ACC Tournament: NC State hangs on to beat Duke in thriller 74-69
WASHINGTON -- NC State led most of the way before hanging on for a 74-69 win against defending ACC champion Duke in an ACC Tournament thriller on Thursday night.
The Wolfpack (20-14) placed five players in double-figures in a balanced attack to stun the Blue Devils (24-8) and advance to the semifinals against Virginia.
NC State led 35-32 at halftime and never trailed again, leading by as many as nine in the second half.
"I said it yesterday, I'll say it again: Why not us?" said N.C. State scoring leader DJ Horne. "We came into this tournament as together as I think we've been all season and it's showing right here. We just beat Duke, which is a Top 10 team in the country."
Duke had one last chance to steal the game thanks to a bizarre play with 30 seconds left. With his team ahead by five, N.C. State's Ben Middlebrooks missed a dunk and then grabbed at the ball while hanging on the rim. Jared McCain made a technical foul shot for Duke, and although N.C. State (20-14) received possession, Mohamed Diarra missed two free throws and Filipowski cut the lead to two with a layup.
But Filipowski fouled out with 15 seconds left, and Horne, who scored 18 points, nailed two clutch free throws with 15 seconds left that pushed the lead to four and gave the Wolfpack the breathing room it needed.
Filipowski had 28 points and 14 rebounds for second-seeded Duke, but N.C. State big man D.J. Burns Jr. kept him frustrated in the second half as the Wolfpack refused to yield.
"For me, it's even more of a wake-up call because we could have just had more one game left to the season now," Filipowski said. "You may have high expectations just with winning the ACC and things like that, but you've got to really see the reality of it and see that every team is really fighting for their lives. We just have to want it more than any other team that we play against."
Diarra again was a monster on the boards for the Wolfpack. Coming off a 14-rebound effort against Syracuse, the big Frenchman had 14 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and two assists against the Blue Devils.
Diarra, a Muslim, did all that while fasting as part of observing Ramadan. He was given fluids and snacked when he could during timeouts.
"That's God. God helped me to have the strength, like we've got to play, we've got Ramadan or not we've got to play," Diarra said.
Duke was trying to become the first team to repeat as ACC champion since the Blue Devils won three straight from 2009-11.
Duke went on a 9-0 run in the first half that included a layup, a steal and another layup by Filipowski, and then a pass from the big man to Mark Mitchell for a dunk that put the Blue Devils up 28-24. But then Filipowski was called for his second foul and exited with 5:26 left.
N.C. State closed the half strong and then scored the first six points of the second.
Duke was down five with 1:46 remaining when Mitchell went to the line for the Blue Devils. He missed both free throws and Burns backed Filipowski down at the other end and scored with his left hand.
N.C. State's reserves outscored Duke's 21-0, and poor outside shooting hurt the Blue Devils who went just 5 of 20 from 3-point range while the Wolfpack made 7 of 16.
The tenth-seeded Wolfpack needs two more victories to secure an improbable automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"We came into this tournament just worried about the guys in our own locker room and we did it tonight," Horne said. "We got a win that I'm sure nobody thought we could get, and we're not done yet. Job's not finished."
Duke heads into the NCAAs on a sour note after dropping its regular-season finale at home to rival North Carolina and then losing its ACC Tournament opener after receiving a bye into the quarterfinals.
"It's a disappointing loss for us. We wanted to make a run at this thing," said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. "Coming off of Saturday, we've been able to spend a lot of time on ourselves for the first time. That didn't translate fully, clearly. NC State is playing the best basketball they've played probably, and you give them credit. They're talented. When you're playing in the postseason, teams don't want to go away."
The Wolfpack are one win away from a berth in the title game. The only double-digit seed to reach the ACC Tournament final was N.C. State, when it lost to North Carolina in 2007.
UNC 92, FLORIDA STATE 67
Top-seeded North Carolina got ACC Tournament quarterfinals action underway Thursday with a dominant win against Florida State.
The Tar Heels (26-6), ranked fourth nationally, began their quest for a first conference championship in eight years by overwhelming the Seminoles (17-16) with a run in the last four minutes of the first half that blew the game open.
"It's something none of us have experienced other than the coaches,' said Armando Bacot, who's in his fifth season in Chapel Hill. "We feel like it's right there for the taking, so that's why we've been playing so hard."
Eleven players scored for UNC, led by ACC Player of the Year R.J. Davis with 18.
"Their effort, energy, attention to detail defensively was good," North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. "And for us to dominate the boards on both ends, I thought that was a huge key for us in allowing them to be successful out there."
Bacot scored 14 points and grabbed 10 of his team's 48 rebounds to Florida State's 22. Bacot got the double-double with a rebound on his final play before being pulled midway through the second half.
FSU didn't pose much of a challenge to UNC, which also got 14 from Cormac Ryan, who went 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Winning their sixth in a row, the Tar Heels flexed their muscles on the boards, at one point grabbing four offensive rebounds on the same possession late in the first half. By halftime, the Seminoles had just six.
A combination of rebounding domination and timely shooting - as Florida State went ice cold from the floor - helped UNC pull away.
"Rebounding is not about size and athleticism, it's about heart and will and positioning," said UNC's Harrison Ingram, who also had 10 rebounds. "We've been working on it every single day."
Primo Spears led ninth-seeded Florida State with 17 points. Spears did so in his old home arena after playing last season at Georgetown.
The Tar Heels await Pitt in a Friday semifinal.
For Florida State, missing the NCAA tournament for a third consecutive season could bring questions about how the program is trending under longtime coach Leonard Hamilton.
"We got beat by a team that played better than us," Hamilton said. "They were much more aggressive, much more physical."
The struggles came after the Seminoles reached the Sweet 16 twice and made one trip to the Elite Eight sandwiched around a successful 2019-20 season that would have brought a high seed before the tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
PITT 81, WAKE FOREST 69
Ishmael Leggett scored 19 of his season-high 30 points in the second half and Pittsburgh turned away Wake Forest on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
On Friday, the fourth-seeded Panthers (22-10) will face top seed and No. 4-ranked North Carolina. UNC beat Pitt 70-57 in their only regular-season meeting on Jan. 2.
Leggett was 11-of-18 shooting, repeatedly driving hard to the hoop, and collected eight rebounds and five steals. Blake Hinson hit four 3-pointers and added 20 points with Jaland Lowe adding 11 points and five assists. The Pitt bench outscored Wake Forest's 39-0.
Cameron Hildreth led the fifth-seeded Demon Deacons (20-13) with 23 points. Hunter Sallis added 15 points, Andrew Carr 13 and Efton Reid III 12.
A 12-1 run over three minutes that Leggett kicked off with a 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 19-point lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Sallis hit consecutive 3-pointers and Hildreth added a three-point play to get the Demon Deacons back with eight midway through the half. A 3 by Hildreth cut the lead to four with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. The Deacons stayed within reach until Pitt went on a 10-2 game-ending run in the final two minutes, kicked off by a bucket underneath by Guillermo Diaz Graham and a Leggett drive.
Hinson scored five points and Leggett four in a 13-2 run that put Pitt ahead by 11 with nine minutes left in the half and the Panthers led 38-26 at the break.
Wake Forest must wait to see whether it squeaks into the NCAA tournament or settles for an NIT bid.
VIRGINIA 66, BOSTON COLLEGE 60 OT
Reece Beekman had 11 points and 11 assists, and Virginia took a step toward an NCAA Tournament berth - and to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament - with a 66-60 overtime victory over Boston College.
The Cavaliers were nearly done in by 8-of-18 free throw shooting, but their stellar defense was enough to carry them through the final minutes.
Boston College went over five minutes without scoring before Mason Madsen of the Eagles made a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime. Then Virginia allowed only one basket in the extra session.
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The Associated Press contributed.
