GREENSBORO N.C. State shut down Erick Green and Joe Harris to get to the semifinals of the ACC tournament.
Miami's Durand Scott proved more difficult to defend. Scott's career-best 32 points carried the top-seeded Hurricanes to a 81-71 win over N.C. State and into their first ACC championship game.
N.C. State, playing for the third time in as many days, started sluggish and fell behind by double-digits midway through the first half and stayed in a hole.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 3 North Carolina hosts Miami tonight at 9 p.m. at the Smith Center.
While we wait (and wait) for the late tip, consider these three things to watch:
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Roy Williams on Sunday began watching film of Miami, which visits the Smith Center on Tuesday night. And the thing that stood out most to Williams? The Hurricanes’ guards.
Particularly, the starting backcourt duo of Durand Scott, a junior, and Malcolm Grant, a senior.
“I think that they set the tone for everything,” Williams said.
The Picks
Part I: Duke, VT, Md, FSU
Part II: UNC, Clemson, GT, Miami
Part III: State, UVa, BC, Wake
2009-10 record: 20-16 overall, 5-11 ACC (11th)
Postseason: NIT (1-1, lost to UAB)
Projected starting lineup: G Javier Gonzalez, G Lorenzo Brown, F C.J. Leslie, F Tracy Smith, F Rich Howell
Part I: Duke, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Maryland
Part II: UNC, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami
Part III: N.C. State, Virginia, Boston College, Wake Forest
2009-10 record: 20-17 overall, 5-11 ACC (10th)
Postseason: NIT (4-1, lost to Dayton)
Projected starting lineup: G Larry Drew II, G Reggie Bullock, F Harrison Barnes, F John Henson, F Tyler Zeller
GREENSBORO -- Duke can thank Miami for a very valuable object lesson in tournament play. Mired in a first half of sluggish offense, surprisingly slack defense and obsessed with the officiating, the Blue Devils were doing just about everything in their power to keep the Hurricanes in the game.
So what’s there for Duke to thank Miami about after the 77-74 semifinal win? The Hurricanes’ first-half prowess gave Duke a chance to hone its halftime adjustments, and the Blue Devils showed some real aptitude for tweaking their system. The results were spectacular.
