ACC Notes: A fitting end to the season

Anyone who has followed the ACC this season shouldn't have been surprised with what unfolded during the weekend.

All Virginia needed to do was defeat lowly Wake Forest on Saturday to claim its first outright ACC regular-season title since 1981, but the Cavaliers fell 78–72. That left Virginia Tech in position to clinch the top seed for the ACC Tournament. All the Hokies had to do was defeat visiting Clemson, which had lost nine of its last 12 games, but they fell 75–74.

That gave North Carolina control as it took the court against Duke in a wild situation of all or nothing. With a win, the Tar Heels would split the regular-season title with the Cavaliers and clinch the ACC Tournament's top seed. With a loss, they would drop to the No. 5 seed and have to play an opening-round game Thursday.

Finally, the string of upsets ended. The Tar Heels knocked off the Blue Devils 86–72 on senior day at the Smith Center, splitting the conference crown with the Cavaliers but clinching the top seed by virtue of their 79–69 victory over Virginia on Jan. 10. It marks the first time since the ACC went to a 16-game league schedule for the 1991-92 season that no team won 12 conference games.

"We got a lot of help in the last week of the season," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "We didn't think we'd be able to get part of it at 11–5, but we're very thankful for that."

After their victory, the Tar Heels cut down the net near their bench.

"We cut down one net because we didn't win it outright — we're sharing it with some people," Williams said. "So if Virginia wants to drive down here and cut down that other net ... "

Key development
The surprises kept coming until the end. Playing in the final game of the ACC season, UNC was putting the finishing touches on its victory over Duke when Tyler Hansbrough stepped to the free-throw line with 17.5 seconds remaining.

Hansbrough missed both attempts — unusual because he's a 76.1 percent free-throw shooter — but he got the rebound after the second miss. Duke's Steve Johnson hacked him as he tried to score, but that was the least of Hansbrough's worries. Duke freshman Gerald Henderson nailed Hansbrough in the face with a forearm, drawing a flagrant foul and an ejection.

Hansbrough ended up with a broken nose, and Henderson ended up with a one-game suspension that he will serve Thursday in Duke's opening-round ACC Tournament game against N.C. State.

Everyone involved said all the right things after the game — "I wasn't trying to hurt the kid or anything," Henderson said — until Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski suggested that Hansbrough and Henderson shouldn't have been playing at that point.

"That's unfortunate, too, that those people were in the game on that play," he said.

Asked to elaborate, Krzyzewski said, "We both probably should have had our walk-ons in."

Even if he didn't mean it that way, Krzyzewski's statement came across in such a way that it assigned some blame to UNC's side for what happened. In truth, the reason "those people" were playing because Krzyzewski had not surrendered.

Krzyzewski called a timeout with 49.7 seconds remaining even though his team trailed 81–68. And instead of sending in a reserve as soon as Greg Paulus fouled out with 18.7 seconds left and Josh McRoberts followed suit with his fifth foul 1.2 seconds later, he used the allotted time to gather his team near his bench for instructions.

He obviously had not given up trying to win the game, so Williams — who was a spectator in the crowd in 1974 when UNC rallied from an eight-point deficit with 17 seconds remaining to beat Duke — had not given up trying to protect it.

In the end, both teams suffered. Duke will be short-handed for the ACC Tournament, and Hansbrough will have to play the rest of the season with a broken nose.

Player of the week: Al Thornton, F, Florida State
Talk about going out with a bang. Thornton poured in a career-high 45 points in the final regular-season game of his college career, leading the Seminoles past Miami 98–90 in overtime. Thornton's performance marked the 23rd time in ACC history that a player scored at least 45 points — and just the third time since the 1968-69 season that an ACC player scored that many points against an ACC opponent. Thornton, who scored eight points in overtime, made all 11 of his free throws and finished the game with eight rebounds.

Freshman of the week: Javaris Crittenton, G, Georgia Tech
Crittenton notched a pair of double-doubles against upper-echelon league opponents, tallying 13 points and 11 assists in an 84–77 victory over UNC and following up with 16 points and 10 assists in a 74–60 win over Boston College.

A look back
The ACC has put together another banner year, finishing the regular season as the top-rated league in the country according to the Ratings Percentage Index. Here are one writer's picks for some postseason awards:

All-ACC first team
Jared Dudley, Sr., Boston College: Annually among the nation's most underrated players, he led the conference in minutes played (38.3 per game) and rebounding (8.5 per game) as he kept his team together after the suspension of Sean Williams. He finished second in scoring (19.3 points per game) and third in field-goal percentage (.579).

Tyler Hansbrough, So., North Carolina: The king of consistency, he followed up freshman numbers of 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game with 18.8 points and 8.0 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game.

Sean Singletary, Jr., Virginia: The league's toughest player to contain, he ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring (18.8 points per game) and sixth in assists (4.6 per game). His 3-point accuracy (40.2 percent) and quickness are an unstoppable combination.

Al Thornton, Sr., Florida State: An all-around threat, he led the conference in scoring (20.1 points per game) and finished in the top 10 in field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounding and blocked shots.

Zabian Dowdell, Sr., Virginia Tech: He raised his game a notch once ACC play began, finishing fifth in the conference in scoring (18.3 points per game) and second in steals (2.1 per game).

All-ACC second team
J.R. Reynolds, Sr., Virginia: A shooter who can drive, he averaged 18.0 points per game and formed a dynamic duo with Singletary, who is a driver who can shoot.

D.J. Strawberry, Sr., Maryland: He kept the Terrapins from crumbling after they started 3–6 in conference play. Combining improved shooting with his slashing and defensive skills, he became a complete player.

Tyrese Rice, So., Boston College: He won't win any style points with his unusual shooting form — he pushes the ball toward the basket — but he was effective to the tune of 17.1 points and 5.7 assists per game.

Javaris Crittenton, Fr., Georgia Tech: With size and speed, the 6-foot-5 Crittenton creates all kinds of matchup problems at point guard. He finished the season with a flourish, averaging 18.0 points in the Yellow Jackets' last nine games.

Brandan Wright, Fr., North Carolina: The best pro prospect in the ACC, he shot a league best 66.0 percent from the field while averaging 14.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

All-ACC third team
Josh McRoberts, So., Duke: Most everyone expected more scoring production than the 12.6 points per game he has delivered, but his passing and playmaking abilities cannot be overlooked.

Kyle Visser, Sr., Wake Forest: Once Eric Williams left, he took over the spotlight and ranked eighth in the league in scoring (16.9 points per game) and sixth in rebounding (7.2 per game).

James Gist, Jr.: Maryland: He gives Maryland a legitimate low-post scoring threat and teams with Ekene Ibekwe to give the Terrapins one of the most athletic big-man tandems in the nation.

Jamon Gordon, Sr., Virginia Tech: He led the league in steals (2.5 per game) and is a big reason why the Hokies rank first in the conference in turnover margin.

Ben McCauley, So., N.C. State: A nonfactor last season with Cedric Simmons and Andrew Brackman around, he ranked second in the league in field-goal percentage (.590) while averaging 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Player of the year: Jared Dudley, Boston College
It's a rare season in which each of the top five players is deserving, but Dudley shouldered the biggest load.

Coach of the year: Dave Leitao, Virginia
The Cavaliers caught a break with the league's unbalanced schedule this season, but they finished tied for first place after being picked eighth in the preseason.

Freshman of the year: Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech
No one can go wrong choosing UNC's Brandan Wright, but Crittenton had more opportunities to shine because his team's chances for success hinged on his performance.

Other honors

All-Freshman
Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech
Brandan Wright, North Carolina
Brandon Costner, N.C. State
Ty Lawson, North Carolina
Jon Scheyer, Duke

All-Defense
Jamon Gordon, Virginia Tech
Ekene Ibekwe, Maryland
D.J. Strawberry, Maryland
Vernon Hamilton, Clemson
Mario West, Georgia Tech

All-Improvement
Kyle Visser, Wake Forest
Ben McCauley, N.C. State
Courtney Fells, N.C. State
Sean Marshall, Boston College
D.J. Strawberry, Maryland

A look ahead
The ACC appears to have seven teams bound for the NCAA Tournament at this point, with North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Duke all in position for at-large berths entering the ACC Tournament.

Barring a miracle run to the championship by one of the last three seeds, the winner of Thursday's 8-9 game between Clemson and Florida State holds the last opportunity to join the field of 65. A win over UNC in the quarterfinals likely would be enough to get that eighth team into the Big Dance.

That said, seven will be the final number because the Tar Heels should be able to take care of business in their first game Friday. UNC is a good bet to go to the final, needing to beat either struggling Boston College or a Maryland team that will be playing its third game in three days in the semifinals.

The thinking here is that the potential quarterfinal of No. 6 Georgia Tech vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech will produce the finalist from the bottom half of the draw, and the Hokies handed the Yellow Jackets their lone home loss this season back on Jan. 28. But Georgia Tech, which has won seven of its last nine games to close the regular season, is the pick to meet UNC in the final.

The Tar Heels lost at Georgia Tech last week, but they have the kind of depth that is ideal for play on consecutive days. So they get the nod to win their first ACC Tournament title since 1998.

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