2020 ACC tournament live updates, scores, printable bracket and TV information
The ACC tournament got underway Tuesday at the Greensboro Coliseum, and we’re there all week covering the action.
The combined sports staffs of The Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer have nine journalists covering the games in Greensboro, and we’ll be providing live coverage throughout the week. You can find every score, news item and the updated bracket here throughout the tournament. This story will be continuously updated.
All remaining games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN 2, or you can stream them via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.
What’s the ACC tournament doing about COVID-19?
The ACC will close the remainder of its men’s basketball tournament to spectators, beginning with Thursday’s quarterfinals, ensuring that games will be played in a mostly empty Greensboro Coliseum amid the emerging threat of the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.
The decision to close the tournament to fans, announced Wednesday night, came hours after the NCAA announced that its men’s and women’s tournaments would also be played without spectators, and with “only essential staff and limited family” in attendance. Those tournaments begin next week, and the Greensboro Coliseum is a first- and second-round site in the men’s tournament.
You can read more about what the coronavirus has meant for the ACC tournament and its players and coaches here.
ACC tournament scores
Tuesday: First round
(13) Pitt 81, (12) Wake Forest 72: No. 13 Pitt moved on and will face No. 5 N.C. State at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Panthers beat Wake Forest 81-72 in the first game of the tournament Tuesday. Pitt, coached by former Duke player and associate head coach Jeff Capel, was down by 1 at the half. Justin Champagnie, a Panthers’ 6-6 freshman guard/forward, finished with 31 points, including three 3s, and 6 rebounds.
After having a stellar first half with 16 points, Wake’s Isaiah Mucius had one point the rest of the game. Deacs starting center Olivier Sarr had 20 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.
(14) North Carolina 78, (11) Virginia Tech 56: No. 14-seeded UNC (14-18) beat No. 11-seeded Virginia Tech in the first round of the ACC tournament 78-56, in front of a pro-UNC crowd at Greensboro Coliseum.
The Tar Heels used their size advantage to dominate the Hokies on the offensive glass, and in the paint.
UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks, who has scored 20 points in each of the last seven games, could not be stopped in the post. He finished with 20 points and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
Wednesday: Second round
(8) Clemson 69, (9) Miami 64: Clemson survived, somehow, some way.
What went wrong? Coach Brad Brownell and his staff will worry about that in film session as they prepare for their next game. For now, thank goodness, there is a next round to worry about.
The Tigers advanced to the ACC tournament quarterfinals with a 69-64 win over Miami on Wednesday. With the win, Clemson will take on No. 1 Florida State at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. The No. 8 Tigers will have the attention of the Seminoles this time. On Feb. 29, Clemson upset FSU, then ranked No. 6 in the country, 70-69.
(5) N.C. State 73, Pitt 58: N.C. State handled the “don’t mess it up” portion of the ACC tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
Now comes the “how good do you want to feel on Selection Sunday?” part.
Junior guard Devon Daniels scored 23 points to lead the Wolfpack to a 73-58 win over Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC tournament.
(7) Notre Dame 80, (10) Boston College 58: FINAL
(6)Syracuse 81, North Carolina 53: North Carolina is out of the ACC tournament and its season is over.
Syracuse dominated UNC in the second round at Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday night. The Orange took a 21-point lead into halftime and never looked back, winning 81-53.
“First time in my life I felt kind of helpless,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “I’ve lost before. Jiminy Christmas, we’ve had great teams that have lost before. But tonight wasn’t much fun.”
Syracuse guard Elijah Hughes scored 27 points. UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks had 18 points.
ACC tournament schedule and bracket
First round — Tuesday, March 10
Game 1: No. 13 Pittsburgh 81, No. 12 Wake Forest 72
Game 2: No. 14 UNC 78, No. 11 Virginia Tech
Second round — Wednesday, March 11
Game 3: No. 8 Clemson 69, No. 9 Miami 64
Game 4: No. 5 NC State 73, Pitt 58
Game 5: No. 7 Notre Dame 80, No. 10 Boston College 58
Game 6: No. 6 Syracuse 81, UNC 53
Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 12
Game 7: Clemson vs. No. 1 Florida State (26-5, 16-4), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Game 8: N.C. State vs. No. 4 Duke (25-6, 15-5), 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 9: Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Virginia (23-7, 15-5), 7 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Game 10: No. 6 Syracuse vs. No. 3 Louisville (24-7, 15-5), 9 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Semifinals — Friday, March 13
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Championship — Saturday, March 14
Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Printable ACC tournament bracket
Must-read ACC tournament stories
+ Randolph Childress set the ACC on fire 25 years ago — and his shoulder is still sore: Sometimes it does not feel like it has been so long ago, Randolph Childress said. But flecks of gray highlight his short beard and his son is about to graduate from college. He’s recovering from shoulder surgery that has him feeling his age.
Now an assistant basketball coach at Wake Forest, where he played from 1991-95, Childress said his arm would be in a sling Tuesday on the Demon Deacons’ bench, which reminded him of another shoulder injury he suffered long ago, one that didn’t slow him down.
+ The ACC tournament was made for us. It’s leaving a Coliseum-sized hole in North Carolina: For many a March, there was one uniting factor during the ACC tournament. When it is held at the Greensboro Coliseum, fans of the “Big Four” can safely use “ours.”
The ACC tournament returns to the Coliseum for the 27th time this week for the men’s tournament after a four-year break with stops in Brooklyn, Washington and Charlotte.
It’s probably not the final time Greensboro will host the event but it does have the feel of a “last hurrah” which has even the most important people in ACC basketball feeling wistful.
+ Why a miracle run by the UNC Tar Heels could decide the future of the ACC tournament: A season that started with Roy Williams breaking one of Dean Smith’s traditions is approaching an end with Williams breaking one of his own. There aren’t many firsts when it comes to the ACC tournament and Greensboro Coliseum, but North Carolina practicing in the building Monday instead of on campus is definitely one.
+ NC State in a familiar spot hoping for a different ending: N.C. State, the No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament, will play either No. 12 Wake Forest or No. 13 Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday in Greensboro.
It’s familiar territory for the Wolfpack, who has spent so much time on the bubble in the past decade it has to start paying rent. Last year, N.C. State’s bubble burst on Selection Sunday. It was passed over for a lack of quality wins and a poor nonconference strength of schedule.
+ NC State’s NCAA tournament fate is in Markell Johnson’s hands. Can he deliver? Markell Johnson threw in a shot from just short of half court at the beginning of N.C. State’s practice Tuesday, not the first time this season at the Greensboro Coliseum he’s connected from international waters. If the Wolfpack was looking for a good omen heading into the ACC tournament, that might be it.
It’s too simplistic to say that as Johnson goes, so goes the Wolfpack, but it’s also not too far off.
+ Due to coronavirus, Ohio gov. wants no fans at indoor games - including NCAA’s First Four: According to WKYC, Ohio governor Mike DeWine has recommended that no indoor sports, at any level, be played with spectators due to the spreading threat of the coronavirus. Could this affect NC State or NC Central if they land in Dayton?
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 5:38 PM.