2024 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Second Round Recap (3-13-24)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
All Photo Credit: Andy Hancock/ACC
Game 4
In the first game of day 2, #9 Florida State came out ready to play as they took on #8 Virginia Tech and used their height to their advantage in every way possible. The ball movement for the Hokies was very stagnant as they found themselves shooting from the arc to settle instead of the ball staying hot. The Seminoles started to dominate the post and got whatever they wanted in the paint. With 7 minutes left in the first half, Virginia Tech was up by 6 points 27-21. After Tech got out early Florida State picked up the ball pressure causing turnovers that would lead to easy buckets for the Seminoles. The Seminoles came back to take the lead and they never looked back. With offensive rebounding and steals, Florida State got extra shots up giving them more opportunities to score. With a one-point game at the half, both teams would need to come out early and establish their presence to survive and advance. Both teams went back and forth in the first 10 minutes of the second half until the 5-minute mark where FSU started to pull away. The size and rebounding along with multiple defensive stops caused problems with the Hokies and allowed Florida State to pull away. Virginia Tech had no answer for Jamir Watkins who had an efficient career night leading Florida State with 34 points and 11 rebounds. Sean Pedulla led the way for the Hokies with 24 points and Virginia native Tyler Nickel had 18 points off the bench but that was not enough as Florida State advances 86-76 and will face #1 North Carolina Tarheels in the first game of the Quarterfinals at noon.
Game 5
In the second game of day 2, the #5 Wake Forest Demon Deacons took on the #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in what would be a dominant win for the Demon Deacons as 9 players scored, and they shared the ball getting a 20-9 lead in the first nine minutes of play. Notre Dame struggled shooting the ball from the field and had just under 30% shooting while Wake Forest shot the ball at a 45.8% clip in the game. Freshmen Braeden Shrewsberry struggled from the field and only had 5 points while Markus Burton who had 21 points had to work hard for those points shooting 4-16 from the field but shooting 12-12 from the free throw line. Kevin Miller of Wake Forest led the way with 17 points as the Demon Deacons had 4 players in double figures as Wake handled Notre Dame 72-59. #5 Wake Forest advances to face #4 Pittsburgh in the second game of the quarterfinal round at 2:30 pm.
Game 6
In the first game of the afternoon session, #10 North Carolina State took on #7 Syracuse in which coach Kevin Keatts orchestrated a 12-point comeback in the first round against Louisville, which had the Wolfpack nation looking like a team destined to make a run. It’s one thing to win one game. However, once you win 2 in a row and have to face a team that has a double bye and has been resting, trouble could be in the air for #2 Duke Bluedevils. The Wolfpack nation came out screaming, chanting, and cheering on their team as the turnovers and points off turnovers 25, played a key role in North Carolina State going wire to wire with the lead and never looking back. Teams like this are scary in tournament play when you have to face them next. I have seen teams not care about being tired when you are winning and having fun. This seems to be the remedy for the Wolfpack to continue to advance. They will take on #2 Duke in the first afternoon game of the quarterfinal round at 7 pm and will be a great game.
Game 7
In the Final game of the second day #11 Boston College took on #6 Clemson and the nightcap was just that. The Eagles came out feisty and played great defense causing tough shots for Clemson as they struggled from the field. Clemson shot 35% which is hard to come by points when you shoot 4-for-20 from behind the arc. Although it seems like Boston College has found something winners of four straight, they were led by the duo of Jaeden Zackery with 22 points and Claudelle Harris Jr. leading all scorers with 27 points. As Earl Grant looks to have a deeper bench giving minutes Donald Hand Jr. appears to take advantage of the opportunity as he led the bench with 10 points and valuable minutes. Clemson just could not get the engine going as they could not combine stops to cut in the deficit that they got in early trailing at the half 40-28. The same story would happen in the second half as the Eagles outrebounded the Tigers 43-27 and would advance to the quarterfinal beating Clemson 76-55. The #11 Boston College will face #3 Virginia in the quarterfinals at 9:30 pm.
Recap
On the second day of the tournament, the theme was if you had any color of orange you did not stand a chance as all three orange teams (Hokies, Tigers, Orangemen) all took double-digit losses which was the second part of this second day of the tournament. Those teams winning by double digits will need to bring that momentum with them as the top four seeds received double byes and will be fresh and ready to go with more competition coming with 3 days left of the 2024 ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C.
Wayyyy Too early All-Tourney Team watch
*Markus Burton
Notre Dame 21 points 8 assists/4-16 12-12 21 points
*Jayden Taylor
N.C. State 18 points 8 rebounds 3 assists 4 steals/18 points/
*Casey Morsell
N.C. State 25 points 13-13 FT/ 6 points/
*Quinton Post
Boston College30 points 13 rebounds/ 11 points 8 rebounds 7 assists/
*Skky Clark
Louisville 36 points 7-9 3-pointers
*Jamir Watkins
Florida State 34 points 11 rebounds 4 steals/12 points 5 assists 4 rebounds
*Andrew Carr
Wake Forest 12 points and 11 rebounds
*Kevin Miller
Wake Forest 17 points and 7 rebounds
*Claudell Harris
Boston College 9/28 3pt 2 games/ 27points 5 rebounds
*Armando Bacot
North Carolina 14 points and 10 rebounds/
*R.J. Davis
North Carolina18 points 3 rebounds 3 assists/
*Cormick Ryan
North Carolina 14 points 3-4 3pt/
ACC Coach of the tourney
*Kevin Keatts
N.C. State 12-point deficit comeback
*Earl Grant
Boston College upset #6 Clemson
