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ACC Basketball takeaways: North Carolina, Clemson revive NCAAT hopes

By Brian Emory

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 25: Brevin Galloway #11 of the Clemson Tigers reacts following a three-point basket against the NC State Wolfpack at PNC Arena on February 25, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Clemson won 96-71. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 25: Brevin Galloway #11 of the Clemson Tigers reacts following a three-point basket against the NC State Wolfpack at PNC Arena on February 25, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Clemson won 96-71. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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ACC Basketball Pittsburgh Panthers guard Greg Elliott Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Pittsburgh and Duke both get wins to move up standings

While it hasn’t been the most noteworthy inaugural season for Jon Scheyer’s Duke Blue Devils, his squad has demonstrated improvement over the past two weeks. It hasn’t been a gauntlet of a schedule, but the Blue Devils still deserve some love for handling business in an orderly fashion.

Duke’s entire starting lineup reached double figures Saturday night, led by Jeremy Roach with 19. Freshman Mark Mitchell had one of his strongest performances of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Duke wound up with an easy 81-65 over a Virginia Tech squad that beat the Blue Devils earlier in the season in Blacksburg.

Now sitting at 21-8 overall and 12-6 in conference play, the Blue Devils should comfortably find themselves in the Field of 68 at this point. However, the final week of regular season play could serve as a great litmus test to see if Scheyer’s Blue Devils are legitimately improving or have simply been beating up on meager opposition.

On Tuesday night, Duke will host an NC State squad that throttled the Blue Devils earlier in the season. Saturday, the Blue Devils will travel to Chapel Hill to take on arch-rival UNC. A win would secure a season sweep of the ‘Heels for the first time since 2020, and perhaps strike a dagger through UNC’s hopes at an at-large bid.

It was mentioned earlier that the Pitt Panthers still may have some work to do if they want to safely secure an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. Fair or not, on Saturday afternoon Jeff Capel’s group looked unphased by the pressure that these stakes could apply. Six Panthers scored in double figures, led by Blake Hinson who finished with 22.

Next. Latest ACC power rankings. dark

After holding a slim 37-33 lead at the half, the Panthers exploded for 62 second-half points and wound up with a dominant 99-82 win over old-school rival Syracuse. The Panthers now hold sole possession of the ACC’s best record at 14-4, and will conclude regular season play with away trips to Notre Dame and Miami. The latter could certainly hold the ACC regular season crown in the balance.