Miami-Wake Forest offers key weekend game on ACC slate

Updated Feb. 11, 2022 5:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

A look at the upcoming week around the Atlantic Coast Conference:

GAME OF THE WEEKEND

Miami at Wake Forest. Saturday's game matches two teams near the top of the league standings after being picked to finish 12th and 13th, respectively, in the preseason.

Miami (17-7, 9-4) beat Georgia Tech at home on Wednesday to end a two-game skid against Notre Dame and Virginia.

Wake Forest (20-5, 10-4) won at North Carolina State for a third straight victory and the program's first 20-win season since 2010, another milestone in a remarkable turnaround under second-year coach Steve Forbes. The Demon Deacons are led by Oklahoma transfer Alondes Williams, who leads the ACC in scoring (19.6) and assists (5.2) as of Wednesday's games.

LOOKING AHEAD

Virginia (15-9, 9-5) still appears to face an uphill climb to position itself for an NCAA Tournament bid, but Monday's last-second win at No. 7 Duke marked a third straight win. The Cavaliers visit Virginia Tech on Monday.

The next day, the Demon Deacons visit the Blue Devils in another key matchup of teams near the top of the standings.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Things haven't gone particularly smoothly for Syracuse, but senior guard Buddy Boeheim continues to put up big numbers.

Nicknamed “Buddy Buckets” during his late-season tear last year, the 6-foot-6 guard is No. 2 in the league in scoring (19.1 points) while ranking second in free-throw percentage (.897) and second in made 3s per game (2.75).

The Orange (13-11, 7-6) visit Virginia Tech on Saturday.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

This week marks the first time Clemson is playing three league games in five days since February 1991. ... Notre Dame's win Wednesday against Louisville allowed the Fighting Irish to match their best start since joining the ACC in 2013-14. The 2014-15 team also started 10-3 on the way to winning the ACC Tournament. ... The Demon Deacons' 10 league wins are their most since winning 11 in 2009. ... Virginia Tech's Hunter Cattoor has made 24 of 45 3-pointers (.533) in his last seven games, and ranks third nationally on the season at .469.

ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE

No. 3 Louisville and No. 5 North Carolina State have gained some separation at the top of the league standings.

The Wolfpack’s win Monday against No. 11 Georgia Tech dropped the Yellow Jackets two games back in the loss column. The same is true of No. 18 Notre Dame with its loss last weekend at Florida State.

The Wolfpack (22-3, 13-1) needed overtime to win at Boston College on Thursday night. The Cardinals (22-2, 12-1) added a win when their game against Virginia was canceled due to the Cavaliers having travel issues, leading to a Virginia forfeit.

The Cardinals still have two games ahead against the Fighting Irish — the first coming Sunday — as well as next week’s trip to No. 23 North Carolina. There are no AP Top 25 teams remaining on the Wolfpack's regular-season schedule.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25