2024 ACC Tournament Semifinals Recap
Washington - We are only two days away from Selection Sunday and there are some crucial matchups for bubble teams in this conference. NC State and Pittsburgh are trying to steal and secure a bid into the NCAA tournament, showcasing the full intensity of March Madness. North Carolina (#1) will look to advance to the championship game by defeating the dangerous, erratic Pittsburgh Panthers (#4). Virginia (#3) will look to do the same and stop the magic that NC State (#10) has harnessed this postseason after they’ve won three straight games in this tournament, including defeating Duke.
Pittsburgh (#4) VS North Carolina (#1)
Pitt was not intimidated by the juggernaut that the Tar Heels are. After knocking down a couple of threes and forcing contested shots, they jumped out to an early lead that RJ Davis and company struggled to catch up to. Carlton (Bub) Carrington led the charge for the Panthers as he scored 16 first-half points. Even though Blake Hinson did not score in the first half, Pitt held a two-point lead at the break.
RJ Davis, ACC Player of the Year, led a second-half comeback with aggressive defense and getting out into transition. Hinson remained scoreless until the 10:30 mark which hurt the Panthers offense big time. The Panthers played with the “never say die” attitude as they continued to battle with North Carolina. The last five minutes were incredibly intense as each team kept trading baskets and the lead. The Tar Heels surged in the final three minutes to take a seven-point lead as it looked like they just wanted to win more than Pittsburgh. UNC will advance to the championship game as they defeated Pittsburgh, 72-65.
NC State (#10) VS Virginia (#3)
This game was going to be scrappy as Virginia plays aggressive defense and NC State loves to feed the ball down low to DJ Burns. Both of these squads need a win to advance to the NCAA tournament as Virginia is on the bubble and NC State can only advance by winning the ACC championship. The unlikely hero for the Wolfpack, Ben Middlebrooks, came off the bench and scored 10 first-half points. The Cavaliers roared back to tie it at the half, 29-29.
With stellar defense and precise offense, Virginia took the lead away from the Wolfpack. That didn’t last long as Middlebrooks continued to ignite the fire within the Wolfpack as his energy levels remained high. Neither team could score the ball efficiently regardless of how open they were. Down the stretch, Isaac McKneely took over for Virginia as they grabbed the lead back from NC State. The Wolfpack responded by hitting a three as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Virginia went into OT against Boston College in their previous game so this would mark back-to-back games going into overtime. The monster that Burns is, started utterly dominating the paint as the Cavalier defense couldn’t do anything to stop him. The Wolfpack seized a four-point lead with 45.1 seconds left and that would be all she wrote. The Wolfpack won their fourth ACC tournament game in a row, 73-65.
