2025 ACC Tournament: No. 1 Duke beats Louisville 73-62 to win its 23rd ACC tourney

Chucky Hepburn's putback jumper at the buzzer helped No. 13 Louisville overcome a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Stanford 75-73 on Thursday night and advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Terrence Edwards scored 25 points and Hepburn added 20 for the Cardinals (26-6), who've won 10 straight. Noah Waterman and James Scott each had 12.

• Box Score

Oziyah Sellers had 22 points and Maxime Raynaud added 17 points for Stanford (20-13), which was playing in its first ACC Tournament.

Stanford led 33-30 at halftime and appeared ready to pull away in the second half, building a 52-37 lead in the second half behind an 11-0 run.

But Raynaud picked up his fourth foul with 13 1/2 minutes left and Louisville capitalized, battling back to take the lead 70-65 with 3 minutes remaining after Hepburn knocked down a 3 and then fed J'Vonne Hadley for a layup. Raynaud fouled out on the ensuing possession, but Stanford tied the game on Chisom Okpara's three-point play with 32 seconds left.

Edwards missed a 3-point shot, but as players collapsed for the rebound the ball bounced out directly to Hepburn, who caught it and buried a 15-footer for the win.

The Cardinals played without guard Reyne Smith, their third-leading scorer at 13.4 points per game, because of an ankle injury. Smith's absence seemed to affect Louisville's chemistry, particularly in the first half.

Louisville will face the Clemson/SMU winner in the semifinals. Stanford is likely headed to the NIT.

The Associated Press contributed

North Carolina, playing for its postseason lives, outfought Wake Forest 68-59 to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals.

RJ Davis had 23 points and five 3-pointers, Ven-Allen Lubin added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 5 seed North Carolina gave head coach Hubert Davis his 100th victory with the program.

• Box Score

Jae'Lyn Withers rattled in a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:35 left to give North Carolina a 57-56 lead and the Tar Heels never trailed again.

North Carolina went ahead 63-57 with 2:04 left after six straight points. Ven-Allen Lubin went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line, but he blocked a shot at the other end and Davis sank his fifth 3-pointer in six attempts. Lubin capped the run with an alley-oop dunk.

After Hunter Sallis ended Wake Forest's field-goal drought that lasted nearly five minutes, Lubin threw down a putback dunk to make it 65-59 with 1:27 left.

North Carolina guard Drake Powell jumped to intercept an inbounds pass and Seth Trimble was fouled with 31.8 left before making 1 of 2 free throws for a seven-point lead.

Davis turned his left ankle with 6:49 left in the second half when he stepped on the foot of Juke Harris on a drive. After a short break, he made two free throws to give North Carolina the lead at 54-53.

Next, the Tar Heels (22-12) get rival Duke on Friday, which will likely be without ACC Player of the Year Cooper Flagg, who sprained his ankle earlier against Georgia Tech.

RJ Davis scored 23 points and made 5-of-6 3-point tries to pace the Tar Heels. Van-Allen Lubin had 13 rebounds to go with 10 points.

UNC is considered a bubble team for the NCAA tournament but the Heels improved their chances by beating the Demon Deacons, who had beaten them 67-66 on Jan. 21. UNC has won eight of its last nine games, losing only to Duke in that late-season push.

Wake Forest (21-11) was looking to advance to its first ACC Tournament semifinals since 2006 and now will likely await a bid to the NIT.

Sallis led Wake Forest with 25 points. Tre'Von Spillers had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Efton Reid III grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Associated Press contributed.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer is readying to play either North Carolina or Wake Forest without two key players, including star freshman Cooper Flagg.

Flagg appears to have injured his ankle in the first half Thursday against Georgia Tech. Duke later confirmed that he suffered a sprained ankle.

Star freshman Cooper Flagg sprained his ankle in the first half and did not return. Perhaps more seriously, Maliq Brown re-dislocated his shoulder.

That's good news for Duke. The injury could have been more serious.

Still, it's a "real long shot" that Flagg plays in Friday's ACC Tournament semifinals, Scheyer said.

"It isn't about being ready to go tomorrow," Scheyer said, and he noted that the important thing was getting Flagg healthy for an NCAA tournament run.

Scheyer also gave an update on Maliq Brown, who sustained a left-shoulder injury in the first half. Brown re-dislocated his shoulder and was taken to a Charlotte-area hospital. Scheyer said he was going to visit Brown later Thursday.

Kon Knueppel scored 28 points as No. 1 Duke overcame injuries to star Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown to beat Georgia Tech 78-70 on Thursday and advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Isaiah Evans scored 14 points on four 3-pointers and Khaman Maluach added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils (29-3), who have won nine straight.

• Box Score

Flagg appeared to land awkwardly on Baye Ndongo's foot as he came down with a rebound late in the first half. The ACC player of the year retreated to the Duke bench and punched a seat in frustration. After being helped to the locker room, Flagg returned to the Duke bench in the second half without a boot on his foot. He did not return to the game.

Brown went down with a shoulder injury in the first half.

Duncan Powell led Georgia Tech (17-16) with 24 points.

Duke missed its first 13 shots from beyond the arc and fell behind 26-12, matching the season's largest deficit. They trailed 26-17 when Flagg left the game, but cut the lead to five at halftime. Duke pushed its lead to seven early in the second half when Tyrese Proctor stole a pass and delivered a high-flying one-handed dunk in transition.

Duke outscored the Yellow Jackets' bench 21-6.

The Blue Devils showed they have some firepower without Flagg and Brown on the court. After missing its first 13 3s, Duke went 7 of 17 the rest of the way.

Duke will face the winner of North Carolina vs. Wake Forest on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed.