If you want the applause and respect that come with being the best women’s basketball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, then you beat Notre Dame. He scored 32 points in a win over North Carolina State.
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“I’ve been saying it over and over again”, said Durr, the ACC’s player of the year.
Miles Bridges had 17 points to lead Michigan State, which had a 13-game winning streak snapped.
The Musketeers (27-4, 15-3) hung on for their 12th win in 13 games.
Bagley was named Player of the Year after averaging 20.7 points and 11.2 rebounds.
Virginia’s success this season wasn’t expected, but the Cavaliers have proven that they shouldn’t be overlooked. He’ll look to use his experience to guide the Blue Devils through March. Duke has the most talent, but its young and struggles defensively at times. If 6-foot-11 Bagley continues to dominate – like he did in the second half against UNC – Duke will be hard to take down. The Tar Heels were 21-10 on the season. “The past four games we’ve been figuring that out and approaching it pretty well”.
The ACC named five players to each of its three all-conference teams.
The Tar Heels, who are ranked No. 12 in the poll, won the tournament in 2016, but fell to rival Duke in last year’s semifinals, though that team went on to win the program’s sixth NCAA championship.
MI leads the Big Ten and is eighth in the nation in points allowed (63.6 per game). The Tigers finished 4-6 on the road and suffered just their second loss this season after leading at halftime. Duke did it earlier in the season.
The Wolfpack are the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament. Louisville shot 45 percent in this one while placing all five starters in double figures, and became the first team since CT in 2015 to beat the Fighting Irish twice in a season.
N.C. State senior guard Allerik Freeman leads the Wolfpack offense with 15.3 points per game. He had 20 points and seven assists in the win at UVa. The Orange is still looking for its first ACC tournament victory since joining the league in 2013, and the Cardinals could use a victory to shore up its postseason resume and perhaps give interim coach David Padgett a boost in the running for the job permanently.
The No. 1 Cavaliers will play in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Thursday at noon against either Florida State or Louisville, who play on Wednesday in Brooklyn.
The Hurricanes will open ACC Tournament play on Thursday night at 9 PM against Syracuse, Wake Forest or North Carolina.
Every other team in the ACC has basically done what they were expected. The 6-3 junior post, easily the most improved player on this team, was flawless on all six of her attempts from the field for 15 points and five boards.
Walker sank a layup in the closing seconds of regulation in an overtime win over Louisville, a 3-pointer with two seconds left to beat Boston College, and a tying field goal in the final minute last week against Virginia Tech. He played the final two games of the regular season and averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game en route to winning ACC Player of the Week.
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Arica Carter solidified herself as a major 3-point threat in the ACC tournament, with eight of them in three games (Cindy Rice Shelton photo). Hunter, Miami’s Lonnie Walker IV and Syracuse’s Oshae Brissett filled out the All-Freshman Team behind the Blue Devils’ frontcourt duo.
