THE WEEKEND IN 30 SECONDS

Lance Thomas and Duke aiming to sweep UNC in Cameron ... Miami just looking to avoid last place in its finale, against FSU ... Expect no riots in College Park, Md., if red-hot Terps knock off lowly Cavs in Hooville ... Georgia Tech can break even in ACC play by knocking off Virginia Tech ... Wolfpack just 2-8 when Dennis Horner fails to score in double figures. What can he deliver in his final home game against BC? ... With Clemson in town, Wake has one last chance to pull out of its tailspin before the ACC Tournament.

-- Lorenzo Perez

BY TEAMS

No. 4 Duke

vs. North Carolina, 9 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

Plenty at stake for Blue Devils

Even though Duke lost Wednesday night at Maryland with a chance to clinch the ACC regular-season title, there's a lot at stake for the Blue Devils Saturday night.

And it's not just because it's Senior Night for Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek and an opportunity to play in college basketball's most storied rivalry. Although Maryland tied Duke (25-5, 12-3) atop the ACC standings, the Blue Devils can clinch the No.1 seed for the ACC tournament with a win.

That No.1 seed is critical. It guarantees Duke will play a quarterfinal against one of the bottom five teams in the ACC. This season, there's a big difference between the quality of the bottom five teams and the No.7 seed, which will be on the NCAA bubble.

The No.1 seed also will get a chance to maximize its rest during the three days of the tournament because of how the schedule is set up. Duke's depth is shaky, so that rest will be important next week in Greensboro.

Here's another reason: Duke hasn't lost two in a row all season. This would not be a good time to start.

-- Ken Tysiac

North Carolina

At No. 4 Duke, 9 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

Durable Thompson makes his mark

When asked recently how he wanted to be remembered by fans of North Carolina (16-14, 5-10 ACC), senior Deon Thompson offered a quick answer: "As a national champion."

With Saturday night's game at Duke, he will enter his name into the school record book for another reason: as the all-time leader in games played (146).

"That just means," he said, smiling, "that I've been here a long time."

And that he's been durable. Thompson, who played despite a sore back Tuesday against Miami, is one of four players in North Carolina's original 12-man rotation who hasn't missed a game to injury. He has played in every game since arriving in Chapel Hill in 2006.

The forward from Torrance, Calif., will surpass Danny Green, who played in his 145th game during the Tar Heels' NCAA title victory last April.

-- Robbi Pickeral

N.C. State

vs. Boston College; 2 p.m. Sunday; WBTV (Ch. 3)

Gonzalez responds to Lowe's call

After a second-half collapse against Maryland on Feb. 17, Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe called out guard Javier Gonzalez for his lack of leadership. During the three games since, Gonzalez has responded with 46 points, 10 assists and seven steals. More importantly, N.C. State has won two of the three games. "He has been great," Lowe said.

At 16-14, Lowe is hoping the Wolfpack can close with a few more wins to play its way into the National Invitation Tournament. "There's still a lot of basketball to be played," Lowe said. N.C. State made the NIT in 2007 after going 18-15.

-- J.P. Giglio

Wake Forest

vs. Clemson, 6 p.m.; Sunday; Fox Sports South

Deacons need a victory

What began as a worrisome trend last week has become a freefall for the Deacons, who have lost four in a row entering their regular-season finale against Clemson.

Among the most glaring problems is the disappearance of sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu from the offense. Though he's still averaging a double-double, Aminu has been ineffective during recent games and, consequently, the offense has stalled. Aminu scored just eight points in a loss to North Carolina last Saturday and was held scoreless for the first time in his college career Wednesday at Florida State when he attempted only two shots, both during the first half, before fouling out with 5minutes, 51seconds left in the loss.

That has put too much of the scoring burden on Ish Smith, Ari Stewart and L.D. Williams. The Deacons shot 29.7percent against North Carolina, went 0-for-12 from 3-point range against N.C. State and scored just 47 points at Florida State. That's a bad trend any time but especially in March.

-- Ron Green Jr.

Clemson

at Wake Forest, Sunday, 6 p.m., Fox Sports South

Tigers ready for breakthrough

The Tigers (21-8, 9-6) appear to be peaking at the right time, winning five of their past six entering a game at Wake Forest with a first-round ACC tournament bye likely on the line. That's the good news for the Tigers.

Here's the bad news: Clemson hasn't won at Joel Coliseum since Dale Davis (remember him?) was playing for the Tigers. That's 17 straight losses on the Deacons' home court.

But Trevor Booker has been outstanding during recent games, and the Tigers keep finding a different player to play the big supporting role. Andre Young has emerged during this stretch as a steady scorer, averaging 13 points per game over the past six games.

One uncertain element for the Tigers this weekend: Wing player Tanner Smith is questionable because of a sprained ankle he suffered against Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

-- Ron Green Jr.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Demontez Stitt

Clemson, G, Jr.

Former Matthews Butler High player had one of his best games ever Tuesday with 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals in a win over Georgia Tech. He's averaging 10.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. If Stitt can outplay senior Ish Smith of struggling Wake Forest, the Tigers' chances of getting a big road win - and clinching an important first-round, ACC Tournament bye - will improve.

-- Ken Tysiac

FOUL SHOTS

By J.P. Giglio

Hokies ready for postseason

Virginia Tech:Up

The clear winner in this ACC season of "Make hay while the sun shines" has to be coach Seth Greenberg and his Hokies, who are poised to make their second NCAA Tournament appearance in four years, despite losing their leading scorer from last year.

Duke: Down

Brackateer emptor: The Blue Devils are 9-5 away from Cameron Indoor Stadium this season, with four neutral-site wins. Unless the NCAA Tournament is secretly being moved to Durham, that doesn't bode well for a deep run by the Fightin' Krzyzewskis.

Kansas: Down

Heading into Oscars weekend, actress Samantha Ryan ends up with front-row tickets to the KU-Kansas State game and Tweets about the generosity of Jayhawks assistant Kurtis Townsend. Not a big deal on the surface, except Ryan's an adult film star, and there's no upside to being linked to the hired help in that industry.

Miami: Down

Twenty-seven minutes before last Saturday's tipoff between N.C. State and Miami, there were 97 people inside the Hurricanes' BankUnited Center. (Yes, I counted.) Even if you add the some 308 members of the Miami dance team, cheerleaders and pep band, that still doesn't equal the "announced" attendance of 4,358.

'Bizarro' Awards

The ACC's voting media members will announce the real year-end awards starting Monday, but you don't have to wait for our alternate, Bizarro version:

Player of the year: Rakim Sanders The Boston College wing started the season with a two-game suspension and then injured his ankle, which cost him nine games of his junior season. In the other 21 games, all of his numbers were down from last year. Sanders has an NBA frame, at 6-5 and 228 pounds, but he's headed for Bulgaria with that kind of regression.

Honorable mention: UNC's Deon Thompson

Coach of the year: Roy Williams

To recap: The UNC coach evicted a Presbyterian fan from his baby-blue fiefdom, made a clumsy Haiti reference and finished with more McDonald's All-Americans than ACC wins.

Honorable mention: Miami's Frank Haith

Game of the year: Florida State 51, Wake Forest 47

Wednesday's "spectacular" contest featured 36 combined turnovers, 32 combined field goals and three future first-round draft picks. Two of the aforementioned future NBAers finished with either zero points (Wake's Al-Farouq Aminu) or zero rebounds (FSU's Solomon Alabi).