North Carolina State (13-9, 3-6 ACC)
at Georgia Tech (10-13, 1-9 ACC)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
In a game with NIT implications, Sidney Lowe and the Wolfpack travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Both teams are still a year away from contending, but will look to improve as the regular season reaches its final stretch. North Carolina State has been woeful on the road all year at 1-6. The visitors will try to string together two wins in a row after taking down Wake Forest on Wednesday. Georgia Tech is coming off a five-point defeat to Virginia Tech. The team has fallen fast since its 2004 National Championship game appearance. The Yellow Jackets simply must aim to make something positive out of their remaining games. They will look for Gani Lawal (15.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg) to continue his stellar play and NC State will need Brandon Costner (14.9 ppg) to continue dominating the paint. The 'Pack will have the momentum after taking down Wake Forest at home.
Florida State (19-5, 6-3 ACC)
at Wake Forest (18-4, 5-4 ACC)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
The Seminoles have put themselves in a place to earn an NCAA bid and have an opportunity to solidify their position when they take on struggling Wake Forest. Florida State, coming off wins against Virginia and Clemson, could earn a key road victory to enhance its resume. Wake Forest, ranked No. 8 nationally, just felt the disappointment of defeat to NC State. Questions are beginning to arise about whether the Deacons were really worthy of their No. 1 ranking earlier in the season. Led by sophomore stud Jeff Teague (20.9 ppg) and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu (13.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg), the high-scoring Deacons will look to improve on their 10-1 home record and advance up the ladder in the league. Both are looking for a bye in the first round of the ACC tourney, and both are going in opposite directions. If Florida State wants to take care of Wake in their only meeting of the regular season, the 'Noles will need scoring contributions from someone other than Toney Douglas, who is averaging 20.3 points per contest. No other Seminole averages double-figure scoring, something that may be an issue, especially with Wake desperate for a win.
Clemson (20-3, 6-3 ACC)
at Virginia (7-13, 1-8 ACC)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
This finally looks like the year when Oliver Purnell's men won't collapse and fail to make the NCAA Tournament. Clemson, ranked No. 11, travels to Charlottesville to take on the woeful Cavs. Dave Leitao and his team are currently on an eight-game losing streak. The problem for the Cavs has been executing on offense. McDonald's All-American Sylven Landesberg is putting up 17.8 points per game on the year, leading the team. That won't be enough to counter K.C. Rivers and Trevor Booker. UVa has not been able to execute on offense and will have trouble stopping the high-scoring Tigers. The Cavs will need to play solid defense -- inside guarding Trevor Booker (15.1 ppg, 9 rpg) and outside keying in on K.C. Rivers (14.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Terrence Olgesby (13.4 ppg). The Tigers are currently looking at around a three seed in the tournament and need to finish off strong. Clemson needs to rack up the wins in the ACC as trips to FSU and Wake Forest loom for the Tigers.
Duke (20-4, 7-3 ACC)
at Boston College (18-8, 6-5 ACC)
Sunday, 5:30 p.m.
Both the Blue Devils and the Eagles will look to get back to their winning ways on Sunday. After being hammered at home by rival North Carolina, head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his team will venture to Chestnut Hill. Boston College is coming off two straight defeats to Wake Forest and Clemson. Led by talented point guard Tyrese Rice (17.9 ppg), the Eagles will look to earn another valuable win with which to pad their resume. The Blue Devils have lost three of their last five games and need to bounce back against a very good BC team. Duke couldn't slow down speedy Ty Lawson on Wednesday and it cost them the game. If the Blue Devils can't handle Rice on Sunday, he will have the chance to punish them, too. Greg Paulus has been thrown back into the starting lineup, and after playing well against Miami, the guard didn't do much at Cameron Indoor on Wednesday. Both Paulus and Nolan Smith will need to contribute alongside Kyle Singler (16 ppg) and Gerald Henderson (15.3 ppg) if Duke is to go back to earning W's.
North Carolina (22-2, 8-2 ACC)
at Miami (15-8, 4-6 ACC)
Sunday, 7:45 p.m.
The Tar Heels are riding high after pouring 101 points on their rivals from Durham. Carolina will look for their ninth straight win as they travel to take on Jack McClinton and Miami. In a must-win contest, the Hurricanes will need to try to play a complete game. After blowing a big lead at Duke last weekend, the 'Canes have lost five of seven, leaving Frank Haith searching for answers. An all-ACC performer, McClinton can't do it all by himself. He will need Dwayne Collins and James Dews to contribute if the 'Canes wants to have a chance. With their hopes of making the tournament slipping, Miami must be in the game by halftime -- UNC was dominant against Duke in the second half of their contest. The Heels shot nearly 55 percent from the field against Duke -- one of the top defensive teams.