| Atlantic Coast Conference Semifinals Recap | |||
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Recap by Michael Protos No. 1 Duke 85, No. 4 Georgia Tech 71 No. 1 Duke continued to dominate the ACC tournament with a solid 85-71 win against No. 4 Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils were far more impressive in a way against the Yellow Jackets than they were against No. 8 Virginia Friday. Sophomore forward Shelden Williams is making a case for tournament most valuable player with a monster game – 20 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. As a team, Duke hustled for every loose ball and collected five more rebounds. The Blue Devils committed only six turnovers in the entire game, as senior point guard Chris Duhon masterfully orchestrated the win. He finished with 17 points and eight assists. Georgia Tech perhaps was sluggish after an emotional win the previous day against No. 5 North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets clearly did not have the energy that they did a week ago when they beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Sophomore guard Jarrett Jack could not find his rhythm, finishing with only eight points, three rebounds and four assists. Duhon shut him down on offense. Junior guard B.J. Elder led the team with 25 points, but only one other Yellow Jacket reached double figures. No. 6 Maryland 85, No. 2 NC State 82 Uh oh – here comes the Terrapins. A few weeks ago, people questioned whether Maryland should be in the NCAA Tournament or left behind. Don’t question these Terrapins now. No. 6 Maryland upset No. 2 NC State in the ACC semifinals, 85-82, as the Wolfpack rallied from a 19-point deficit at halftime. Maryland switched to a pressure defense after halftime and NC State did not adjust well. Then sophomore guard John Gilchrist took over. He finished with 30 points, including 23 in the second half, and only missed two shots in the entire game. He was 5-of-5 from three-point range in the second half. NC State was led by junior guard Julius Hodge, who led all scores with 31 points. But the team struggled to slow down Maryland. Only two other players reached double figures, and the entire second half was a losing battle. NC State failed to reach its third consecutive ACC championship game.
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