ACC Roundup – Weak Forest Returns, Cal, Stanford Win

DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 28: SMU Mustangs guard Kevin "Boopie" Miller (#2) drives toward the basket during the college basketball game between the SMU Mustangs and the Cal State Fullerton Titans on December 28, 2025, at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Boston College nipped Wake Forest, 68-67, Stanford took down Pitt, 75-67, and Cal surprised SMU, 73-69.

Boston College led Wake Forest for much of the game and was up 64-56 with 1:42 left. Juke Harris hit a pair of threes, with the last coming with 18.8 left and giving the Deacs a 67-66 lead. Boston College got a tip-in with 0.5 left to play.

Too bad for Harris, who had a tremendous game with 38 points. No one else got to double figures though and the other three starters

together scored just 20 points and the bench managed just 9.

Fred Payne continues to play well for BC, racking up 23. Boden Kapke had 13, which underscores the danger Wake faces with a weak post game.

More good news for BC: Donald Hand played, coming off the bench for 9 minutes and 5 points. Even more good news: an eight-game losing streak is history.

Pitt limited Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie to 6 first-half points, but Stanford’s star freshman racked up 28 in the second to lead the Cardinal to victory.

Okorie finished 11-19 and hit 9-9 from the line.

Cam Corhen had a really nice game for Pitt with 22 points and 8 rebounds.

Pitt played pretty well but had 13 turnovers that translated into 19 Stanford points. It’s just another tough loss for the Panthers, as Pitt, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame all struggle to make the ACC Tournament.

That’s not a concern for either Cal or SMU. They both still have a solid shot at the NCAA tournament. Cal moved to 20-8 with the win over the Mustangs Tuesday night.

Remember that Justin Pippen left Michigan because he couldn’t get on the court? It looks like a great decision now. He led Cal with 24 points.

Not that it was easy. This was a tight game until Cal got some second-half separation with a 10-2 run. But wait – Corey Washington had a personal 9-point run and SMU took the lead again. But Cal made the better plays down the stretch, including 6 free throws and a Pippen bucket to secure the win.

More good news for Cal: Lee Dort, who missed about a month, is back. That’s great for the Bears down the stretch. And the stretch run is pretty good for Cal as they play Pitt at home, then go to Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Win those and they have 23 wins and a decent chance at 25 before the tournament is seeded.

It’s not so sunny for SMU as the Mustangs go to Stanford, then host Miami and finish at Florida State. All three of those games are going to be dangerous.

No games until Saturday, when the best of the lot should be Virginia’s visit to Cameron, but Louisville at Clemson has potential too.

ACC Standings