After a hectic Tuesday of upsets (and burst bubbles for Stanford and Virginia Tech), I’m back inside the Spectrum Center for another busy day of hoops at the 73rd iteration of the ACC Tournament.
Stay tuned to Streaking the Lawn throughout the day, as I’m on the ground here in Charlotte providing live updates and analysis on X (@corbinlathrop) and here in this running journal.
12:00 PM EST: Game one of the day carries a lot
of importance for the Virginia Cavaliers, which will take on the winner of seventh-seeded NC State and fifteenth-seeded Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals on Thursday at noon.
The Panthers got their tournament underway with a 64-63 upset of NCAA Tournament hopeful Stanford in the opening game of Tuesday’s session. In a back-and-forth contest that featured 11 lead changes, it was Pittsburgh’s balanced offensive attack that came out on top over the Cardinal’s First-Team All-ACC point guard Ebuka Okorie.
Meanwhile, NC State will need to snap its four-game losing streak to earn a trip to Thursday’s quarters. Beginning with a 29-point loss in Charlottesville on February 24th, it’s been over three weeks since the Wolfpack’s last win, a concerning trend that has begun to put their NCAA Tournament status in some doubt. Though Will Wade’s squad is on the right side of the bubble for now, a bad loss to Pitt would have NC State sweating it out until Selection Sunday.
