The ACC Tournament second round raised the stakes with college basketball blue bloods looking for their chance to advance.
The ACC expects to place a No. 1 seed in Duke. Louisville and Clemson are likely to go dancing. The rest of the conference? Tickets to March Madness are hard to come by.
North Carolina is on the wrong side of the bubble while SMU and Wake Forest need a ton of help. Who did the second round help and hurt?
Updated ACC Tournament bracket after second round games
It was not a day for underdogs on Wednesday.
No. 8 seed Georgia Tech started the day off with a 66-60 victory over No. 9 seed Virginia. Duncan Powell led the way with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting while Naithan Georgia dished eight assists. It was enough to nullify Isaac McKneely's 27 points and UVA's lade comeback attempt.
For their troubles, the Yellowjackets will match up with No. 1 seed Duke on Thursday.
No. 5 seed North Carolina didn't mess around. The Tar Heels smashed No. 12 seed Notre Dame, 76-56. Elliot Cadeau dropped 10 assists in just 25 minutes, but it was Jae'lyn Wither's seven 3-pointers that really set the tone. The senior forward finished with 21 points and nine rebounds.
The Tar Heels get No. 4 seed Wake Forest next in a game with massive NCAA Tournament implications.
Golden State rivals Stanford and Cal had a hard-fought battle in the No. 7 vs. No. 15 seed matchup. Andrej Stojakovic did everything possible to give the Bears a chance with 37 points. The problem? The Cardinal got 23- and 21-point outings from Maxime Raynaud and Jaylen Blakes respectively. Stanford advanced with a 78-73 win.
The No. 2 seed Louisville Cardinals are waiting for the Cardinal in the quarterfinals.
After besting Florida State in the first round, No. 14 seed Syracuse matched up with No. 6 seed SMU. The Orange kept it close early, but the Mustangs pulled away in the second half en route to a 73-53 victory.
SMU will take on No. 3 seed Clemson.