Lorenzo Brown’s most memorable shot of this season probably was one he didn’t make. The N.C. State guard’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim in a one-point loss to Virginia on Jan. 28, which ultimately put the Wolfpack on the NCAA tournament bubble.
But now Brown, a Centennial High graduate, and the Wolfpack have a shot at a little redemption, after dispatching of Boston College to earn a spot in Friday’s ACC tournament quarterfinals against Virginia.
They keep their NCAA chances alive for another day, and even better for Brown? He’s doing it with a little home cooking.
The ACC tournament is back in Atlanta for the first time in three years, and the first time at Philips Arena, where the Wolfpack cozied up to the new atmosphere with a 78-57 win over No. 12-seed Boston College, setting up a little intrigue for Friday.
They wasn’t much of it otherwise in the early sessions Thursday when both No. 5 N.C. State and No. 8 Maryland coasted to draw No. 4-seed Virginia and No. 1-seed North Carolina, respectively, in the quarterfinals Friday.
Only when 10th-seed Virginia Tech knocked off No. 7 Clemson on Thursday night did the tournament have its first upset and another interesting matchup for Friday. The Hokies advanced with a 68-63 win to face No. 2 seed Duke, a team it took to overtime in a loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 25.
Duke might have fallen victim to tired legs in that game, playing less than 48 hours after traveling to Florida State. This time it’ll be the Hokies with the greater concern after Duke got a first-round bye.
But the Hokies have some rare momentum. After taking so many close losses this season, five of their 12 in ACC play came by three points or fewer, they finished this time. They built a nine-point lead on back-to-back 3-pointers and a flagrant-foul call on Clemson and held on by making four of four free throws in the final 20 seconds.
“The last time [against Duke] it came down to the buzzer, so we’re very confident,” Virginia Tech guard Erick Green said. “We’re going to go in there with the mentality to win. We can do it. We’ve just got to play hard for 40 minutes like we did tonight and do the little things so we can finish. That’s the key word right now is finish.”
Alpharetta’s Tanner Smith had to endure a different kind of finish, ending his Clemson career with 12 points in the loss.
In the nightcap, No. 6 seed Miami rose above the mire of a defensive struggle with No. 11 Georgia Tech to earn a quarterfinal berth against in-state rival Florida State, the No. 3 seed. The Hurricanes capped a 54-36 win with an alley-oop dunk by Rion Brown from Durand Scott on an out-of-bounds play drawn up by first-year coach Jim Larranaga. He now advances to his first quarterfinal ACC tournament game since he was an assistant coach at Virginia in 1985.
The Hurricanes split two meetings with FSU this season and won the last 78-62, perhaps catching the Seminoles on a down note after their loss to Duke.
For N.C. State, Brown scored 12 points, one of four Wolfpack players in double-figures, but he was only one with a mother planning to take some lasagna over to his hotel room. Kim Banks could help him carbo-load, and Brown could concentrate on Virginia.
“The last game was a tough loss for us,” Brown said. “But I think we’re going to come in here with a different attitude and play our hearts out.”
Virginia will attempt its own version of Georgia Tech’s “Thin Gold Line,” the 1985 team that won the ACC tournament with a six-man rotation. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers are down to seven players, with one substitute on the perimeter and one in the post. Earlier this week, Virginia suspended 7-footer Assane Sene for the rest of the season and had former GAC standout Malcolm Brogdon undergo surgery for a season-ending foot injury.
Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin did some personal campaigning while kicking off the tournament with a 25-point effort. He had the biggest ACC tournament output of any Terrapin since John Gilchrist scored 26 on Duke for the 2004 title.
Stoglin averaged 21.2 points in the regular season to lead the ACC in scoring, but he was left off the first-team all ACC. The second-teamer became the first ACC leading scorer not to crack the first team since Clemson’s Terrell McIntyre in 1999. It bothered him.
“I’m always going to have a chip on my shoulder,” Stoglin said. “Once the voting came out, I had more of a chip.”
He was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, made all six of his free throws and added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Better yet, he spend the final six minutes on the bench with a towel on his neck, resting for Friday.
Then he’ll have a chance for an even bigger statement against North Carolina’s three All-ACC first-teamers, Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes, at noon.
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