Men’s ACC Tournament Day 3 (3-12-2026)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Joshua Johnson-LMS Network
Day 3) Is this the eighth that will make an NCAA appearance, or will there be more?
(1) #2 UVA 81 vs #7 NC State 74
Paul McNeil Jr. led all scorers with 26 points but it was not enough as UVA is starting to look like a complete team playing defense and providing offense as they have quietly marched to the semifinals with a balanced attack led by Malik Thomas with 16 points on only ten shots. Quadir Copeland, who has been the engine for NC State struggled tonight going 3-10. Sam Lewis came up big hitting 4 of his 5 three-point attempts. UVA has quietly been in their lane improving each game showing signs of a team nobody wants to face. They will advance to the semi-final and face the winner of the Miami/Louisville game.
(2) #3 Miami 78 vs #6 Louisville 73
Ryan Cronwell led the way for NC State with 22 points and 9 rebounds, but it was not an efficient night to say the least as it took over 20 shot attempts to get there. Malik Reneau had 18 of his team’s high 24 points in the second half, to go along with the 6 rebounds and 3 steals to lead Miami to the victory. The teams matched up pretty even with the stats reflecting so however it was the live ball turnovers from Louisville that cost them 13 turnovers that produced 17 points while Miami had 8 creating 12 points. I am sure many plays could have gone the other way, in the quarterfinals of the ACC, your big-time players have to step up. Miami advances to play UVA in the semi-finals.
(3) #1 Duke 80 vs #8 FSU 79
Maybe up to this point the game of the tournament as both teams went back and forth with the arena packed with Carolina blue and Duke blue. Florida State had a chance to win the game on a buzzer-beating shot but fell short. Isaiah Evans didn’t see a three-pointer he led all scorers with 32 points on 7-16 from behind the arc. Cameron Boozer had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help Duke advance to the semifinal round. Duke dominated the glass, outrebounding FSU 46 to 25, which is a huge advantage along with the fact that FSU shot the ball better than Duke from the field, free-throw line, and the three-point line. Duke will await the winner of the North Carolina/Clemson game for a chance to compete for the ACC title.
(4) #4 UNC vs #5 Clemson
In a game where possibly both teams are in, they witnessed a crippled bluedevil team escape with a victory against Florida State, and just had to be chomping at the bit to advance. Well it looked like only one team go the message as North Carolina was led by Henri Vessar with a monster 28 point 17 rebound game however did not get any help until real late with Derek Dixon (16pts) and Vessar had 12 of the final 14 points for the Tarheels but feel short to Clemson as the well-oiled machine had six players in double figures and landed themselves a semifinal matchup against Duke for a chance to compete for an ACC championship. Nick Davidson had Tiger nation screaming his name all night going for a team high 17 points and 11 rebounds as Clemson looks to secure ACC glory for the first time in program history and they have been a chartered member since 1954.
