Men's Basketball

Wake Forest leads entire way in 72-59 win over Notre Dame in ACC Tournament

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Kevin Miller scored 17 points, Hunter Sallis added 14 and Andrew Carr had a double-double to lead fifth-seeded Wake Forest to a 72-59 win over 12-seed Notre Dame in the second round of the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday.

The Demon Deacons (20-12) will take on fourth-seeded Pitt in Thursday's quarterfinals. Wake Forest lost to Pitt 77-72 in January before rolling past the Panthers 91-58 at home the next month.

Carr had 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks while Cameron Hildreth scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. Wake Forest shot 46%, outscored Notre Dame 15-7 off turnovers, 16-7 on second-chance points and 38-14 in the paint.

ACC Rookie of the Year Markus Burton scored 21 points, making 12-of-12 from the line but only 4-of-16 from the floor for the Fighting Irish (13-20). Tae Davis added 16 points and Carey Booth poured in 11. Braeden Shrewsberry, who led Notre Dame with 23 points in their 84-80 first-round win over Georgia Tech, had just five points on 1-of-9 shooting. The Irish shot just 29%, 20% in the second half.

Davis made 7-of-8 free throws for all of Notre Dame's scoring early in the first half as the Fighting Irish went over six minutes without a field goal until a Davis bucket. Wake Forest took advantage, extending its six-point halftime lead to 16 midway through the second half with a 13-4 run during which Hildreth turned a steal into a three-point play and added a 3-pointer. Notre Dame didn't get closer than nine thereafter.

Sallis hit a 3-pointer to open the game and the Demon Deacons led throughout. They were up by as many 14 before the Fighting Irish worked their way back to trail 40-34 at halftime.

Of Note

  • Wake Forest advances to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament for the second straight season. The Demon Deacons are 26-29 all-time in ACC quarterfinal games.
  • The Demon Deacons are 0-2 all-time against Pitt in the ACC Tournament.
  • The win marked the sixth time in ACC history that the fifth-seed has defeated the 12th-seed in the second round.
  • Wake Forest is now 3-5 all-time in ACC Tournament games played in Maryland/Washington, D.C.
  • Andrew Carr logged a 12-point and 11-rebound double-double in the win, marking his fifth double-double of the season. Carr’s 11 rebounds marked the highest single-game total for a Demon Deacon since Feb. 17 at Virginia.
  • For the first time since Feb. 3 versus Syracuse, the Demon Deacons never trailed in the game.
  • The Demon Deacons held Notre Dame to just 28.6 percent from the floor (14-of-49) and 20.0 percent (5-of-25) in the second half. It marked the first time since Feb. 6 in which a team shot 20 percent-or-less in a half against Wake Forest.
  • Notre Dame’s Markus Burton became just the fifth player in ACC Tournament history to shoot a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Burton and the Irish finished 25-of-28 from the charity stripe.
  • The Demon Deacons outscored the Irish 38-14 in the paint.