ACC Tournament: Quarterfinal Recap and Semifinal Preview

The top four teams in the conference played their first games in this year's ACC Tournament as the quarterfinal round took place in Greensboro. Would any of the top seeds go home after a short stay in NC? Find out with OFD's recap, and look ahead to the semifinals.

#1 Virginia 58, #9 Florida State 44

Top seeded Virginia showed off their trademark defense in their lopsided win in first the game of the day. The Cavaliers held Florida State to just 15-46 shooting (32.6%) from the field, and just 3-17 (17.6%) from deep. Day two standout Xavier Rathan-Mayes was kept in check by the Virginia defense as he was limited to just 13 points on 18 shots and a 1-8 line from beyond the arc. The Hoos didn't have any real offensive standouts, but Evan Nolte led the way with 11 points. Justin Anderson returned from injury, although he played limited minutes and failed to score. With the win, Virginia advances to the semifinals, and will play at 7:00 ET tonight.

#5 North Carolina 70, #4 Louisville 60

Kennedy Meeks was back for UNC as they topped Louisville in the most anticipated game of the day. Louisville struggled from behind the arc (4-22), but inexplicably kept jacking up threes as UNC managed to pull away down the stretch. Louisville actually led 57-56 with just under 7:30 to go before going on a five minute scoring drought. By the time they got out of the funk, the Heels were in control. Brice Johnson led the way for Carolina with a 22 point, 7 rebound performance. Rozier was the top scorer for Louisville with 20 points, but he needed 20 shots to reach that mark. Rozier was also just 1-8 from deep, which included five misses in the second half. Louisville's poor shooting may have been due to the terrible Adidas volleyball uniforms the Cards were wearing (thank you Under Armor). Carolina will try to continue their run against top seeded Virginia in the first semifinal.

#2 Duke 77, #7 NC State 53

Duke put on an absolute clinic against the Wolfpack in the first game of the evening session. Duke led by 15 at the halfway mark of the first half, and kept their foot on the gas the rest of the way. By the end of the first half, Duke led by 27, and the Pack were reeling. Anthony "Cat" Barber, coming off a 34 point night against Pitt, was held scoreless on 0-7 shooting. To add injury to insult, Barber left the game after running straight into a hard Amile Jefferson screen and did not return. Six Duke players reached double figures including Marshall Plumlee getting 12 points off the bench. The win moves Duke onto the second semifinal tonight.

#3 Notre Dame 70, #6 Miami 63

The less said about that second half, the better. The Irish looked as good as they've have all season in the first half, and were that bad in the second. Thge Irish didn't make a FG in the first 12:00 of the second half, and let an 18 point lead completely evaporate. Thankfully, the Irish were able to get just enough buckets to hold off Miami down the stretch with some clutch buckets by Steve Vasturia and Demetrius Jackson. Alstein has a full recap of the Irish game here. The win sets up a rubber match with Duke in the second semifinal.

Semifinal Matchups

#1 Virginia vs. #5 North Carolina - 7:00 ET ESPN

The fist semifinal tomorrow night looks to be a good one as the Heels take on the Hoos. Virginia beat UNC 75-64 at the Dean Dome in the regular season in a game where Justin Anderson (16 pts, 7 assists) came up huge. Anderson returned to the lineup for UVA yesterday, but he played limited minutes, and the guard wasn't his usual self. Kennedy Meeks returned from illness for Carolina, and had a solid 9 points in 19 minutes. With Anderson less than 100%, I like the Heels to pull the upset, and lock up a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Prediction: North Carolina 71,  Virginia 66

#2 Duke v. #3 Notre Dame   - 9:30 ET ESPN

Like yesterday, we'll have a full preview of this one later in the day. I was prepared to pick ND to pull the upset after watching the first half of the ND game last night, and am now convinced they'll lose by 20 after watching the second. Duke, on the other hand, held onto their large halftime lead, and have looked unstoppable toward the end of the season. Before the tournament started, I thought ND would lose a close one to the Dukies. After watching each team play one game, I'm going to stick with it.

Prediction: Duke 81, Notre Dame 75