ACC Roundup – Pitt Nearly Pulled Off A Miracle Comeback Against FSU

Jan 24, 2026; Syracuse, New York, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Jai Lucas reacts during the second half against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Miami beat SMU, 77-69; Cal took care of Ge

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What is the story about?

In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Miami beat SMU, 77-69; Cal took care of Georgia Tech, 76-65; Stanford polished off Notre Dame, 86-78; and Florida State survived a tremendous Pitt comeback, 75-74.

Pitt was down 54-30 with 18:06 to play in the game, and, well, maybe Pitt figured it’s Senior Night, let’s go out with a bang.

They damn near pulled it off.

Pitt cut the lead to 73-71 with 0:11 to play. The Panthers fouled Robert McCray, who hit both to put FSU up 75-71.

Then Pitt’s Damarco Minor sprinted downcourt

and hit a long three to make it 75-74. It wasn’t quite enough to get it done, but kudos to Pitt for a spectacular comeback.

Chauncey Wiggins and Lajae Jones had 18 each, while McCray had 14. Barry Dunning had 25 for Pitt. Cam Corhen had 14 while Minor finished with 10.

It’s not a big surprise that Miami took care of SMU. Betting on defense is usually a good way to go, and Miami’s defense is really good. Ernest Udeh is a minimal offensive presence, but he’s been killing it on D, and he did it again here. He also had 8 points and 10 boards. Very useful.

Miami won with relative ease despite an off-night from Malik Reneau, who shot just 4-14/2-3.

Tre Donaldson had 17 and Tru Washington had 15 off the bench. On top of that, Noam Dovrat, who has come on nicely lately, had 12, shooting 4-5, all threes.

Jaron Pierre had 27 points for SMU, while Boopie Miller chipped in 21.

With the win, Miami is guaranteed the #3 seed in Charlotte and a double bye.

Senior night didn’t go well in Hotlanta, as the Yellow Jackets lost their 11th game in a row. It’s hard to understand how Baye Ndongo has regressed so far. Is he injured? By rights, he should have gotten the better of Lee Dort, but he didn’t: Dort shot 8-11 for 16 points and had 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Ndongo had 8 points, 6 rebounds…and 7 turnovers. We thought he had a shot at being special. Looking doubtful at this point, at least in Atlanta.

It’s a big win for Cal. If they had lost, it would have been devastating for their NCAA hopes.

Finally, in South Bend, Stanford took care of a stubborn Notre Dame team, 86-78. Stanford was the better team, but the Irish didn’t give up and were just three points down twice in the last two minutes.

Ebuka Okorie had 24 points and Jeremy Dent-Smith had 21.

Cole Certa has really come on for Notre Dame, and he had 17 here. Jalen Haralson had 19 while Braeden Shrewsberry bagged 14.

There are just nine games left in the season, all on Saturday. Duke and UNC will be the highlight, but Virginia Tech’s visits to Virginia should be fun, Louisville at Miami could be a thrill ride, and SMU needs a win but has to get it at the expense of a vastly improved Florida State. More on all that later.

It looks like the top 5 seeds for the ACC Tournament are set:

#1 – Duke
#2 – Virginia
#3 – Miami
#4 – UNC
#5 – Clemson

The rest, we think, could still change, but for now:

#7 – NC State
#8 – Florida State
#9 – Cal
#10-#12 – SMU, Virginia Tech and Stanford
#13-#14 – Syracuse and Wake Forest
#15 – Notre Dame or Pitt

State really needs to beat Stanford, and if form holds and Miami beats Louisville, State will get the #6 seed.

It’d be great for Jeff Capel if Pitt got the 15 seed, but the Panthers get Syracuse while Notre Dame plays BC. The Irish have a much better shot of winning than Pitt does, and we don’t know how the tiebreaker would work out yet.

ACC Standings