Tag: 2024 ACC Tournament

Clemson comeback falls short against Miami in ACC Baseball Tournament

Talk about a game of inches. Clemson fell to Miami in the Tigers’ ACC Tournament opener in Charlotte Thursday after Tristan Bissetta just missed a ninth-inning go-ahead home run.

Talk about a game of inches.

With the Clemson baseball team down to its last out in the Tigers’ ACC Tournament opener against 11th-seeded Miami Thursday, Tristan Bissetta’s deep drive to left field had all the makings of a go-ahead two-run home run.

Instead, Miami’s Edgardo Villegas snagged it from the top of the wall and the Hurricanes held on for an 8-7 victory over the second-seeded Tigers at Truist Field in Charlotte.

Miami starter Gabe Ziehl battled through six quality innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. Ziehl (5-3) walked three and struck out four to notch his second win of the year against the Tigers.

The Hurricanes used a five-run second inning against Clemson starter Ethan Darden that ultimately propelled them to their second tournament win this week after beating Louisville on Tuesday.

The big blow in the inning was a three-run home run from shortstop Antonio Jimenez that came after the first two Miami batters reached base. Jimenez’s home run was only his second of the season.

Darden (5-4) left after recording just four outs against 11 batters faced. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on five hits — two doubles, two singles and the Jimenez homer.

Clemson never led in Thursday’s contest, save for a brief 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the second inning. The Tigers trailed 6-2 after Miami’s second-inning outburst and were down 7-3 before they began chipping away against the Hurricanes’ bullpen.

Jarren Purify doubled and scored off reliever Nick Robert to cut the lead to 7-4 in the seventh. In the eighth, Clemson made it a one-run game after three straight extra base hits opened the inning. Cam Cannarella led off with a triple, and back-to-back RBI doubles from Jimmy Obertop and Bissetta closed the gap to 7-6.

The Tigers had runners on base with less than two out, but hard-throwing Miami reliever Myles Caba escaped trouble. He retired Purify on a popup for the second out. Alden Mathes just missed a double down the left field line that could have given Clemson the lead. With his next pitch, Caba struck out Mathes on a 95 mph fastball to strand both runners.

The Hurricanes added a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when pinch-hitter Jake Kulikowski smashed a solo home run to right off Matthew Marchal for an 8-6 lead.

With the heart of the order due up for Clemson in the ninth, Jacob Hinderleider led off with his 13th home run of the year on a 92 mph fastball to dead center to make it a one-run game at 8-7.

Blake Wright walked to put the tying run on base before Caba got Cannarella on a popup for the first out. Obertop reached on a fielder’s choice for the second out, narrowly managing to avoid a 5-4-3 double play.

That left it up to Bissetta, whose drive forced Villegas to leap up against the wall and make a sensational catch. Clemson coach Erik Bakich challenged the catch, but the play was upheld on review.

“Heck of a catch,” Bakich said afterwards.

Miami outhit Clemson 12-11 and left six runners on base. The Tigers stranded eight. Hinderleider (2-for-4), Cannarella (2-5), Obertop (2-4) and Purify (2-4) all had two hits apiece.

Clemson fell to 40-14 overall while Miami improved to 27-29 overall.

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Can a week off help Clemson in the ACC tournament?

The 2024 ACC softball tournament is almost here. Can the Tigers make up for a down season with a tournament run?

This season hasn’t been what Clemson hoped for. In USA Softball’s preseason rankings, the Tigers were ranked No. 7 and were the second-highest-ranked team in the ACC.

However, as the season progressed, Clemson dwindled to its lowest ranking in week 12 at No. 22. They lost early non-conference games and a couple of key series, including being swept by Duke, that pushed the team down in the rankings.

Clemson has yet to play two of the three teams ahead of it. Virginia Tech and Florida State had great seasons, with winning percentages of .800 and .770, respectively. Needless to say, the Tigers have a tough road to a tournament championship.

Luckily, Clemson doesn’t play this week. Duke and Virginia Tech don’t either. On the other hand, Florida State will play four. If they manage to land on the FSU’s side of the bracket, the Tigers could theoretically have an advantage.

That means it’s time to borrow a Seminoles hat from that cousin no one talks to, learn how the tomahawk chop, and cheer for FSU this week. If they can sweep Syracuse this weekend, the Seminoles will overtake Duke as the No. 1 seed.

Virginia and Clemson are tied for fourth in the conference, and no team is close to overtaking them. They’ve locked up the fourth and fifth seeds and will play each for a chance to knock off the No. 1 seed.

Armando Bacot now second in all-time ACC double-doubles

Armando Bacot played well despite an overall dud for UNC in Saturday’s ACC Championship, moving further up the ACC double-double list.

Last night was not a good one for the UNC men’s basketball team.

After being favored by nearly 10 points against NC State in Saturday’s ACC Championship, North Carolina lost by nearly 10 in an 84-76 defeat. It seemed like the Wolfpack couldn’t miss. They dominated down low, as the DJ Burns-Mohamed Diarra duo out-played Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot.

Despite how poorly the Tar Heels played Saturday, there was one positive takeaway.

With his 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, Bacot passed Ralph Sampson on the ACC all-time double-doubles list. Bacot now has 85, breaking a tie with Sampson.

Bacot and RJ Davis played extremely well in the ACC Tournament. In fact, the two were the greatest reasons why UNC beat Pitt in the semifinals.

Bacot recorded a double-double in each ACC Tournament game, finishing with 51 points and 33 rebounds. Davis finished with 73 points.

North Carolina’s supporting cast wasn’t great, however. Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan and Elliot Cadeau struggled immensely in the ACC Semis and title game, making just 12 combined shots in the final two rounds.

If the Tar Heels want to do anything in the NCAA Tournament, everyone will need to step up – bench included. Hubert Davis’ reserves played well, so maybe the likes of Jalen Washington and Seth Trimble see more playing time.

One thing’s for certain – if UNC wants to win it all, will need the ACC Tournament version of Armando Bacot.

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A UNC-NC State ACC Championship would clean up in North Carolina

Greensboro, NC is known as Tournament Town. A UNC-NC State ACC Championship would clean up at the Greensboro Coliseum.

While I personally think the ACC Tournament should stay in Greensboro, NC, I understand the conference’s decision to play it at rotating venues.

Playing in Greensboro would give UNC, NC State, Duke and Wake Forest home-court advantages, as no other ACC team resides in North Carolina.  The ACC Tournament has traveled to Atlanta, Ga., New York City and Washington, DC in recent years.

You could make the case for Atlanta and DC creating home-court advantage for Georgia Tech and UVA, respectively, but the college basketball following is nowhere near as large compared to North Carolina.

If sports are truly all about making money, it makes sense to keep the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. Think about tonight’s UNC-NC State ACC Championship game alone. Both schools are within a 75-minute drive and have extremely passionate fanbases. Greensboro would essentially shut down for the day and local business would be boomin’.

But the game is being played in the nation’s capital. Given the ACC Title game is on a Saturday, I’m sure there’ll be plenty fans who make the trip up. I also bet there will be more Carolina blue lining the stands at Capital One Arena, but a strong sea of red, too.

If tonight’s game isn’t packed to the brim, I think the ACC will take a long, hard look at making Greensboro the permanent, future host of its conference basketball tournament.

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Do Tennessee and Arizona losses lock up 1-seed for UNC?

A head-to-head win against Tennessee and eight straight wins help UNC’s case for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Will it get one?

With the way they’ve been playing, the North Carolina Tar Heels deserve a top seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

UNC (27-6, 17-3 ACC), the ACC’s top seed, has won its last eight games. Thanks to an RJ Davis-led second half push against Pitt on Friday, North Carolina will be playing longtime, in-state rival NC State in Saturday night’s ACC Championship (8:30 p.m. ET).

The only issue – Arizona and Tennessee have been just a step ahead of the Tar Heels. Arizona (25-8, 15-5) is the PAC-12’s best team, while the Volunteers (24-8, 24-4) led the SEC.

Conference tournament results might have switched up the seeding a little bit.

Tennessee got smoked by Mississippi State in yesterday’s SEC quarterfinals, while Oregon won comfortably (67-59) against the Wildcats.

With UNC’s hot streak, which includes two ACC tournament wins already, there’s a strong case made for it to take that 1-seed in the Big Dance. North Carolina also has fewer losses – not a number that determines seeding – but is something worth looking at come Selection Sunday.

If UNC can beat NC State for a third time this season, that top seed will all but be locked up. Want to look at another reason for giving North Carolina a 1-seed? It beat Tennessee head-to-head.

Regardless of where the Tar Heels end up, they are playing their best basketball at the right time.

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UNC and NC State have a brief history in the ACC Tournament

UNC and NC State last met in the ACC Championship during 2007, with the top-seeded Tar Heels beating the 10-seed Wolfpack.

We’re a week out from March and madness is in full swing.

In one of the more competitive conference tournaments so far, the ACC Tourney sported two memorable games on Friday.

First, UNC came back from a 2-point halftime deficit to down Pitt, 72-65, behind a game highlighted by RJ Davis reaching the 2,000-point club. Despite facing a significantly taller Panthers squad, Armando Bacot bullied his opponents for career double-double 84, tallying 19 points and 11 rebounds to tie UVA great Ralph Sampson for second-most in ACC history.

In the nightcap, NC State and UVA battled it out for NCAA Tournament positioning. The Cavaliers appeared to be pulling away late, only for the Wolfpack’s Michael O’Connell to send things into overtime with a 3-pointer as time expired. NC State big man DJ Burns then took over in the extra frame, scoring seven of the Wolfpack’s 15 points.

There you have it – UNC and State for the ACC Championship.

North Carolina swept both regular-season matchups, but the Wolfpack team it’s facing tonight is fighting for a spot in the Big Dance.

These two actually have a brief history in the ACC Tournament. When NC State last made the championship game – in 2007 – it played the Tar Heels.

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The Wolfpack were also a 10-seed back in 2007. That year’s squad was led by the forward trio of Brandon Costner, Gavin Grant and Ben McCauley,who each averaged 14 points per game.

Who was on UNC back then? Future NBA stars Tyler Hansbrough, Brandan Wright, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson.

This years’ NC State team is led by Burns and electric guard DJ Horne, who transferred from Arizona State in the offseason.

Saturday night. 8:30 p.m. Two rivals for the ACC Championship.

Time to lock in!

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RJ Davis reaches 2K career points in UNC’s ACC Tournament Semifinal victory

It’s rare for a college hoops player to reach the 2,000-point club. UNC guard RJ Davis did so on Friday in the ACC Tournament against Pitt.

Pitt’s toughness was exactly the kind of wake-up call UNC needed.

North Carolina, the ACC Tournament’s top seed, went back-and-forth with the 4-seeded Panthers all night on Friday.

The Tar Heels were determined to get back to the title game, though, as they closed out Pitt late in a 72-65 victory.

As has been the case all season long, UNC (27-6, 17-3) was led by another stellar scoring effort from star guard RJ Davis. The senior from White Plains, NY, who’s also the ACC Player of the Year, scored 25 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field (3-of-10 from downtown) and a 6-of-8 mark from the free throw line.

RJ entered Friday’s game with 1,975 career points, so you know what Friday’s output meant: he now has 2,000 career points.

There’s another Tar Heel you might recognize who reached the 2,000-point mark earlier this year: Armando Bacot.

In addition to Bacot, Davis joins Charlie Scott, Al Wood, Lennie Rosenbluth, Sam Perkins, Phil Ford and Tyler Hansbrough in the 2K point club.

If this is Davis’ last year in Chapel Hill, he’ll likely pass Scott (2,007), Al Wood (2,015) and Rosenbluth (2,047) on the all-time scoring list. If Davis returns for his COVID year in the Fall, there’s a chance he surpasses Psycho T (2,872) as the all-time leading scorer.

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