GREENSBORO -- With 295 pounds of Winston-Salem muscle pounding the glass, 12th-seeded Miami is still alive.

Four years ago in Greensboro, Wake Forest went from last place to the ACC semifinals, but it’s hard to believe it could happen again, particularly given the Hurricanes didn’t win a road game in the league. Yet there they are, playing Duke in Saturday’s early semifinal.

GREENSBORO -- After North Carolina and Wake Forest choked Thursday, N.C. State held on to salvage some of the in-state interest (along with Duke) for the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament.

One of the best days of the ACC basketball season happens on the eve of the ACC tournament.

That's when teams hold a one-hour shootaround practice at the tournament site that's free and open to the media and the public. It's a good chance for fans who can't get seats for the games to see the players and coaches in a relaxed environment. Duke and North Carolina are the only teams that aren't participating in the open practices this year.

Here's the schedule for Wednesday's open practices at the Greensboro Coliseum:

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech's win over N.C. State on Wednesday was as easy as 1-2-3.

Malcolm Delaney's three consecutive 3-pointers, after N.C. State cut a
10-point lead to a basket, lifted the Hokies to a 71-59 win over the
Wolfpack for their ninth ACC victory of the season.

DURHAM - Duke junior guard Nolan Smith didn’t even try to conceal his excitement.

A steady stream of missed Duke jump shots had allowed a gritty Virginia
Tech team to stay with the Blue Devils and even briefly lead in the
second half Sunday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

But sixth-ranked Duke got hot just in time to post its eighth
consecutive ACC win by a 67-55 score over the Hokies. As the Blue
Devils increased their advantage, Smith held the ball with the shot
clock running down, then passed to Jon Scheyer on the wing.

DURHAM - On the few occasions when Duke has struggled this season, a couple of deficiencies have been to blame.

In a key ACC game at 7:45 p.m. Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Virginia Tech (21-4, 8-3 ACC) appears to have the talent to take advantage of both of Duke's problem areas. No. 6-ranked Duke (22-4, 10-2) will try to extend its lead atop the ACC standings over the Hokies and Maryland, which are tied for second place in the conference.

Duke still is trying to build a consistent winner on the field after two seasons under David Cutcliffe, but there's no doubt the Blue Devils remain strong in the classroom.

With 11 selections, Duke leads all ACC schools in players named to the ACC All-Academic Team, which was announced Wednesday morning. Linebacker Vincent Rey and wide receiver Johnny Williams were some of the on-field standouts selected. Over the last five seasons the Blue Devils lead the ACC with 33 ACC All-Academic honorees.

N.C. State's three All-Academic selections included quarterback Russell Wilson, who led the ACC with 31 touchdown passes last season. North Carolina and Wake Forest each had one All-Academic selection.

ESPN “bracketologist” Joe Lunardi is extremely good at what he does.

When he projected earlier this week that based on their accomplishments as of Monday seven ACC teams would make the NCAA Tournament, he probably was right. Lunardi has a good handle on what other teams are doing throughout the nation and how they might fit into 65 slots.

Still, it’s easy to look at that projection and think, “No way.”

RALEIGH -- N.C. State ended Wednesday alone in last place in the ACC and in search of answers.

Virginia Tech embarrassed the Wolfpack, from start to finish, for an easy 72-52 win to drop the Pack to 2-8 in the conference.

The ACC released the football schedule today with UNC-LSU and Virginia Tech-Boise State headlining the opening Labor Day weekend.

Thursday, Sept. 2
Florida A&M at Miami
Presbyterian at Wake Forest