With the conclusion of the 2015 ACC Tournament, the conference will take a four year hiatus before bringing the tournament back to its usual home in Greensboro. The ACC will trade tradition, a full arena, and Stamey’s Barbecue for more of a “big city” feel.
More from NBA
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
Next season, the tournament will travel to Washington, while the following two seasons will head to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as the ACC looks to appease its ever-expanding footprint. It moves to Charlotte in 2019 before finally coming back to Greensboro in 2020.
Many thought it would be fitting that during this semi-swan song in Greensboro if rivals Duke and North Carolina would square off in the final.
The Tar Heels reached the title game by surprisingly upsetting Virginia in the semifinals, thanks to stout defense and 22 points from freshman Justin Jackson. However, Notre Dame decided to crash the party by upsetting the Blue Devils 74-64 in Friday night’s second semifinal.
The initial reaction to Duke’s absence may have been disappointment, but Notre Dame proved they could live up to top billing.
A sloppy start from both teams eventually turned into an exciting and fast-paced first half. Notre Dame would hold a 39-34 lead at halftime, behind 12 points from Pat Connaughton. Connaughton made four of his five shots in the half and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
Projected first-round pick Jerian Grant used that quick first step to get into the lane frequently in the half, adding 11 points and five assists.
Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks led the way for North Carolina with 10 and eight points, respectively. The Heels shot 48.5 percent from the floor in the first half, but struggled from outside, shooting only 1-for-8 from three-point range. Marcus Paige also struggled early, shooting 1-for-5 in the first 20 minutes.
North Carolina regained the lead in the second half, thanks to some hot shooting from a seemingly rejuvenated Paige. Paige had 22 points in the second half alone to make 24 for the game. He shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc, helping North Carolina extend their lead to nine points with 9:58 remaining in the game.
Then the tide turned dramatically. Notre Dame used a 26-3 run over seven minutes to change the course of the game. For that stretch, Notre Dame’s offense was unstoppable. They scored in every way imaginable, making free throws, drives to the basket, and three-pointers.
The ball movement led by Grant and Demetrius Jackson was enough to make your head spin, and it left the North Carolina defenders scrambling on several occasions.
With 2:54 left to play, the Irish held a 80-66 lead and the game would never again be in doubt. North Carolina would cut the lead to as few as six points in the last 30 seconds, but Notre Dame would win the game, and the ACC tournament championship, 90-82.
North Carolina continued to have no answer for Grant’s dribble penetration in the second half. He would finish his evening with 24 points and 10 assists, while shooting 15-for-18 from the free-throw line. Connaughton contributed 20 points, with sharpshooter Steve Vasturia chipping in 14 points of his own on 3-for-6 from outside.
Along with Paige’s 24 points, Johnson scored 20 points for the Tar Heels, as their only other player in double figures.
Notre Dame shot 54.2 percent over the course of the entire game, making a whopping 10 three-pointers. The team that lives and dies by the three so frequently lived on Saturday night. North Carolina just could not get stops when they needed to in the second half. It was like a switch flipped for both teams.
The 26-3 Irish run sucked all of the air out of the building, leaving the North Carolina heavy crowd stunned.
Even Grant was surprised by the sudden offensive outburst. “I really didn’t know what happened. I seen us down seven or nine, and I looked at the scoreboard and next thing you know we were up three,” Grant noted. “It was kind of a blur.”
After the game Grant, Vasturia, and Connaughton were named to the All-Tournament first team, while Jackson made the second team. Grant was deservedly named Tournament MVP for his efforts.
For North Carolina, Paige and Johnson made the first team, with Jackson making the second team.
Sunday, Notre Dame will turn their focus to the NCAA tournament, but for now they can bask in the glory of being ACC tournament champions. After a difficult 2013-14 season, Mike Brey and his team deserve to enjoy this feeling.
Greensboro bid adieu to this tournament with a fantastic week of basketball, especially the epic semifinal round on an electric Friday night, and Saturday’s entertaining championship game. Bringing the event to other venues is a necessary part of expanding the league and keeping the ACC brand strong, but I have to admit I will miss Greensboro dearly.
Greensboro did not get the sendoff I expected with a traditional ACC power like Duke, North Carolina, or Virginia. It got something better. In fact, this was the fourth consecutive season that saw a team other than Duke or North Carolina take home the crown, with Virginia winning last season, Miami taking the title in 2013, and Florida State winning in 2012.
The ACC has also seen five different teams win the title in the last five years. Parity within the league is certainly at high level, especially in the tournament.
The significant accomplishment that is defeating Duke and North Carolina, on back-to-back days, to win the ACC tournament was not lost on Brey. “To win the championship going through Duke and North Carolina on Tobacco Road I think is extremely powerful,” said Brey. “It’s really powerful for our program.”
This tournament proved that even though the landscape of college basketball is changing, and that the ACC is not the same as it was in the glory years of the 1970s and 1980s, the conference is still better than ever. This week had all the things that fans love about college basketball. Great players, great coaches, great teams, and passionate crowds that live and die with every possession.
The addition of teams like Louisville, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame help make the conference stronger and help the league avoid breaking apart like the Big East. Even old-school fans born and bred on Tobacco Road have to acknowledge the positive aspects of what this new blood does for the ACC.
The new ACC is here to stay, and that is not a bad thing.
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout