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ACC Tournament 2021: Day 4 Schedule, Live-Stream Info and Bracket Predictions
March 12, 2021
The Florida State Seminoles will finally open their ACC tournament campaign on Friday against a team they recently lost to.
Leonard Hamilton's team did not take the hardwood on Thursday because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Duke Blue Devils camp.
To get back to the ACC tournament final, the Seminoles have to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels, who beat them toward the end of the regular season and have two wins under their belt in Greensboro, North Carolina.
On the other side of the bracket, the Virginia Cavaliers will have to take down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the third time this season to advance to Saturday's championship game.
Both of the previous meetings between the Cavaliers and Yellow Jackets were low-scoring affairs, so it may end up as the least entertaining of the two semifinals.
ACC Tournament Semifinals Schedule
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 6 North Carolina (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Games can be live-streamed on ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Bracket Predictions
Virginia vs. Florida State In Final
Florida State has had to wait almost a week to take out its frustration from the loss in the regular-season finale to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
That defeat was the second in a three-game span that also featured a stumble against the Tar Heels at the Smith Center.
The Seminoles should come out with plenty of motivation to avenge that loss and get the Notre Dame defeat out of their minds.
Florida State has not lost consecutive games this season, and it has three double-digit victories following a defeat, including a 93-64 trouncing of the Boston College Eagles in between the results versus North Carolina and Notre Dame.
The keys for Florida State are to contain the interior and shoot better than it did in the second half versus the Tar Heels.
Scottie Barnes and Co. mustered just 29 second-half points, shot 38.8 percent from the field and lost the rebounding battle by eight.
The No. 2 seed shoots 47.2 percent from the field and averages 37.4 rebounds per game. Both totals were not reached in the loss to UNC.
As long as Florida State makes more shots, like it has in bounce-back games, to limit the rebounding prowess of UNC's big men, it could set up a rematch with Virginia in the final.
The Cavaliers have a blueprint to defeat the Yellow Jackets from their two victories on January 23 and February 10.
In those wins, Tony Bennett's team limited Georgia Tech to 111 combined points. Josh Pastner's squad managed 49 points in the second meeting.
Virginia dictated the pace of play in the second game because it held Georgia Tech to 19 percent from three-point range and 36 percent from the field.
If the Cavaliers once again smother the area around the arc, they could force Georgia Tech into some bad shots and win the rebounding battle off those misses.
The reigning NCAA tournament champion can combine that strong defense with an improved offensive game. It increased its point total in each of the last three games.
On Thursday, Virginia knocked down 11 three-point shots and had four players reach double figures, led by Sam Hauser's 21 points.
If Virginia spreads the ball around on offense and is a bit tighter defensively than it was while giving up 69 points to the Syracuse Orange, it should have a chance to avenge the 81-60 loss it suffered against Florida State on February 15.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.