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Live Blog: Duke vs. Notre Dame in #ACCTourney title game

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accAFP editor Chris Graham leads our live blog during the 2017 #ACCTourney title game pitting Duke vs. Notre Dame.

 

Notre Dame: How They Got Here

Quarterfinal: Notre Dame 71, UVA 58 Notre Dame raced out to a 10-point lead in the opening six minutes and never looked back in a 71-58 win over UVA in the 2017 ACC Tournament on Thursday.

The Cavs (22-10, 12-8 ACC) managed to cut the deficit to six, at 32-26, at the half, but the Irish (24-8, 13-6 ACC) opened the second half on a 9-0 run to go up 15, and Virginia wouldn’t get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Notre Dame sliced and diced an uncharacteristically porous Cavs defense all night long, shooting 52.2 percent from the floor (24-of-46), doing the most damage in the lane.

The Irish were 15-of-18 on shots at the rim – layups and dunks.

 

Semifinal: Notre Dame 77, Florida State 73 Notre Dame was bombs-away at the Barclays Center, hitting 13-of-27 from long-range in a 77-73 win over Florida State in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Friday night.

The Irish (25-8, 14-6 ACC) led 42-26 at the half, and held a double-digit lead most of the way. Florida State (25-8, 13-7 ACC) made it interesting in the closing moments, twice having chances after Notre Dame missed the front ends of one-and-ones to make it a single-possession game in the final minute, but missing on both opportunities.

A night after shooting 52 percent in a win over Virginia, the nation’s best defensive team, the Irish shot 47.5 percent against the Seminoles, doing most of their damage from the three-point arc.

The bigger, more physical ‘Noles dominated the paint, outscoring Notre Dame in the lane 42-24, and winning the rebounding battle 41-23.

But despite shooting 50.7 percent from the field, FSU could not overcome its own sloppiness, committing 18 turnovers.

 

Duke: How They Got Here

Second Round: Duke 79, Clemson 72 Duke took control with a 16-4 second-half run, then fought to hold off Clemson to win 79-72 in the second round of the 2017 ACC Tournament on Wednesday.

The game was tied at 33 at the half. The fifth-seeded Blue Devils (24-8, 12-7 ACC) opened the second half hitting 12 of their first 20 shots from the field to lead by as many as 13 with 8:28 to go.

Clemson (17-15, 7-13 ACC) rallied in the final minutes, cutting the deficit to one, at 69-68, on an and-one by Marcquise Reed with 2:51 left.

A pair of jumpers by Luke Kennard, who was 8-of-11 from the field in the second half, after connecting on just 1-of-9 in the first half, were key down the stretch for Duke, which went 6-of-8 at the line in the final 1:51 to close it out.

 

Quarterfinal: Duke 81, Louisville 77 Duke rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to stun Louisville, 81-77, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

Louisville (24-8, 12-7 ACC) led 61-49 with 13:07 left, but a 15-3 Duke run over the next 4:38 brought the Blue Devils (25-8, 13-7 ACC) back to even at 64-64 on a three-point jumper by Luke Kennard with 8:29 to go.

Another Kennard three, with 4:52 to go, put Duke on top, 73-70, the prelude to a wild final couple of minutes in a raucous Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which came alive for the first time in its debut week hosting the ACC postseason.

 

Semifinal: Duke 93, UNC 83 Duke rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit, aided by North Carolina foul trouble, defeating the Tar Heels, 93-83, in the ACC Tournament semifinals Friday in Brooklyn.

UNC (27-7, 15-5 ACC) led 61-48 on a Kennedy Meeks layup with 13:53 to go, but point guard Joel Berry II was already on the bench with his fourth foul, picked up at the 15:04 mark.

With Berry out, the Carolina offense struggled, and Duke (26-8, 13-7 ACC) took advantage, with a 20-4 run over a 6:19 stretch that put the Blue Devils up three, at 68-65, on a Luke Kennard jumper with 8:24 to go.

An 11-2 Duke run over another 3:58 stretch broke a 70-70 tie and gave the Blue Devils control, with a Jayson Tatum dunk at the 2:31 mark putting Duke up nine, 81-72.

UNC would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.