’s Division I with 973. He joins Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim as the only coaches with at least 900 wins at one program.
“That’s a lot of wins,” Krzyzewski said. “I thank Duke for keeping me. I’ve been blessed with being at one of the greatest schools in the world. Great schools don’t necessarily always have great people in command. This school has. … We have a good thing going here and I’ve been blessed to be here for over three decades and take advantage of that.”
Duke used an 11-0 spurt late in the first half to build a 20-point lead on the Seminoles (13-6, 4-3), who didn’t get the margin below double figures again. But Duke‘s shooting percentage and its 18 field goals were both season-lows.
The Blue Devils had a 47-24 rebounding advantage, including 27-7 on the offensive glass. The 27 offensive rebounds were the most for the program since grabbing 28 against North Carolina A&T in December 2002, according to STATS LLC.
Parker, who had a career-high 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s win against Miami, finished with 14 rebounds, while Hood had nine.
Duke also got a boost from reserve big man Marshall Plumlee, who posted career-highs of seven points and seven rebounds – with each rebound coming on the offensive glass.
“Rebounding is something we’ve really tried to make a focal point these last few weeks,” Plumlee said. “Alongside our defense, I feel like it’s something that’s starting to show in recent games so no matter who we play we’re hoping to come up with the W on the boards and defensive stops.”
The Blue Devils scored 29 points off 17 FSU turnovers and made 34 of 43 free throws for the game – including 20 of 27 after halftime to offset a 6-for-27 shooting performance (22 percent) in the second half.
“I just think they had our number today and did a very good job of playing to their potential,” Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. “And they did the things I thought would give us the most problems. I don’t think we countered it appropriately.”
Okaro White scored 14 points for Florida State, which shot 50 percent but saw the rebounding and turnover troubles undermine that.
“It will mess with you emotionally,” White said. “You got a team shooting so many 3s, there’s a lot of long rebounds. You’re trying to box out, and your normal tendency is to run to the rim, thinking the ball will fall there. They really killed us on offensive rebounds and turnovers. They were competing.”
FSU, which won in its last trip here on a last-second 3-pointer two years ago, led by one point for about 1 minute in the first half. But key scorer Aaron Thomas, who was coming off a 20-point effort against Notre Dame, finished with two points on 1-for-7 shooting before fouling out with 5:13 left.
Krzyzewski was animated and often unhappy with his team in the early minutes, slamming down a chair during an early timeout and shedding his suit jacket by the 12-minute media timeout.
Then, after Duke looked to be in cruise control, the Blue Devils went nearly 7½ minutes without a basket in the second half. FSU got as close as 11 points with 6:51 to play before Quinn Cook ended the drought with a driving basket that made it 71-54 with 3:25 left.
Hood was a last-second scratch from the starting lineup. Krzyzewski said Hood was sick, though Hood told reporters he had to change after spilling Gatorade on his uniform. Hood missed his first five shots, but he scored 14 points after halftime.
———–
No. 20 Pittsburgh defeats Maryland 83-79
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) – There will be times this season when Pittsburgh will win on the strength of its outside shooting or its suffocating defense.
Neither of those qualities was required against Maryland on Saturday night. Instead, the 20th-ranked Panthers relied on their inside game and the prowess of guard Lamar Patterson to squeeze out an 83-79 victory.
Patterson scored 28 points, and the Panthers used a 37-28 rebounding advantage and 32 free throws to complete their first regular-season sweep as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I think this team can win in a variety of ways. We do everything well,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “We rebound well, we shoot it well. Today wasn’t going to be a 3-point shooting game. I didn’t want to get into that. We attacked the basket well and that’s what we wanted to do.”
Pittsburgh (18-2, 6-1) never trailed in the second half against the struggling Terrapins, who lost by 20 to the Panthers on Jan. 6. Although this game was significantly closer than the first one, Maryland (11-9, 3-4) simply couldn’t contain Patterson, a 6-foot-5 senior who fell just short of matching his career high of 30 points.
“Lamar was scoring within the offense,” Pitt guard Cameron Wright said. “It’s not like he was trying to do too much. He’s playing out of his mind right now. He was able to hold us together.”
Patterson went 8 for 14 from floor and made 12 of 14 free throws. He also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Talib Zanna scored 16 for the Panthers and James Robinson had 13. Pittsburgh made only one of a season low-tying seven shots from beyond the arc.
“The way the game was going to be was physical, so you didn’t want to settle for jump shots,” Dixon said.
Pittsburgh next faces Duke at home on Monday night. Dixon is 17-0 against members of the ACC that do not include Syracuse and Notre Dame, who joined the conference this season with Pittsburgh after a lengthy stay in the Big East.
Dez Wells scored 19, Jake Layman had 18 and Nick Faust added 13 for the Terrapins, who have lost four of five. Maryland closed to 79-74 with 1:19 to go but couldn’t complete the comeback.
“We gave up too many layups and we fouled too much,” coach Mark Turgeon lamented.
He did, however, give much of the credit to Pittsburgh.
“I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve been an assistant coach and a head coach for about 26 years, and I’m telling you, that’s one of the best teams I’ve ever coached against,” Turgeon said. “How they’re ranked 20th at 18-2 is an absolute joke. I think they’re a Top 5 team in this country, to come into this building and really control the game.”
Pittsburgh led 49-43 before Robinson made a layup and Patterson scored on a drive for a 10-point advantage.
Minutes later, Chris Jones and Robinson sandwiched layups around Maryland’s 15th turnover for a 59-47 lead with 13 minutes left.
A 3-pointer by Faust and a three-point play by Layman cut it to 62-55 with 10:17 to go, but Patterson scored the game’s next three points and got an assist on a basket by Robinson to give the Panthers a 12-point lead with 8:39 remaining.
“He took what was there,” Dixon said of Patterson. “We rode him a little too much in the second half. We have other guys who can make plays.”
In the previous meeting between the teams, Pittsburgh built a six-point cushion at halftime. In this one, the Panthers went 16 for 17 at the free throw line and got 13 points from Patterson in taking a 42-37 lead at the break.
Maryland made its first four shots to go up 9-2, then missed seven of its next eight attempts. It was 13-8 before Patterson scored seven points in a 15-5 run that made it 23-18.
After the Terrapins moved back in front 29-28, Pittsburgh took the lead for good with a 9-0 spree in which four different players contributed layups.
Maryland was called for 14 fouls in the first half, three apiece against starting forward Evan Smotrycz and sixth man Charles Mitchell.
———–
No. 2 Syracuse pulls away from Hurricanes 64-52
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – With Syracuse and Miami going at it zone to zone, the Orange made the last stand.
No. 2 Syracuse held Miami without a field goal for 7½ minutes down the stretch and made eight consecutive free throws in the final minute to remain unbeaten with a 64-52 victory Saturday.
Both teams played zone defense throughout and made points tough to come by for long stretches. The Hurricanes led 47-46 with less than 7 minutes to go but hit only one field goal the rest of the way.
“When we had to stop them, we stopped them,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said.
Syracuse (19-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) needs one more victory to tie the school record for most wins to start a season, set two years ago. The ACC newcomers beat defending league champion Miami (10-9, 2-5) for the second time in three weeks.
“I don’t care what our record is – we’ve had seven games, including this one, that could have easily gone the other way,” Boeheim said. “All seven games, somebody has made a play. That’s a good attribute to have, but it also reminds you that you’re perilously close to having three or four losses.”
Miami again forced Syracuse into a methodical pace that made easy shots infrequent. The game was nearly 30 minutes old before either side made a fast-break basket.
Jerami Grant had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Orange.
“It hasn’t been a breeze at all being No. 2,” Grant said. “You’re always going to get the best from whomever we’re playing.”
A 39-24 rebounding advantage helped Syracuse hold off Miami.
Davon Reed scored 16 points for the Hurricanes, who kept it close by shooting 9 of 17 from 3-point range.
The game drew a sellout crowd, the seventh in coach Jim Larranaga’s three seasons with the attendance-challenged Hurricanes. The stands were a sea of orange, including plenty of visiting or transplanted New Yorkers rooting for Syracuse.
Both sides were roaring when Miami made a comeback after trailing by 18 points in the first half. The Orange had to rally in the final minutes to beat Miami three weeks ago, and the Hurricanes again had an upset on their minds.
Reed hit a 3-pointer that cut Syracuse‘s lead to 46-44, then converted a three-point play on the next possession to put them ahead for the first time since the opening minute.
The Orange dug in. Miami missed its next six shots and trailed 58-50 before making another basket, and by then the game was in the final minute.
“Basically what it says is they’re really good,” Larranaga said. “They have all the weapons offensively and defensively you need to be successful, and they’re a legitimate contender to win a national championship. They’ve got NBA guys.”
Freshman Tyler Ennis’ driving layup put Syracuse ahead to stay, 51-49, with 4:45 left. The Orange shot only 17 for 27 from the free throw line but made them all in the last minute.
“One thing they do excellent is closing out down the stretch and having poise,” Reed said.
Ennis scored 14 points, including seven in the last 6:09.
“That’s when he starts to attack – six or seven minutes left in the game,” Larranaga said. “He doesn’t appear to be a freshman. He’s so calm out there. You don’t really see that in a college player unless he’s highly skilled, and Tyler Ennis is.”
Ennis added five rebounds and four assists. C.J. Fair had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Trevor Cooney made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points for Syracuse.
Miami’s James Kelly was helped to the locker room with 3½ minutes to go with a sprained left ankle, an injury which seemed to deflate the Hurricanes. They fell to 4-6 at home this season.
The Orange, who shot 3 for 15 from 3-point range in their earlier game against Miami, this time made their first three shots from behind the arc. Syracuse went on a 16-1 run to build its big early lead.
“We got off to an unbelievable start,” Boeheim said. “I thought we moved the ball as well as we moved it all year.”
The Hurricanes rallied with a 16-2 spurt and trailed only 31-26 at halftime. They shot 67 percent during one extended stretch spanning both halves, but that wasn’t enough.
“Against the Syracuse zone, you might be able to get something for a little while, like 3s from the wing or shots from the high post,” Larranaga said. “But if you get it a couple of times in a row, they take it away.”
———–
Brogdon leads Virginia past Virginia Tech, 65-45
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Malcolm Brogdon said yes, he’s surprised Virginia has been dominant in the ACC. Then he said he wasn’t at all.
Brogdon scored 18 points, Joe Harris had 12 and streaking Virginia closed the first half on a 21-6 run and cruised to its fourth straight victory against Virginia Tech, 65-45, on Saturday, continuing a string of lopsided victories in conference play.
The Cavaliers (15-5, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) matched their best start in conference play in 31 years. In all six of their ACC victories, they have led by at least 20 points in the second half, and they’ve won by an average of nearly 19 points.
“It is surreal in a sense, but when you really break down the x’s and o’s, I think we’re executing at a high level, we’re playing at a high level, our camaraderie, our chemistry is performing at a high level,” Brogdon said. “We believed we could perform this well and the opportunities have presented themselves and I feel like we’ve taken advantage of them.”
They did it quickly against a reeling Hokies team that was missing No. 3 scorer Adam Smith (11.0 ppg), got a 2 for 10, 7-point performance from scoring leader Jarell Eddie and had no real answer when Virginia cranked up its defensive intensity.
The Cavaliers hardly seemed to notice, instead heeding coach Tony Bennett’s words to keep playing their game.
“He always says, ‘Keep finding the crumbs. Just stay hungry,'” Brogdon said of his coach. “We’re trying to find the crumbs. We’re trying to find the little things that motivate us and keep us hungry and keep us with that edge.”
The Hokies almost made it too easy, at times, Brogdon said.
“We were getting so many open shots that there were some we had to turn down,” he said, explaining that it was too early in the offensive set and the Cavaliers thought it was more important “to get more of a rhythm going.”
The Hokies (8-11, 1-6) and coach James Johnson got to see what a cohesive team looks like playing together.
“I thought going into the game they were playing some of the best basketball in the country, and they continued that tonight,” Johnson said after his team lost is sixth in a row in and for the eighth time in the last nine outings.
Devin Wilson scored 12 to lead the Hokies, (8-11, 1-6), who finished with just 14 field goals on 42 attempts, or 33 percent, including a 3 for 18 showing from 3-point range. Eddie was 1 for 7 from behind the arc.
“When Eddie goes 1 for 7, it’s tough for us,” Johnson said.
The Hokies tried to make a run to start the second half, scoring seven of the first nine points after halftime to get within 36-24, but Virginia responded by pushing its lead as high as 23 and Bennett substituted liberally at the finish.
Virginia led 13-11 when its defense really started to bother the Hokies.
After Ben Emelogu’s 3-pointer with 14:32 left in the half, Virginia Tech didn’t get another point for 8:20 and didn’t get another field goal for 10:12, when Emelogu connected again from deep. The Cavaliers didn’t exactly take advantage, scoring just eight points during the scoreless drought, to lead just 21-11.
Once Devin Wilson finally broke through with a free throw for the Hokies, Brogdon made one of his four 3-pointers, and Virginia outscored the Hokies 13-6 over the last six minutes of the half.
Virginia Tech finished with just 14 field goals on 42 attempts, or 33 percent, including a 3 for 18 showing from 3-point range.
———–
Wake beats Irish 65-58 to remain perfect at home
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – Devin Thomas couldn’t miss for Wake Forest. With the game on the line, neither could Codi Miller-McIntyre.
Thomas scored 21 points on near-perfect shooting and Miller-McIntyre had six of his eight points in the final 2 minutes of the Demon Deacons’ 65-58 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday.
“In the second half, when they went up, I just didn’t want to lose,” Miller-McIntyre said. “So it kind of just clicked to be aggressive and go to the basket.”
Travis McKie finished with 14 points, including four key free throws in the final minute for the Demon Deacons (14-6, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Garrick Sherman scored 20 points but the Fighting Irish (11-9, 2-5) were denied their first ACC road victory.
“Defensively, we probably did enough,” coach Mike Brey said. “You’d like to be better in two possessions, but … we put so much pressure on our ‘D’ because we couldn’t be efficient enough offensively.”
Sherman’s free throw with 2:24 left put Notre Dame up 54-53, before Wake Forest scored on each of the final six possessions of its 13th straight home win.
Miller-McIntyre gave the Demon Deacons the lead for good with a pretty across-the-lane drive with just under 2 minutes left.
After Pat Connaughton missed a 3-pointer, Miller-McIntyre added two free throws with 1:26 left to give Wake Forest a 57-54 lead, and the sophomore guard followed Sherman’s layup with a jumper to put the Demon Deacons up 59-56 with 46.4 seconds remaining. McKie then hit four free throws in the final 27.6 seconds to ice it.
“Sometimes when you win on the road, man, you’ve got to score some points to escape,” Brey said. “Wake scored the heck out of the ball, and you’re just not going to catch them.”
Coron Williams added 11 points and three 3-pointers for Wake Forest, which shot nearly 49 percent while moving back over .500 in league play and reaching the 14-win mark for the first time under fourth-year coach Jeff Bzdelik – with more than a month still to play.
The Demon Deacons won 13 in each of the last two seasons.
“I think we’re starting to get it now,” Thomas said.
Eric Atkins scored 13 points and Connaughton added 10 for Notre Dame, which has lost five of six after its upset of then-No. 7 Duke.
Thomas – who finished two points shy of the season high he set in the opener against Colgate – made his first 10 shots before missing a layup with about 3½ minutes left in a 53-all game and finishing 10 of 11 from the field.
“Coach just gave me a lot of confidence,” Thomas said. “He just told me to keep shooting the ball. When coach says that, I think for any player, that gives you a lot of confidence and no worries, and my mindset was totally different today.”
The Demon Deacons twice led by eight in the second half, the last coming on McKie’s layup with 7½ minutes left, before Notre Dame tightened things up down the stretch. Demetrius Jackson’s free throw with 3:50 remaining tied it at 53, and Sherman gave the Irish their short-lived late lead two possessions after that.
“It’s composure,” McKie said. “Last year, when teams made a run, I think we kind of self-destructed. I think this year, we’re more comfortable in these situations – especially at home.”
Wake Forest dominated the first half but only led 25-21 while failing to fully capitalize on the Irish’s full-on shooting drought. Notre Dame missed nine consecutive shots and 12 of 13 during a brutal 7½-minute stretch.
“The practice stats say they shoot it well,” Brey said of his players. “But not tonight.”
Still, the Demon Deacons never could push their lead out of single figures, maxing it out at 25-16 with 3:41 left on a layup by Thomas.