Duke wins opener in quest for 5 straight in ACC tourney
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- — DJ Steward scored 17 points, Mark Williams added 13 points and 10th-seeded Duke beat Boston College 86-51 on Tuesday to begin its quest of winning five-straight games in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
No team has won five ACC tournament games in five days — but Duke (12-11) likely must do so to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.
Steward, Williams and Jeremy Roach — all freshmen — combined for 27 of Duke's 41 first-half points. Steward scored 13 points with three of Duke's eight 3-pointers and Williams was 5 of 6 from the field for 11 points.
Jordan Goldwire closed the first half with a 3-pointer, and he made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, capping an 11-2 run, to give Duke a 22-point lead with 12:31 remaining.
The Blue Devils, starting the tournament with their lowest seed ever, made six of their first 10 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 15, while 15th-seed Boston College was just 1 of 15. Duke had 17 2-point baskets en route to posting its second largest margin of victory in an ACC tourney game.
Goldwire, a senior, scored 12 points on a career-high four 3-pointers for Duke, which snapped a three-game skid. The Blue Devils advance to play No. 7 Louisville on Wednesday, looking to stop a three-game losing streak in the series. The Cardinals won 70-65 on Jan. 23, and 80-73 in overtime on Feb. 27 to spoil Matthew Hurt's 37-point performance.
Boston College (4-16), under interim head coach Scott Spinelli, did not have a player score in double figures after shooting just 39.1%. Makai Ashton-Langford had nine points and DeMarr Langford and James Karnik each added eight.
Duke has won 16 of the last 17 meetings between the schools, including an 83-82 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier this season. BC’s CJ Felder scored a career-high 24 points in that contest, but was held to just four points on 2-of-8 shooting in the tournament.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Brian Dorsey
- Clarence Armstrong
- Jeff Pon
2023-24 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
North Carolina | 17-3 | - | 29-8 |
Duke | 15-5 | 2 | 27-9 |
Virginia | 13-7 | 4 | 23-11 |
Pittsburgh | 12-8 | 5 | 22-11 |
Clemson | 11-9 | 6 | 24-12 |
Syracuse | 11-9 | 6 | 20-12 |
Wake Forest | 11-9 | 6 | 21-14 |
Virginia Tech | 10-10 | 7 | 19-15 |
Florida State | 10-10 | 7 | 17-16 |
NC State | 9-11 | 8 | 26-15 |
Boston College | 8-12 | 9 | 20-16 |
Georgia Tech | 7-13 | 10 | 14-18 |
Notre Dame | 7-13 | 10 | 13-20 |
Miami | 6-14 | 11 | 15-17 |
Louisville | 3-17 | 14 | 8-24 |