Day Two Recap of the 2024 ACC Tournament

Washington - The second round of the ACC Tournament continues with lots of exciting matchups. Florida St (#9) and Virginia Tech (#8) face off in the first game of the day. Notre Dame (#12) has a tough matchup against Wake Forest (#5) after the Irish knocked off Georgia Tech in a high-scoring game. NC State (#10) will face Syracuse (#7) in their second-round matchup after the Wolfpack defeated Louisville in the first round. In the final ACC matchup of the night, Boston College (#11) will look to get revenge against Clemson (#6) after the Eagles put a beatdown on Miami in the first round.

Florida State (#9) VS Virginia Tech (#8)

In a back-and-forth game, Florida St pulled off the upset against Virginia Tech 86-76. Florida St forward, Jamir Watkins scored a career-high 34 points and gathered 11 rebounds to give himself a double-double. The VCU transfer also had four steals in an all-around great defensive game by the Seminoles. As a team, Florida St had 10 steals in the afternoon. The Virginia Tech starting guards combined for a total of 32 points which is severely underwhelming in a crucial game the Hokies needed to win to steal a spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Instead, Virginia Tech will turn their attention to participating in the NIT tournament. Florida St will look to continue their run in this ACC Tournament as they face the number one seed, North Carolina in the third round.

Notre Dame (#12) VS Wake Forest (#5)

Wake Forest did what they needed to do and got the win over a gritty Notre Dame squad, 72-59.  They are still considered one of the “First Four Out '' so they need to win a couple of games in this ACC Tournament to solidify themselves into the NCAA tournament since they do not control their own destiny. The Demon Deacons came out on fire as they held an early double-digit lead for most of the first half. Notre Dame slowly clawed their way back into the game in the last few minutes of the first half and narrowed down the lead to 34-40 at the break. 

Hunter Salis, All-ACC first team, and Kevin Miller, point guard, dominated their matchups against the guards of Notre Dame as they combined to score 31 points. Markus Burton, ACC Freshman of the Year, had his offense limited by the hounding defense of Wake Forest but still managed to score 21 points (12-12 FT). Wake Forest’s big man combination of Austin Carr and Efton Reid III were real difference makers in the defense and rebounding department. They advance to play the Pittsburgh Panthers in the third round. This will have a huge impact for all the teams on the bubble.

NC State (#10) VS Syracuse (#7)

In what was expected to be a high-scoring game, neither team really scored the ball with ease. Neither NC State nor Syracuse plays great defense yet both offenses struggled shooting from the floor. DJ Horne, the starting point guard for the Wolfpack, was questionable to play but ended up giving it a shot as he came off the bench. The big man for the Wolfpack, DJ Burns, got off to a hot start as he made his first four shots of the game and Syracuse did not have anyone to match up to his size. NC State ended the first half leading 35-32 in what was not exactly a pretty first half by either team.

The second half was almost the total opposite. Both offenses were clicking regardless of the defensive pressure. That was until NC State went nuclear as they couldn’t miss any shot they took. They quickly grabbed a double-digit lead and Syracuse started to lose their cool as Judah Mintzh picked up an unsportsmanlike technical foul for cursing at the referee over a missed call. Mohamws Diara’s effort could not go unnoticed as he grabbed 14 rebounds which is the most an NC State player has had in an ACC tournament game. DJ Horne scored 16 second-half points after not scoring the entire first half and made big-time plays to secure the Wolfpack win. NC State will take on Duke, the number two seed in the third round.

Boston College (#11) VS Clemson (#6)

Boston College won in dominating fashion, 76-55. This was a battle of the bigs. Boston College’s Quinten Post and Clemson’s PJ Hall went toe to toe all night. The BC Eagles got off to a great start, grabbing an early nine-point lead. The game started to shift in favor of the Tigers after Post picked up his second foul at the 13-minute mark in the first half. That momentum quickly shifted back in favor of the Eagles as it looked like they could not miss a shot, no matter the difficulty. At the end of the first half, BC held a 40-28 lead after Clemson’s Joe Girard III hit a three to cut the lead to twelve as time expired. 

Claudell Harris Jr. was the star player of the game as he scored 27 points, including knocking down five three-pointers. The Tigers could not keep him from scoring or really anyone for that matter. It was an awful defensive performance displayed by the Tigers and credit to Boston College as they were the much better team this game. Clemson will likely be either a six or seven-seed in the NCAA tournament with this loss. Boston College will advance to day three of the ACC tournament where they will face a desperate Virginia squad who needs a win or two to secure a bid into the NCAA tourney.