Tag: ACC Basketball

Notre Dame battles from behind against Georgia Tech, then wins

The Irish finally made their move towards the end.

Notre Dame never quit against Georgia Tech, even as its inability to go in front undoubtedly was frustrating. Still, the Irish fans who came to Purcell Pavilion for the late tipoff had to think a happy ending was in store. That was the case as the Irish completed a come-from-behind victory, 71-68.

The Irish trailed the Yellow Jackets for almost 37 of the game’s 40 minutes, but they never faced more than a seven-point deficit, the last of which came with 5:35 left. But that’s when they got their chance with the Jackets starting a lengthy scoring drought.

After a [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] 3-pointer, more than three minutes passed before anymore points were scored. Then, within 36 seconds, [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] made back-to-back 3s to give the Irish their first lead.

A short time later after Shrewsberry missed the front of a one-and-one, [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] got the rebound but had the ball swatted out and was ruled to have touched it last after a replay review. It didn’t matter because the Yellow Jackets were whistled for a five-second violation:

[autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] put the nail in the coffin with a layup as he was fouled. Though he missed the subsequent free throw, Davis made two free throws on the next possession to complete a 13-0 Irish run.

Burton led all scorers with 26 points and four 3s. He also paced the Irish with three steals. Shrewsberry scored 15 points.

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UNC-Duke tabbed Game of the Week by famed college basketball analyst

UNC-Duke is the college basketball game to watch this week.

No matter the year, talent on each team or how each rival is progressing throughout their respective seasons, the North Carolina–Duke basketball rivalry never fails to disappoint.

UNC swept its hated Blue Devils in 2024, en route to an ACC Regular Season Championship and appearance in the ACC Championship Game. Duke got the last laugh, advancing to the Elite 8, but the Tar Heels have bragging rights from winning both head-to-head matchups.

As the college basketball world would have it, North Carolina and Duke are playing again on Saturday, February 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) look every bit of a National Championship contender, while UNC’s NCAA Tournament hopes are on life support.

Despite the direction of each program’s season, UNC-Duke was named college basketball analyst Andy Katz’ Game of the Week.

There’s a few other watch-worthy matchups on Katz’ Top 10 list, such as Florida–Tennessee and Kentucky-Ole Miss, but none that create the hype the Tobacco Road Rivalry can.

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Tar Heels fans almost had the opportunity to celebrate on Monday night, with NC State putting a scare into the Blue Devils, but superstar Cooper Flagg took over.

In North Carolina’s season of unpredictables, it stormed back and escaped Boston College in overtime Saturday, 102-96. RJ Davis put UNC on his back, scoring seven of his 22 points in the extra time period, while the Tar Heels generated some rare, defensive stops.

Duke hasn’t lost a game since November (I hope I’m summoning the writer’s jinx), when Kansas won, 75-72, in the Vegas Showdown.

We’re hoping North Carolina keeps Saturday’s showdown close, but don’t be surprised if the Blue Devils end things early.

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Duke basketball drops two spots in KenPom rankings after second straight close call

The Duke Blue Devils flirted with an upset loss for the second straight game on Monday, and the KenPom rankings knocked them for it.

The Duke Blue Devils won their 14th straight game on Monday night, a home victory over the NC State Wolfpack to partially avenge last year’s Elite Eight loss, but it admittedly wasn’t the team’s prettiest game.

The 9-10 Wolfpack built a 13-point midway through the opening half thanks to an 8/30 (26.7%) start from the floor by the Blue Devils. Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] still put 28 points on the board in the victory, but the KenPom efficiency metrics no longer consider Duke the best team in the nation.

As of Tuesday morning, the Blue Devils sit No. 3 in the rankings behind the Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars. The margins are still narrow with those three teams, separated by 0.66 points per 100 possessions, but Duke now trails the other two.

All three have won at least 11 straight games with no losses between them since December 4, and the gap between the Blue Devils and the fourth-ranked Florida Gators is larger than the gap between Florida and the Alabama Crimson Tide in ninth.

With back-to-back games below 75 points, Duke slipped back to seventh in the offensive efficiency metrics with 122.9 points per 100 possessions. The Blue Devils still sit third on the defensive end, allowing 87.6 points, and they’re still the only team within the top nine in both categories.

Sion James says Duke has ‘got to learn how to win’ close games after two near-upsets

After a run of Duke basketball blowouts, the Blue Devils staved off two upsets in three days. Sion James said the experience is crucial.

The Cameron Crazies probably enjoyed the run of six consecutive blowouts in December and January more than the past three days, but veteran guard [autotag]Sion James[/autotag] said the two close calls will be beneficial for the Duke basketball team down the line.

The Blue Devils beat NC State on Monday night, a 74-64 victory after they fell behind 35-22 in the opening half. The nailbiter came two days after a back-and-forth road win over Wake Forest saw Duke give away a 13-point halftime lead before pulling back to win.

While nine of Duke’s 14 consecutive victories have come by more than 20 points (and two others have come by double-digits), James said after Monday’s victory that the ability to win tough games is crucial.

“We’ve got to learn how to win them,” he said. “I wish we could win every game by 25-plus. That’s my goal going into every single game. But games like this, we learn a lot and we grow up.”

On a fairly young Duke team with three freshman starters, James knows what he’s talking about. He spent four years with the Tulane Green Wave before transferring to Durham, and he’s now played 134 collegiate games with 119 starts.

For his part in the learning process, James scored a season-high 13 points with four rebounds and three assists.

Cooper Flagg takes over in the second half to avoid Duke basketball upset against NC State

For the second time in three days, an in-state rival threatened to end Duke’s win streak, but Cooper Flagg once again put a stop to it.

The Duke Blue Devils found themselves sweating out a second-half upset effort against an in-state rival for the second time in three days on Monday night, but freshman sensation [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] played the hero once again with 23 second-half points for a 74-64 victory over NC State.

The Wolfpack came to Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 9-10 record, making the task of beating the 17-2 Blue Devils sound impossible, but they also bounced Duke from the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament last postseason. So, of course, NC State came to play in Durham.

NC State made just 30.5% of their 3-pointers in its first 19 games, entering the week outside of the top 100 in KenPom’s offensive and defensive efficiency rankings. Naturally, the Wolfpack promptly made seven of their first 11 3-pointers to take a stunning 35-22 lead.

Duke managed just 63 points against Wake Forest on Saturday, its lowest output of the season, and the offensive struggles continued within the friendly confines of Cameron. The Blue Devils went through two streaks of eight straight misses and two more stretches of four straight whiffs in the opening half, starting just 8/30 (26.7%) from the field.

Flagg scored 24 points against the Demon Deacons, but the Wolfpack held him entirely in check before the break. A trio of 3-pointers from [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] helped make it a four-point game at the break, but the 6-foot-9 superstar returned to the locker room with just five points after he went two-for-seven from the floor.

Then, as he’s done over and over again, the future No. 1 overall pick decided to remind everyone in the building who he was.

Flagg tied the game with a layup a few minutes into the frame, but his true sparkplug moment came with a little more than 16 minutes to play. NC State’s Dennis Parker Jr. tried desperately to save a loose ball, tossing it behind him blindly to a wide-open Flagg. The Duke forward made it coast-to-coast in just five dribbles before taking flight from just inside the free-throw line, slamming home a two-handed dunk to give the Blue Devils a 41-37 advantage.

The dunk highlighted his eight points in the first six minutes of the half, helping the Blue Devils to a 19-0 run as the Wolfpack went scoreless for 8:12 of game time.

NC State pulled back within two points with 10:04 left on the clock, but Flagg connected on a 3-pointer through a whistle for another volt of electricity. One possession later, he sent Wolfpack guard Marcus Hill stumbling to the court on a crossover before knocking down a long midrange jumper.

Flagg ended the game with a team-leading 28 points, going 8/17 (47.1%) from the field and 11/13 from the free-throw line. He, Kon Knueppel (19), and Sion James (13) combined for 60 of the Blue Devils’ 74 points.

Duke’s second-half defense deserves its flowers as well. The Blue Devils held NC State to 32.1% (9/28) from the field and 30% (3/10) from distance after the break, a major swing from the 48.4%/58.3% splits in the opening frame.

The Blue Devils get close to a full week off before their next home game, a Saturday battle against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Cooper Flagg splits ACC Rookie of the Week with California star

Cooper Flagg picked up his eighth ACC Rookie of the Week honor (and fourth in a row) on Monday, splitting it with a Cal star.

For the eighth time this season and the fourth straight week, Duke basketball sensation [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has been honored as the ACC Rookie of the Week.

Flagg and California Golden Bears guard Jeremiah Wilkinson split the award on Monday, meaning Flagg has been at least a Co-Rookie of the Week in all but four of the nomination cycles.

Flagg scored 24 points in a road victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday, Duke’s only game of the week. He made eight of his 16 shots from the floor, helping Duke overcome a six-point deficit in the final 10 minutes, and he tallied seven rebounds and six assists.

The 18-year-old forward has scored at least 20 points in eight of the Blue Devils’ last 12 games, including seven of the last nine. He’s averaged 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks to lead the team in every category.

Wilkinson, for his half of the award, averaged 24.0 points per game as the Golden Bears swept the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes.

 

RJ Davis shows why he is THE guy for UNC basketball during OT win against Boston College

Make sure you take a moment and thank RJ Davis for today’s closer-that-expected victory.

Every team needs a closer, particularly in an intense, high-stakes sport like college basketball.

Closers are go-to stars who, when the game is on the line, can take over and lead their team to victory. Closers aren’t just in baseball – they can be in any sport.

The 2024-2025 UNC basketball team is an extremely young team, so it doesn’t have the leadership from a season ago, but UNC does have a closer: RJ Davis, the reigning ACC Player of the Year.

North Carolina escaped Boston College, 102-96, during overtime Saturday in large parts to Davis’ efforts. Davis scored seven of his Tar Heels-best 22 point in overtime: a 3-pointer at the top of the 3-point line, two free throws to put UNC ahead for good, then two more to help ice the win.

Davis was also perfect in the first half, making all four of his shot and free throw attempts apiece.

“I just relied a lot on my teammates – and the coaching staff did a good job setting up plays for me to execute,” Davis said. “Just be confident with my shot and trust my work. I think I did that in overtime and second half a little bit. Everyone contributed a lot. I really didn’t have to score as much because everyone was contributing. Obviously, it was just a lot of back and forth throughout the game, but I just had in my mindset that we were going to win this game and I’m going to make some big shots in overtime.”

Expanding upon North Carolina’s additional contributions, freshman Drake Powell forced a 5-second call with UNC down 18 seconds left. Seth Trimble then made the tying jumper and, with the Tar Heels leading by four later in overtime, Ven-Allen Lubin sealed the afternoon with a block-and-dunk sequence.

“Before overtime, I think Drake was huge for us,” RJ said. “We wouldn’t be in that position, going into overtime, if it wasn’t for him getting the defensive stop, forcing them into a 5-second call on the baseline. I think Seth was tremendous with attacking the rim, Ven with a huge-time block, Elliot with a nice pass to me to hit the top of the three. I could go down the line, but I think everyone just contributed well and made some big-time plays, so we were able to come out with the win.”

RJ Davis has played hero for UNC so many times in the past. He did once again on Saturday afternoon – and helped North Carolina avoid its most embarrassing loss of the season.

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Notre Dame earns first true road victory of season over Virginia

Nice victory in every sense.

Notre Dame had not won on the road yet this season, nor had it won any of its previous nine games at John Paul Jones Arena. Saturday’s game at Virginia offered the Irish a chance to end both droughts. This they did to the tune of a 74-59 decision.

The Irish (9-10, 3-5) led the Cavaliers (9-11, 2-7) wire-to-wire, and this one never was in serious doubt. They were completely in sync on offense, and their defense held the Cavaliers in check until the deficit was at 27. Although the Cavaliers cut that lead almost in half late in the second half, there simply was too little time left on the clock for the run to make a difference.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] led all scorers with 21 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half. Although he went back to the locker room with an apparent injury as the Cavaliers were surging, he quickly reemerged and appeared no worse for the wear when he returned to the court.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored 16 points and dished out a game-high five assists. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 13 points.

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Clemson takes down Virginia Tech for fifth straight ACC win

Clemson’s supporting cast stepped up big as the Tigers beat Virginia Tech for their fifth straight win in ACC play. Here’s how it happened.

Not having Chase Hunter on the floor during the first half didn’t pose much of a problem for the Clemson Tigers against Virginia Tech Saturday night at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.

With Hunter not in the starting lineup due to an unspecified illness, Clemson started strong out of the gate and shot 60 percent from the field in the first half. The Tigers beat the Hokies, 72-57.

Clemson’s supporting cast stepped up big in this one. Freshman Del Jones had a career-high 13 points and Chauncey Wiggins tied a season-high with 16. The Tigers (17-4 overall, 9-1 ACC) also got 11 apiece from Viktor Lakhin and Jaeden Zackery.

The Tigers’ first 12 points came from five different shooters. Backup guard Jake Heidbreder and Wiggins connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to stake Clemson to a 12-6 lead early as Virginia Tech began the game by going over five minutes without a field goal.

Brandon Rechsteiner gave the Hokies (8-12, 3-6) a brief lead at 26-24 on a 3-pointer with around 6:30 to play in the half. Clemson answered with a 15-0 run that included 3-pointers from Wiggins and Heidbreder, plus an impressive move to the basket by Lakhin.

Wiggins had 10 points by halftime as Clemson took a 41-29 lead into the break. The Hokies missed their last nine shots from the field in the half as Clemson closed the first 20 minutes on a 17-3 run. The Tigers connected on 5-of-11 from behind the arc in that span.

Clemson went up by 17 in the first two minutes of the second half, but Virginia Tech would soon make it a game.

The Hokies cut the lead to single digits with a 9-0 run that made it 49-43 on a dunk by Tobi Lowal that forced Brad Brownell to call a timeout. Clemson had missed 10 of its last 11 shots at that stage and had made only three of 13 attempts to open the half.

After the timeout, Hunter checked in for his first minutes of action. He launched two quick 3-point attempts right out of the gate but didn’t connect as Clemson went over six minutes without a basket from the field. The Tigers got some breathing room when Wiggins hit his fourth trey from the corner to make it 54-45 with inside 9:30 to play.

Jones got hot, scoring six straight points for the Tigers that included a pair of back-to-back jumpers that made it 68-53 with under four minutes to play. Afterwards, Clemson took a 19-point advantage for their biggest lead of the night.

The Tigers finished the night shooting 48 percent from the field and had 36 points in the paint to Virginia Tech’s 20, including a 22-4 advantage in the paint in the first half.

UP NEXT

Clemson has a midweek bye and will return to action next Saturday vs. NC State in Raleigh. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on The CW Network.

RJ Davis takes over in overtime, helps UNC escape near-embarrassing loss

Saturday’s win in Chapel Hill was much closer than it needed to be. Luckily, UNC has RJ Davis.

Every basketball team needs a closer to win in clutch time. Luckily for UNC, that guy is reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis.

With North Carolina and Boston College deadlocked at 91 apiece in overtime, Davis hit a 3-pointer that blew the roof off the Dean Dome. A minute later, after Donald Hand Jr. countered with a perimeter make of his own, Davis drained a pair of free throws that gave UNC the lead for good.

Davis then added two more free throws, dribbled the clock out and the Tar Heels won, 102-96, against an Eagles squad still searching for their first ACC road victory.

Davis anchored North Carolina’s scoring attack with 22 points, seven of which came in overtime. Davis hit a couple free throws, drained a clutch 3-pointer, called a crucial timeout after Boston College missed a rare 3-pointer of its own, then iced the game with two more free throws.

North Carolina (13-8, 6-3 ACC) withstood a lights-out perimeter shooting performance from Boston College (9-11, 1-8), which show an unconscious 14-of-24 from deep. There was a stretch in the second half where, if the Eagles got the ball beyond the 3-point line, they were pretty much automatic.

UNC wasn’t nearly as efficient from deep, but efficient enough, making six of 16 3-point attempts. Davis and Ian Jackson, who finished with 19 points, each made two shots from deep.

The Tar Heels and Eagles both shot well from the field overall: North Carolina was 55.6 percent, while Boston College was 54.5%. UNC found a ton of success from driving the paint, outscoring Boston College 58-42.

Jackson needed to break out Saturday in the worst way, as he shot just 4-of-19 between losses to Wake Forest and Stanford. Jackson finished the Boston College game with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Seth Trimble provided some much-needed help in the scoring column, adding 18 points. Trimble also picked up his first double-double of the season, adding 12 rebounds.

Elliot Cadeau continued his offensive ascension, scoring 13 points for his fourth-straight game in double-digits. Jalen Washington continued showcasing why he deserves to be North Carolina’s starting center, pouring in 18 points despite coming off the bench Saturday.

The Tar Heels nearly suffered an embarrassing loss – one which would have questioned the program’s direction. UNC still has plenty of issues to fix, but it needed Saturday’s win in the worst way.

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