ACC women’s basketball tournament bracket update. Here are the matchups
Coaches and media picked the N.C. State women’s basketball team to finish eighth in a stacked ACC before the 2023-24 season began.
The Wolfpack served notice early in the season that it was playing with a chip on its shoulder, and it did something about it, earning several impressive wins against ranked teams and climbing into the AP Top 25 Poll’s top five.
The Pack’s record has taken some hits in the past month as it has navigated a tough schedule through a deep conference, but Sunday, N.C. State put an exclamation point on its regular season, downing Wake Forest at home to secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC women’s tournament.
The Pack (25-5) defeated the Demon Deacons (6-24), 75-57, using a 27-point fourth quarter to propel itself to a win after the defense allowed 31 in the third.
The Wolfpack already clinched the double bye on Thursday after its overtime win over Syracuse (23-6), but the weekend victory decided the seeding.
Virginia Tech, which has also been steady all season, had the No. 1 seed locked up before Sunday’s slate of games — a good thing since it lost to Virginia on Sunday. Syracuse, which sat in second to start the day, had already completed its schedule and could only watch as the Wolfpack passed it by.
Notre Dame and Louisville clashed Sunday, and with the win — its fifth in a row — the Irish locked down the fourth seed in the tournament and the coveted double-bye.
“[It] wasn’t always pretty, but this team has seemed to be able to find a way to win most of the time,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said Sunday. “Just glad to get that behind us and now wipe the slate. We start a new season this week. Hopefully, we can go over there and play the way we’re capable.”
Louisville will remain in fifth.
Florida State held off Clemson in an overtime thriller to take the sixth seed. The Seminoles and Tigers appeared headed to a second overtime when Clemson attempted to call a timeout with one second on the clock in overtime — but the Tigers were out of timeouts. The resulting technical foul gave Florida State two free throws, and eventually the win.
Duke remained in seventh position despite a loss at rival UNC on Sunday. The Tar Heels and Blue Devils finished with identical records, and split the season series, but Duke remained in front of UNC in the standings by virtue of a better record against the No. 1 overall seed, Virginia Tech.
UNC is eighth and will face Miami in its first game, Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Duke will play at 5 p.m. that same afternoon against an opponent to be determined by early-round games.
With its double-bye as the No. 2 seed, N.C. State will open its quarterfinal quest Friday at 5 p.m. If Duke wins its Thursday game, the Blue Devils will face the Wolfpack.
“It is a different backdrop, it is a different ball, and it is a different environment,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said after the loss to UNC. “There’s more urgency when you play in the postseason, because you get one chance. That is what we’re going to hopefully have to work ourselves through, not after the game but while the game is going on, because it’s gonna be the first ACC tournament for a lot of my players.”
Georgia Tech (16-14) beat Miami on Sunday, giving the Yellow Jackets the No. 10 seed over No. 11 Virginia.
The Hokies are the defending champions, while N.C. State won the previous three ACC women’s titles.
See the full schedule below:
ACC tournament schedule
Wednesday’s first round
Game 1 — No. 13 Boston College 85, No. 12 Clemson 72
Game 2 — No. 10 Georgia Tech 73, No. 15 Pittsburgh 60
Game 3 — No. 14 Wake Forest 58, No. 11 Virginia 55
Thursday’s second round
Game 4 — No. 5 Louisville 58, No. 13 Boston College 55
Game 5 — No. 9 Miami 60, No. 8 UNC 59
Game 6 — No. 7 Duke 70, No. 10 Georgia Tech 58
Game 7 — No. 6 Florida State 70, No. 14 Wake Forest 53
Friday’s quarterfinals
Game 8 — No. 4 Notre Dame 77, No. 5 Louisville 68
Game 9 — No. 1 Virginia Tech 55, No. 9 Miami 47
Game 10 — No. 2 N.C. State 54, No. 7 Duke 51
Game 11 — No. 6 Florida State 78, No. 3 Syracuse 65
Saturday’s semifinals
Game 12 — No. 4 Notre Dame 82, No. 1 Virginia Tech 53
Game 13 — No. 2 N.C. State 69, No. 6 Florida State 43
Sunday’s final
Game 14 — No. 4 Notre Dame 54, No. 2 N.C. State 51
This story was originally published March 3, 2024 at 8:07 PM with the headline "ACC women’s basketball tournament bracket update. Here are the matchups."
