Honestly, if you weren't glued to the ACC Network tonight, you basically missed the wildest night of the conference season so far. Everyone usually talks about Duke or Carolina. That’s standard. But today's ACC basketball scores tell a much deeper story about how deep this league actually is in 2026.
We had a triple-overtime marathon, a top-10 upset in the making that turned into a blowout, and some serious movement in the standings. It’s January 15. This is when the "pretenders" start falling off the map.
The Syracuse and Cal Marathon Nobody Saw Coming
Let’s start with the absolute heart-stopper. Syracuse and California just went at it for three extra periods. Imagine playing 55 minutes of high-intensity basketball only for it to come down to a single freshman's heave.
Syracuse eventually walked away with a 90-87 win, but that score doesn't do justice to the chaos. Dominique Darius, who hadn't hit a single three-pointer all night, stepped up with three seconds left in the third overtime and just buried one. Total ice in her veins.
Freshman Uche Izoje was the real reason they were even in it, though. She put up 22 points and 13 rebounds. On the other side, Cal is going to be kicking themselves. They had multiple chances to put this away in the first and second OT. Instead, they drop to 1-5 in the conference, which is a tough pill to swallow given how well they played.
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Louisville Proves the Hype is Real
Over in South Bend, we had a top-25 clash that felt like a heavyweight fight for about twenty minutes. Number 9 Louisville went into Notre Dame’s house and basically took the keys.
They won 79-66.
It was Louisville's 10th straight victory. Think about that. Ten in a row in this league is almost impossible. Reyna Scott was the spark plug, coming off the bench to drop 20 points. Usually, when your star player gets held scoreless in the first quarter, you’re in trouble. Not this team. They had eight different players score.
Quick Breakdown of the Purcell Pavilion Score:
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- Louisville: 79 (Reyna Scott: 20 pts)
- Notre Dame: 66 (Hannah Hidalgo: 24 pts)
Hannah Hidalgo is still a cheat code for the Irish, by the way. She’s now just 24 points away from 2,000 for her career. Even in a loss, she was the best player on the floor for long stretches. But Louisville’s bench outscored Notre Dame’s 31-2. You can't win like that.
NC State and the Third Quarter Avalanche
If you just looked at the halftime score of the NC State vs. Wake Forest game, you’d think the Deacs were in for an upset. They were shooting over 50%! They looked sharp.
Then the third quarter happened.
NC State outscored them 32-13 in that ten-minute span. It was like a tidal wave. Khamil Pierre is playing like an All-American right now, finishing with 26 points and 14 rebounds. The final score was 95-77, which is kind of wild considering how close it was for twenty minutes.
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Other Notable Final Scores Around the League
While the Syracuse game was the headliner for drama, a few other schools quietly took care of business or kept their seasons on life support.
- Stanford 77, Boston College 52: This was a demolition. Stanford led 43-15 at the half. BC actually outscored them in the fourth quarter, but by then, the Cardinal were playing their walk-ons.
- North Carolina 73, Miami 62: Reniya Kelly was the difference-maker here with 24 points. Miami kept it close early, but the Heels pulled away in the third.
- Virginia Tech 79, SMU 42: Total mismatch. The Hokies are starting to look like the team everyone feared in the preseason.
- Duke 65, Virginia 58: A classic ACC grind. Not pretty, but the Blue Devils stay undefeated in conference play (7-0).
What This Means for the Standings
Right now, the top of the ACC is a two-team race between Louisville and Duke, both sitting at 7-0. It’s a collision course.
NC State is right behind them at 6-1. The middle of the pack is where things get messy. Syracuse moved up to 5-2 with that marathon win, while teams like Florida State (who beat Pitt 69-65 tonight) are just trying to stay above water.
Wait, did I mention Florida State? They finally got a conference win! It’s been a rough stretch for them, but winning on the road at Pitt might be the "get right" game they needed.
Actionable Insights for ACC Fans
If you're following the conference race, here is what you need to do to stay ahead:
- Watch the Freshman: Uche Izoje at Syracuse is the real deal. If she keeps this up, the Orange are a dark horse for the tournament title.
- Don't Sleep on Virginia Tech: Their defense against SMU was suffocating. They are a much better team than their 4-3 record suggests.
- Monitor the Duke/Louisville Gap: They don't play every week, but their "score-watching" is going to be intense as they both try to keep that "0" in the loss column.
- Check the Injury Reports: In games like the Syracuse 3OT, fatigue becomes a massive factor for the next game. Keep an eye on how they rotate players on Saturday.
The road doesn't get any easier from here. Every night in this league is a gauntlet. If tonight proved anything, it's that no lead is safe and no game is "easy" once the ball is tipped.