Louisville Defeats Clemson 76-73 to Reach ACC Championship Game

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 15, 2025

Terrence Edwards scored 21 points, J’Vonne Hadley added 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 2 seed Louisville beat No. 3 seed Clemson, 76-73, on Friday night in the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals.

Chucky Hepburn, the hero of Louisville’s dramatic 75-73 quarterfinal win over Stanford, added 12 points for the Cardinals (27-6).

Chase Hunter had 23 points for Clemson (27-6), while Ian Schieffelin had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 13 Louisville is seeking its first ACC title on Saturday night, but top-seeded Duke, which held on to beat North Carolina, 74-71, in the other semifinal, stands in its way.

The Cardinals held No. 10 Clemson without a field goal for more than six minutes in the second half to build a 67-52 lead with 3:50 left.

But the Tigers cut their deficit to two with 54 seconds remaining on a layup from Hunter, who had 19 second-half points. After Louisville was called for a shot-clock violation, Clemson had the ball and chance to tie or take the lead.

But James Scott blocked Hunter’s drive after switching off his man.

Hepburn made 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds left to make a three-point game and Hunter’s leaning 3-point shot from 25 feet at the buzzer missed.

Takeaways

Clemson: The Tigers showed toughness battling back late in the fourth quarter and could prove to be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville: The Cardinals may have shown vulnerability as the Tigers were able to turn them over repeatedly with a full court press down the stretch.

Of Note

Louisville advances to the ACC Championship Game for the first time in program history.
Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey has led the Cardinals to the ACC title game in his first year leading the program.
Chucky Hepburn recorded his second straight game with double-digit scoring and at least five assists. The guard logged 12 points and five assists on Friday.
Hepburn, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, added six steals in the win.
Both Terrence Edwards Jr. and J’Vonne Hadley scored at least 20 points and pulled down at least eight rebounds for Louisville in the win.
Louisville led by 15 points with 3:28 remaining in the contest before pulling within two with less than 10 seconds in regulation.
Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin had a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in the Tigers’ loss.