Cavaliers Secure A Spot in ACC Semis

Day 3 of the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men's Basketball Tournament showcased the Quarterfinal Round which began with the 7th-seeded N.C State Wolfpack (20-12 overall, 10-8 ACC plus an ACC Tournament victory over the Pitt Panthers) taking on the 2nd-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (27-4 overall, 15-3 ACC).

At the media timeout that came at exactly the 16-minute mark, the scoreboard read like a typical job, 9 to 5, in favor of the Wolfpack.

With just under 12 minutes to play in the opening half, N.C. State had not trailed once.

Three-straight buckets by Virginia would tie the game at 22-22 at the 8:46 mark.

Senior guard Quadir Copeland would break the tie in favor of the Wolfpack at the 8:13 mark thanks to his jumper gracing the net to put N.C. State up 24-22.

However, junior guard Sam Lewis would give Virginia their first lead of the game shortly after thanks to his three in the right corner that made it 25-24 Cavaliers with 6:58 remaining.

Redshirt-junior guard Terrance Arceneaux would go 1-for-2 at the charity stripe, tying the game immediately after Lewis' three, at 25-apiece.

Speaking of Lewis from deep, he would connect again from long range, this time in transition, to give the lead back to Virginia at 28-25 with 5:33 on the game clock.

The Wolfpack would respond with a 7-0 run to take a 32-28 lead with 2:33 remaining, but the Cavaliers would put together a run of their own, scoring the final five points of the first half to gain the lead back, heading into the locker room ahead by one, 33-32.

Copeland was the first to score from either team in the second half when he went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to gain the lead back for the Wolfpack, 34-33, just 24 seconds into the second half.

However, just like he did in the first half, Lewis continued to light it up from long range, knocking down a three on the Cavaliers' first possession of the second half, taking the lead back at 36-34.

Graduate guard Malik Thomas would connect on a deep shot of his own on Virginia's second possession, rolling the Cavaliers ahead by five, 39-34, at the 18:42 mark.

Then came Wolfpack sophomore guard Paul McNeil, Jr., who made back-to-back threes that resulted in a 40-29 lead for N.C. State.

Thomas would steal the ball away as the Wolfpack attempted to start their next possession, slamming it home to tilt the seesaw back to the Cavaliers, at 41-40.

With 11:47 remaining in the game, Virginia had extended their lead to double-digits, up 55-45, after a three by graduate guard Dallin Hall from the left wing; this make was part of a 9-0 run by Virginia.

McNeil would come out of the break that followed Hall's long ball and connect from long range himself, with an off-balanced, shot-clock beating three from the top of the key to make it 55-48 Cavaliers.

Ahead by eight, Lewis would make his fourth three-pointer in five tries to raise the Cavaliers back to a double-figure advantage, 61-50, with 9:34 to play.

At the 9:09 mark, Virginia Head Coach Ryan Odom used a coaching challenge to ask the officials to take a look at what they called a goaltend on the floor. The challenge was successful, negating the two points from the original goaltend call. Due to the fact that no one had possession, the officials went by the arrow which pointed N.C. State's way, giving N.C. State the ball back. The Wolfpack would get two offensive rebounds, but come away with no points on three shots.

Senior guard Tre Holloman's three got the Wolfpack within seven, down 63-56.

Cavaliers' graduate guard Jacari White would nail a three right after and then Wolfpack freshman guard Matt Able to cash in from long distance, keeping the deficit at seven for the Wolfpack.

With 1:24 remaining, Copeland would put together an old-fashioned three-point play, bringing N.C. State within five, 74-69.

Virginia freshman forward Thijs De Ridder would go inside immediately after, followed by two free throws by McNeil to keep the game at a five-point distance, 76-71 Cavaliers.

Freshman guard Chance Mallory would make both of his freebies on a 1-and-1 attempt, followed by McNeil missing a three and then shooting again from the same spot after the ball came back his way. He made that second attempt to shrink the N.C. State deficit to four, 78-74, with 27.3 seconds to go.

The Virginia inbounds try would go off of Virginia and N.C. State would get the ball under their own basket.

Senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin would be blocked by Cavaliers' senior center Ugonna Onyenso as time continued to tick away.

De Ridder would miss the front end of his 1-and-1 attempt.

A jump ball call followed, with Virginia retaining possession with 13.6 seconds remaining.

Hall would be fouled at the 12.5-second mark and made one of his two attempts in the 1-and-1, giving the Cavaliers a 79-74 lead.

Copeland would miss his three-point attempt on the other end and Thomas would head to the line with 2.2 seconds to go in the game. He would make both en route to an 81-74 victory, sending Virginia to the ACC Tournament Semifinals to face the winner of the Louisville Cardinals versus Miami Hurricanes' matchup.