ACC Tournament 2018: Intriguing rematches rule the day in the quarterfinals

The ACC tournament quarterfinals kick off at noon E.T. today, and basketball fans are in for another day of exciting action. Three of Wednesday’s games featured what appeared to be easy blowout wins that turned into huge comebacks. Louisville held off a late rally from Florida State, Boston College led by as many as 17 before NC State charged back to tie the game five separate times (but couldn’t take the lead), and Virginia Tech suffered an epic collapse that saw a 21 point lead over Notre Dame turn into a six point final deficit.

Only the North Carolina Tar Heels won easily, taking down bubble hopeful Syracuse, 78-59. The Tar Heels were the only higher-seeded team to win their game.

Today, the action continues, and there are some great storylines to follow. Be sure to check out the schedule and full bracket here.

The first game features No. 1 Virginia against bubble resident Louisville. The Cards definitely helped their cause yesterday with their win over Florida State, but a victory over the tournament’s top seed and unanimous No. 1 team in the country would solidify their spot in the NCAA tournament.

Louisville almost got it done exactly one week ago, but Virginia pulled off an unbelievable comeback from down four with .9 seconds left. DeAndre Hunter banked in a three at the buzzer to seal the heartbreaking Senior Day in Louisville. The Cards shot over 50% against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville in their first matchup of the season, but the Hoos shot 54% and won by 10.

The Cards will be fired up at a third attempt to take down Goliath, and they have the shooters to get it done.

Tonight, the Tar Heels will have a chance to avenge their own Senior Day buzzer-beating loss last week, taking on Miami in the final game of the evening. Ja’Quan Newton capped of a back and forth affair in Chapel Hill on February 28th, burying a three pointer from just inside mid-court to break an 88-all tie. The final series was reminiscent of UNC’s loss to Villanova in the 2016 NCAA championship, with Joel Berry II hitting a game-tying three with four seconds left on the clock before Newton’s game winner.

Miami will have the benefit of the double-bye, but the Tar Heels will be itching for a chance to potentially get a third meeting with rival Duke in the semifinals.

When the Blue Devils and Fighting Irish met in the regular season at Cameron Indoor, Duke came away with an easy 88-66 win. That game featured the Cameron Crazies chanting “N-I-T” at the visiting squad, taunting their struggling record. ND head coach Mike Brey would have taken it at the time saying, “My mindset is, ‘Thanks for the compliment. Where do I sign? I’ll take that. That’s not a negative at all right now.’”

That late January game did not feature either Bonzie Colson - the ACC Preseason Player of the Year - or ND guard Matt Farrell, both of whom were out with injuries. Now, they’re both back and ready to take on the Blue Devils again.

Bonzie Colson vs. Marvin Bagley III? Sign me up.

Not many people would have thought the Eagles would still be playing come the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Well, the dynamic duo of Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson have BC in a position to advance even further.

Bowman has combined to score 50 points in BC’s first two games of the tournament, and Robinson had 45.

Robinson can also do this:

Clemson won the only matchup with the Eagles this season, 74-70, in Chesnut Hill, MA. The Tigers got 23 points and 14 rebounds from Donte Grantham in that game, and he won’t be playing today thanks to a season-ending injury back in late January.

This game will be sneaky good.