2008 ACC Tournament Game Previews

March 9, 2008

First Round – Thursday

#8 Wake Forest (17-12, 7-9 ACC) vs. #9 Florida State (18-13, 7-9)
Game 1 – Noon

Series record: Wake Forest leads 22-15
In ACC Tournament: Wake Forest leads 3-0

The teams met twice during the regular season, with Wake Forest winning 74-57 at home and 78-70 in Tallahassee … Freshman James Johnson led the Deacons with 26 points and nine rebounds in the game at Winston-Salem, while Ralph Mims’ 17 points paced FSU … Chas McFarland had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Wake in the road win at FSU, while Toney Douglas scored 28 and Jason Rich 25 for the Seminoles … Previous ACC Tournament meetings saw Wake win 68-65 in 1997, 69-61 in 2003 and 78-66 in 2006 … All of those games were played at the Greensboro Coliseum … The 2006 meeting was a first-round game, while the previous two meetings came in the quarterfinals.

ACC Tournament Records:
Wake Forest – 42-50
Florida State – 6-16

#5 Miami (21-9, 8-8) vs. #12 NC State (15-15, 4-12)
Game 2 – 2:30 p.m.

Series record: NC State leads 4-2
In ACC Tournament: First meeting

NC State posted a 79-77 overtime win in January in the only regular-season meeting at Raleigh. Gavin Grant led the Wolfpack with 22 points and played 40 turnover-free minutes. Miami’s Jack McClinton went 4-of-9 from 3-point range en route to a game-high 26 points … Two of the five meetings between the teams since Miami joined the ACC have gone at least one overtime. The Wolfpack posted an 86-77 double-overtime road win in 2006 … The only meeting between NC State and Miami prior to 2005 came in 1940, with the Wolfpack winning 46-35 at Raleigh.

ACC Tournament Records:
Miami – 2-3
NC State – 61-44

#7 Georgia Tech (14-16, 7-9) vs. #10 Virginia (15-14, 5-11)
Game 3 – 7:00 p.m.

Series record: Georgia Tech leads 37-29
In ACC Tournament: Series tied 4-4

The teams split a pair of regular-season meetings, with each team winning on the road … Georgia Tech scored a 92-82 overtime win at Charlottesville as Matt Causey’s 18 points keyed five players in double figures. Gain Lawal added 15 for the Yellow Jackets, while Mamadi Diane and Calvin Baker each had 16 for the Cavaliers … Baker’s late 3-point shot lifted Virginia to a 76-74 win in Atlanta. Sean Singletary had 17 points and six assists for the Cavaliers, while Georgia Tech’s Zack Peacock delivered 23 points and seven assists in 26 minutes … The teams last met at the ACC Tournament in the 2001 quarterfinals at the Atlanta Georgia Dome, with the Yellow Jackets winning 74-69.

ACC Tournament Records:
Georgia Tech – 19-25
Virginia – 30-53

#6 Maryland (18-13, 8-8) vs. #11 Boston College (13-16, 4-12)
Game 4 – 9:30 p.m.

Series record: Maryland leads 5-4
In ACC Tournament: Boston College leads 1-0

BC and Maryland played the first ACC game of the 2007-08 season on Dec. 9, with the Eagles winning 81-78 at College Park. Tyrese Rice led BC with 19 points and seven assists, while James Gist had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins … Maryland avenged the loss with a 70-65 road win in February. Greivis Vasquez’s 25 points and eight assists led the Terps, and Gist came up big again with 23 points. John Oates went 8-of-8 from the floor and led the Eagles with 21 points … The lone ACC Tournament meeting between the programs came in 2006 at Greensboro, with BC winning 80-66 in the quarterfinals.

ACC Tournament Records:
Maryland – 41-50
Boston College – 3-2