What a night of ACC basketball! It started with FSU laying an egg for 38 minutes and 48 seconds against FSU. FSU found themselves having scored just 37 points and down 9 points with just 1:12 remaining. Over the next 72 seconds, FSU mounted a comeback and Michael Snaer repeated his late game heriocs he showed at Duke to defeat Virginia Tech. Oh, speaking of Duke, the Blue Devils were down 20 points with 11:33 left on the clock to NC State, but things turned well before that.
Give me a moment to humbly brag, at halftime I posted the following on Twitter...
I believe I hit the nail on the head with this prediction. I didn't necessarily expect Duke to be called for just as many fouls early in the second half, but I did expect the Wolfpack's foul trouble to be a problem. What Duke did coming out of halftime is make it a game that the officlals had to call more closely. In doing so, it was clearly a huge advantage for Duke, and ultimately what got the Blue Devils back in the game.
The Blue Devils started to attack the rim without CJ Leslie and Richard Howell in the game. Getting to the rim led to layups and kick-outs for threes. Seth Curry played a big part in the comeback, scoring 26 points in the win.
With 25 seconds left, NC State got the ball down 3 but looked unprepared for the situation, settling for a contested 3 from the corner by Lorenzo Brown. Seth Curry gathered the rebound and ended it with two free throws on the other end.
After the Duke and FSU wins, there is once again a three-way tie for first place in the ACC. UNC, Duke, and FSU are all at 9-2 in the ACC, while NC State remains in 4th place despite the loss.