![The ACC's top teams were in action on Saturday continuing their push to March. [Image via Blasting News image library/inquisitr.com]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/2/25/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-acc-s-top-teams-were-in-action-on-saturday-continuing-their-push-to-march-image-via-blasting-news-image-library-inquisitr-com_1171227.jpg "The ACC's top teams were in action on Saturday continuing their push to March. [Image via Blasting News image library/inquisitr.com]")
On Saturday, at least two NCAA Tournament contenders continued to add to their resume for favorable seeds in the brackets. One team lost in a close contest and could be closer to out of the "Big Dance" than before. Both the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 19 Florida State Seminoles were victorious in the ACC, which meant losses for the bubble-riding Clemson Tigers and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Here's a look at the latest from these ACC matchups in college basketball.
FSU wins 76-74 over Clemson
For the Seminoles, Xavier Rathan-Myes played the role of late hero, driving down the court and scoring the layup to put his team ahead.
Clemson failed to get a basket with six seconds remaining in the game, giving FSU the win.
Rathan-Mayes finished with 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds in FSU's win, while Clemson received 24 points and eight boards from senior forward Jaron Blossongame.
That puts No. 19 Florida State at a record of 23-6 overall and 11-5 in the ACC. They currently are in second place for the conference standings, trailing Carolina by two games. Meanwhile, Clemson is now 14-14 overall and just 4-12 in the conference. The team is listed amongst Joe Lunardi's "First Four Out" for his latest Bracketology on ESPN.
The Seminoles are pegged as a No. 3 seed in the West region where they'd open up in Orlando against his projected No.
14 seed UNC Asheville. A lot could change, though, as FSU could end up winning the ACC Tournament to stake a claim towards a potentially higher seed than now.
UNC tops Pitt 85-67
In Saturday's action from Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, the Panthers held a 17-11 lead about eight minutes into the first half. Carolina took over from there and ended up leading 40-28 at the half.
The team never looked back with Pitt unable to close that double-digit gap.
Forward Justin Jackson led all Tar Heels' players with 23 points, while forward Kennedy Meeks added a nice double-double of 18 points and 10 boards. The Tar Heels won the rebounding battle 48-28. Starting guard Joel Berry II finished with 19 in the win.
The Panthers' Michael Young and Jamel Artis each finished with 17 points in the losing effort.
The victory moves No. 8 North Carolina to 25-5 overall and 13-3 in the conference. After today's win, the Tar Heels are still considered one of the four No. 1 seeds. Lunardi has them penciled in for the South region in Greenville, South Carolina, playing against the winner of a First Four game ahead of the tournament.
With the loss, the Panthers fell to just 4-12 in the conference and 15-14 overall. Pittsburgh was listed on Lunardi's "Next Four Out" as of this big game, so their best case scenario, albeit an unlikely one, is to win the ACC Tournament in a week or so from now, or hope for some major luck.
The latest wins also continue to showcase what is considered the best conference in the country this season. Laundry's bracket features a total of 10 ACC teams which also include Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, and Duke, amongst others.
