College Sports

Live updates: ACC tournament bracket, scores and summaries of Thursday’s games

The latest from the ACC tournament in Greensboro, where we have journalists from The News & Observer, The Herald-Sun and The Charlotte Observer on site and working remotely to bring you news, analysis, opinion, photos, videos and much more.

This story will continue to update throughout the day. A printable ACC tournament bracket is below.

Virginia beats Syracuse

It took a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Cavaliers to avoid upset against Syracuse in the ACC quarterfinals.

Virginia’s Reece Beckman was sitting on the perimeter when he took a pass from Kihei Clark in the lane and let his shot fly with 0.2 seconds remaining to knock off the Orange, 72-69.

Syracuse has been among ESPN’s projected last four teams in the NCAA tournament but their spot on the bubble will fall more into question with the loss. Three other bubble teams either in ESPN’s last-four in or first-four out — Boise State, Utah State and Colorado State — begin Mountain West tournament play today.

UNC knocks off Virginia Tech

RJ Davis scored 19 points while Armando Bacot added 17 points and 13 rebounds as North Carolina pulled away late to beat Virginia Tech, 81-73, in the final quarterfinal game Thursday night.

The No. 3 seed Hokies were eliminated after holding a 35-32 halftime lead as Davis hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 of his points in the second half. Bacot had 13 points and nine rebounds in the second half alone.

UNC will play Florida State in the seminfinals at 9 p.m. on Friday night

Duke is out of the ACC tournament due to COVID

There will be one fewer game at the ACC tournament this week.

Duke’s 6:30 p.m. tipoff against Florida State has been canceled due to a positive COVID-19 case within the Blue Devils’ program, effectively ending the team’s season.

Florida State will advance and face the winner of UNC and Virginia Tech in the semifinals.

During the early session of the ACC tournament quarterfinals, Virginia and Georgia Tech will play their first games of the week at the Greensboro Coliseum after receiving byes through the first two rounds.

No. 13 seed Miami remains also in the quarterfinals after winning games on Tuesday and Wednesday. No. 6 seed North Carolina and No 8 seed Syracuse, who won their initial games in the tournament on Wednesday, round out the quarterfinalists.

A printable bracket is available here.

How to watch ACC tournament quarterfinals

ESPN and ESPN2 will televise the three games in Thursday’s quarterfinals, with ESPN2 showing the two afternoon games and ESPN handling the night game with UNC and Virginia Tech. The channels are available on all major cable, satellite and streaming services.

The night session has North Carolina (17-9) and Virginia Tech (15-5) scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.

ACC tournament betting odds

According to VegasInsider.com, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Florida State and UNC are the betting favorites to advance into Friday’s semifinals.

The Virginia-Syracuse game opened with the Cavaliers favored by five points with the over-under at 133.

Georgia Tech opened as an 8.5-point favorite over Miami and the line moved to 9. The over-under for the game is

The Tar Heels are favored by 3 points over Virginia Tech with the over-under at 140 points.

In case you missed it ...

Be sure to catch up on our earlier tournament coverage. Happy reading!

Two wins down. Duke advances to ACC tournament quarterfinals after beating Louisville.

UNC beats Notre Dame by 42 in ACC tournament behind Walker Kessler’s near triple-double

If Duke is to make a run to the NCAA tournament, Mark Williams just showed how to do it

NC State basketball’s sudden rise comes to an equally sudden end; is NIT next or not?

Was kissing the UNC basketball court part of Roy Williams’ master plan to retire?

Gunshots? Dean Smith in a fight? The weirdest moments in ACC tournament history

Wednesday morning conference calls set tone for ACC basketball’s season of uncertainty

Photos: UNC battles Notre Dame in ACC tournament action

ACC tournament schedule and scores

Tuesday’s first round

No. 13 Miami 79, No. 12 Pitt 73

No. 10 Duke 86, No. 15 Boston College 51

No. 11 Notre Dame 80, No. 14 Wake Forest 77

Wednesday’s second round

No. 8 Syracuse 89, No. 9 NC State 68

No. 13 Miami 67, No. 5 Clemson 64

No. 10 Duke 70, No. 7 Louisville 56

No. 6 North Carolina 101, Notre Dame, 59

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Virginia 72 vs. Syracuse 69

No. 4 Georgia Tech 70, Miami 66

No. 2 Florida State beats No. 10 Duke by forfeit

No. 6 UNC 81, No. 3 Virginia Tech 73

Friday’s semifinals

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech, ESPN or ESPN2

No 2 Florida State vs. No. 6 UNC, 9 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2

Saturday’s championship

Virginia-Georgia Tech winner vs. Florida State-UNC winner, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Live updates: ACC tournament bracket, scores and summaries of Thursday’s games."

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Steve Wiseman
The News & Observer
Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989. 
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