Updated 6:37 p.m.

RALEIGH —N.C. State's eventful 76-62 loss to Florida State on Saturday featured three technical fouls, two Wolfpack legends getting "ejected" by a referee and one disheartened coach.

After all of the hullabaloo, N.C. State's NCAA tournament chances were reduced and the Wolfpack was searching for answers for what went wrong in such a big game.

Maybe Wolfpack senior C.J. Williams put the wild afternoon at the RBC Center best: "We just didn't have it."

After Florida State’s Michael Snaer hit his game-winning 3-pointer, Austin Rivers crumpled onto the Cameron Indoor Stadium court. Seconds earlier, it looked like he’d hit the shot that would send Saturday’s game between the Seminoles and the Blue Devils into overtime.

Instead, Snaer’s shot ended Duke’s 45-game home winning streak and left Rivers feeling worse for wear.

As the drama of the game subsides, here are three things to take from the Blue Devils’ loss:

Updated 7:54 p.m.

DURHAM -- In the dying seconds of Duke’s 76-73 loss to Florida State on Saturday, Austin Rivers drove to the basket on an isolation play and made one the biggest baskets of his fledgling college career to tie the score.

The Duke freshman had the chance to enjoy his heroics for all of 4.9 seconds.

“You hit a shot like that, and then …” Rivers said, reminiscing for a sweet half-second before catching himself.

“Someone got open.”

Michael Snaer was that someone.

After LSU's 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS title game Monday night, Tigers coach Les Miles stopped short of asking AP voters for a split national title. Even he knew it was a lost cause after his team's uninspired performance against the Crimson Tide.

Alabama, with the first shutout in a title game (BCS, de facto or otherwise) in 20 years, left no room for doubt Monday night in the Superdome — despite a 9-6 regular-season loss to LSU — that it was the better team. And that's why I voted the Crimson Tide No. 1 in my final AP ballot of the 2011 season.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On the same day Florida State honored three of its great teams from the early 1990s, the Seminoles turned back the clock in a dominating 34-0 win over N.C. State at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Quarterback E.J. Manuel channeled his inner Charlie Ward and the Seminoles' defense swarmed like they used to in the glory days.

CHARLOTTE – North Carolina received 57 of a possible 59 first-place votes to finish atop the ACC media poll released Wednesday at the conference’s Operation Basketball media event.

The Tar Heels return all five starters, including preseason ACC player of the year selection Harrison Barnes, from a team that finished 29-8, reached an NCAA regional final and won first place in the ACC with a 14-2 conference record last season.

Duke was picked second in the poll, followed by Florida State, Virginia, Miami, Virginia Tech and Clemson. N.C. State was selected to finish eighth, with Maryland, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Boston College closing out the poll.

CHARLOTTE — For the last two seasons, Florida State has finished runner-up to the runner-up in ACC basketball, behind at least one team from North Carolina. Most folks don’t predict much different this season – except the Seminoles, themselves.

“I see us on top,’’ Seminoles forward Bernard James said today at the ACC's Operation Basketball.

DURHAM – Florida State played its role.

The Seminoles arrived at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday and produced their trademark speed, overwhelming a prepared yet over-matched Duke football team. They were precise and steadfast in a 41-16 victory, snapping the Blue Devils’ three-game winning streak and ending their own three-game slide.

WINSTON-SALEM – A season ago, the Wake Forest defense folded like origami when pressed by aggressive ACC offenses.

“This ain’t the same defense,” said Wake Forest senior defensive end Kyle Wilber, whose team isn’t playing anything like the 2010 Demon Deacons team that finished 3-9, won just one ACC contest and were throttled 31-0 by Florida State.

These Deacs (4-1, 3-0 ACC) forced five turnovers – four interceptions – posted two sacks and recorded a safety in a 35-30 victory over the No. 23-ranked Seminoles on Saturday before an announced crowd of 33,116 at BB&T Field.

Wake, which had started 2-0 seven times in the conference’s 58-year history, starts 3-0 in the ACC for the first time ever.

You don't have to look far to find ACC talent in the NFL.

Every team in the league has at least three players from ACC schools and the conference has a total 249 players in the league as the season begins tonight in Green Bay.

Despite a recent downturn on the field, Miami leads the ACC with NFL players with 44. For the first time since expansion, Maryland takes over the second spot with 28, edging Florida State, which is down to 25 from an ACC-best 46 in 2006, and North Carolina (24).