ACC Tournament: NC State explodes past Syracuse 83-65, sets up showdown with Duke

WASHINGTON (WTVD) -- NC State put together one of its most complete performances of the season in routing Syracuse 83-65 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday night.

The Wolfpack led 35-32 at the half. Syracuse opened the second half on a 7-2 spurt for a 39-37 advantage but N.C. State answered with a 21-4 run for a 58-43 lead with 12:33 remaining.

DJ Horne scored 11 points during that stretch and capped it with a dunk. Jaydon Taylor made a pair of 3-pointers. The Orange pulled within 60-50 but didn't get closer.

The Wolfpack scored 30 points from 19 Syracuse turnovers.

"We've just been as locked in as we can be," Horne said. "I feel like we've been locked in as we have been all season and going into this tournament, we just kind of went in with a why-not-us mindset, and I think we're showcasing that right now."

NC State (19-14) had dropped both games to Syracuse in the regular season but this third meeting was drastically different and revenge was sweet.

After winning two consecutive games in the tournament, it doesn't; get easier for Kevin Keatts' squad, which advances to face No. 2-seeded Duke at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.

But just like in an opening-round win against Louisville, it was a total team effort for the Wolfpack, which had four players in double figures and got 14 rebounds, eight points and six assists from Mo Diarra. Jayden Taylor scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Michael 'Connell made all three of his 3-point attempts and finished with 16 points. DJ Burns Jr. added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Horne, N.C. State's leading scorer, scored all 16 of his points in the second half. The 6-foot-1 senior injured his hip in the regular-season finale at Pittsburgh and did not play in the Wolfpack's win against Louisville.

"I'm feeling good," Horne said. "To get hurt, with the last couple of games of my season ... it was definitely tough on me mentally but my teammates, my coaches, the staff, they did a great job of me getting treatment and making sure my head stayed in it, and I'm glad we were able to come out here and get this win."

Judah Mintz scored 21 points to lead No. 7 seed Syracuse (20-12). Maliq Brown, Chris Bell and Quadir Copeland added 11 points apiece.

FLORIDA STATE 86, VIRGINIA TECH 76

Round 2 of the ACC Tournament got underway Wednesday with ninth-seeded Florida State taking down No. 8 seed Virginia Tech 86-76.

The Seminoles (17-15) advance to play No. 1 seeded North Carolina (25-6) That game will be a noon tip-off Thursday and can be seen on ESPN.

Florida State dropped both regular-season meetings with the Tar Heels, 78-70 on the road and 75-68 at home. Florida State hasn't beaten North Carolina since the 2020-21 season.

Jamir Watkins scored 12 of his career-high 34 points in the final three minutes and Jalen Warley added 18 points to help Florida State pull away in the second half.

Watkins was 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 17 at the free-throw line to set a program record for points in an ACC Tournament game. He also had 11 rebounds and four steals. Warley made 8 of his 10 shots as Florida State shot 54% from the field.

Virginia Tech was 4-of-17 shooting in the opening 17 minutes of the second half. The Hokies also finished with 13 turnovers, leading to 25 points for the Seminoles.

Tyler Nickel sank a long 3-pointer with 7:28 left to tie it at 57-all, but Virginia Tech did not make another field goal until Sean Pedulla's basket with 2:42 left to pull within 71-62.

Florida State took advantage of back-to-back Virginia Tech turnovers with layups by Warley and Primo Spears to take a 63-58 lead with 5:01 left. Another steal under the basket led to Warley's fast-break layup to make it 68-58 at 3:06.

Each team turned it over on an inbounds play and Watkins was fouled before making two free throws at 2:49. Watkins added two more free throws at 2:30 and had an alley-oop dunk at 2:11 for a 74-65 lead.

Spears finished with 10 points for the Seminoles.

Pedulla scored 24 points, Nickel added 18 and MJ Collins had 15 for Virginia Tech.

Both teams shot 55% or better from the field in the first half. Virginia Tech shot 64% (16 of 25), despite going 4 of 11 from 3-point range, in the first half before finishing at 49%.

The Hokies fell to 18-14 and now wait for a possible NIT bid.

WAKE FOREST 72, NOTRE DAME 59

Kevin Miller scored 17 points, Hunter Sallis added 14 and Andrew Carr had a double-double as fifth-seeded Wake Forest handled 12-seed Notre Dame.

The Demon Deacons (20-12) will take on fourth-seeded Pitt in Thursday's quarterfinals. Wake Forest lost to Pitt 77-72 in January before rolling past the Panthers 91-58 at home the next month. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Carr had 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Cameron Hildreth scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. Wake Forest shot 46%, outscored Notre Dame 15-7 off turnovers, 16-7 on second-chance points and 38-14 in the paint.

ACC rookie of the year Markus Burton scored 21 points, making 12 of 12 from the line but only 4 of 16 from the floor for the Fighting Irish. Tae Davis added 16 points and Carey Booth 11. Braeden Shrewsberry, who led Notre Dame with 23 points in their 84-80 first-round win over Georgia Tech, had just five points on 1-of-9 shooting. The Irish shot just 29%, 20% in the second half.

Davis made 7 of 8 free throws for all of Notre Dame's scoring early in the first half as the Fighting Irish went over six minutes without a field goal until a Davis bucket. Wake Forest took advantage, extending its six-point halftime lead to 16 midway through the second half with a 13-4 run during which Hildreth turned a steal into a three-point play and added a 3-pointer. Notre Dame didn't get closer than nine thereafter.

Sallis hit a 3-pointer to open the game and the Demon Deacons led throughout. They were up by as many as 14 before the Fighting Irish worked their way back to trail 40-34 at halftime.

The Fighting Irish finished 13-20.

BOSTON COLLEGE 76, CLEMSON 55

Claudell Harris Jr. scored 27 points, Jaeden Zackery added 22 and Boston College cruised to a 76-55 victory over Clemson on Wednesday night in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Eleventh-seeded Boston College (19-14) has won four straight and will face No. 3 seed Virginia (22-9) in a Thursday quarterfinal.

Harris and Zackery were a combined 18-of-34 shooting from the floor and made nine 3-pointers. Quinten Post added 11 points and Donald Hand Jr. had 10 for BC, which made 12 of its 24 field goals and all eight of its free throws in the second half.

PJ Hall scored 21 points to lead No. 6 seed Clemson (21-11), which beat BC 89-78 in the regular season. Joe Girard chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds.

BC closed the first half on a 22-9 run for a 40-28 lead at the break. Harris scored 13 points and Zackery added 10 first-half points for the Eagles. Girard hit consecutive 3s to end the half for Clemson. The Tigers cut their deficit to 10 points early in the second half but didn't get closer.

Boston College entered 0-3 in ACC Tournament play against Clemson.

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The Associated Press contributed.