ACC Tournament 2011 Bracket Update: Duke Pulls Away From Maryland, Advances To Semifinals

Duke survived an injury to ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith to pull away from Maryland and win 87-71 to advance to the 2011 ACC Tournament semifinals. The Blue Devils and Terps played a tight game early, but ironically, the Blue Devils pulled away after Smith went down with a toe injury with seven minutes remaining in the second half. Duke held a five-point lead at the time, and outscored the Terps by 11 the rest of the way.

Kyle Singler stepped up for his injured teammate, dropping a cool 29 points as Maryland tried to guard him with men much shorter than him. Four other players scored in double figures as Duke overcame a horrendous performance from three-point range to get the win.

The Blue Devils will play the winner of the game between Florida State and Virginia Tech in the semifinals. Maryland falls to 19-14 and will likely head to the NIT for the fourth time in seven seasons. 

For more on this game, Duke fans should join Duke Basketball Report, while Maryland fans should head to Testudo Times. For more on the ACC Tournament, check out SB Nation D.C.

Thursday, March 10

No. 9 Miami def. No. 8 Virginia, 69-62

No. 5 Boston College def. No. 12 Wake Forest, 81-67

No. 7 Maryland def. No. 10 N.C. State, 75-67

No. 6 Virginia Tech def. No. 11 Georgia Tech, 59-43

Friday, March 11

No. 1 North Carolina def. No. 9 Miami, 64-62

No. 4 Clemson def. No. 5 Miami, 70-47

No. 2 Duke def. No. No. 7 Maryland, 87-71

9:30 p.m., ESPN2/ACC Network: No. 3 Florida State (21-9, 11-5 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech/Georgia Tech winner

Saturday, March 12

1:00 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network: North Carolina/Virginia/Miami winner vs. Clemson/Boston College/Wake Forest winner

3:30 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network: Duke/Maryland/NC State winner vs. Florida State/Virginia Tech/Boston College winner

Sunday, March 13

1:00 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network: ACC Championship Game