Among the many interesting scenes that didn't make the TV coverage (and perhaps other media as well) of the ACC Tournament late yesterday were incidents involving N.C. State coach Herb Sendek and UNC coach Roy Williams.

As the Wolfpack coaches and players were walking off the court after the traditional handshake with Wake Forest's personnel, a handful of fans wearing NCSU gear vented their frustration at Sendek. At one point, Sendek directly yelled back at one of the hecklers, and the coach appeared to invite the fan to join him court-side for a more intimate discussion. Pack assistant Larry Harris eventually grabbed Sendek and ushered him into the tunnel and away from the fray.

Later, during the Maryland-BC matchup that completed yesterday's schedule, UNC's Williams took a seat court-side, in an area that is reserved for coaches who want to scout a potential opponent or just chat with someone while observing a game. Apparently, Williams made the mistake of carrying a beverage in a Coke-sponsored cup with him. (The Tar Heels have a sponsorship deal with Coke, as anyone who visits the Smith Center can see.) An ACC administrator soon told the coach that the ACC Tournament and the Greensboro Coliseum both are sponsored by Pepsi, and that Williams needed to pour his drink into a container that was either clear/plain or contained a logo from a Pepsi product. Williams reacted angrily to the request, and he then sarcastically asked how far the league was willing to go to (paraphrasing) prostitute itself. Eventually, the coach did comply, but he obviously wasn't happy about it. Officials weren't thrilled with his response, either....

There was a great crowd on hand for today's Duke-Wake Forest opener, just as there was yesterday for the quarterfinal round. At any given moment, there were clearly more than 20,000 people in their seats, with only a few vacancies here and there. Factoring in trips to the restroom and concession stands, it was safe to say that there was a full house (23,000-plus) for both semifinals. Duke was well-represented, but the colors and sounds in the stands suggested that Wake -- obviously supported by a high percentage of "neutral" observers -- got most of the support in the opener. Meanwhile, North Carolina fans are all over the place, overwhelming the small pockets of Boston College boosters....

First Result: Duke 78, Wake Forest 66

It'll probably get buried in the game stories, but Duke guard Sean Dockery played a huge role early with his constant harassment of Wake Forest star Justin Gray. Dockery was high-energy and disruptive from the start, and he held Gray (the Demon Deacons' leading scorer) scoreless for the first 14-plus minutes. Gray ended up with 15 points, but he was only 6-16 from the field and 3-10 from three-point range. In addition, he repeatedly had problems getting the Deacs into their half-court sets, thanks to the in-your-face presence of Dockery, who often picked up Gray in the backcourt. At one point, Dockery frustrated Gray by getting a five-second closely guarded call for a key turnover....

If there's been a common theme to the winners of this tournament through three-plus days, it's this: Good-to-great production from your stars PLUS confident/aggressive play from two or more role players EQUALS victory. The three teams still standing have the two items working in concert. The nine teams who have been sent home lacked one or both elements....

Duke's winning formula against Miami revolved around stars J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, plus strong shooting by guard DeMarcus Nelson and steady floor play from freshman point guard Greg Paulus. Against Wake, the ingredients were Redick (20 points) and Williams (12 points, five rebounds, two blocks) again, more strong play from Paulus (18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one turnover), and a thrilling effort from freshman forward Josh McRoberts. He finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists (both on behind-the-back passes) and a block....

Redick has the reputation as one of the most hated players in America, and Paulus likely will inherit that role next year, but senior forward Lee Melchionni seemed to be the main whipping boy for Wake fans today. It didn't start out that way, but Melchionni gestured toward the Wake section several times, essentially asking for trouble. On one play, Melchionni came into contact with a Wake player, but there was no call. As the Wake fans went nuts, Melchionni smiled and waved his arms at them while continuing down the court, and the Wake fans responded as requested by raising their volume and then booing Melchionni at the next dead ball....

A pet peeve of many in the anti-Duke crowd is the perception that coach Mike Krzyzewski gets special treatment from the officials. I personally think the entire tournament has been well-officiated -- as always, with plenty of close (and some incorrect) calls that go against either team -- and that includes the Duke games. But two incidents reinforced the perception about Coach K. After official Bernard Clinton nailed Redick for a charge on a 50-50 call that could've gone either way, Krzyzewski stewed. During the ensuing TV timeout, Clinton spent two full minutes -- as these things go, that's an eternity -- talking and listening calmly with Coach K in front of the Duke bench, as the coach essentially ignored his team during the break. Later, official Gary Maxwell spent at least 60 seconds by Krzyzewski's side, again in full (and peaceful) two-way conversation, during a Wake Forest free throw situation. It didn't appear that the Wake coaches even noticed, much less cared, about the sequence of events. But the Demon Deacons never got the benefit of such prolonged one-on-one time with the referees, and that's exactly the situation many ACC coaches have complained about for years....

The favorite cheer of the Wake Forest student section during Duke free throws? "Your mother doesn't love you!"....

How's this for an unusual sight: A white-bearded man who appeared to be in his 50s had a seat near one of the baselines, in one of the Wake Forest sections. He was wearing the black-and-gold tie-dyed shirt that has been popular among fans of the Demon Deacons for several years. Now for the odd part: On top of the Wake shirt, he wore a No. 50 basketball jersey with "Poplar Bluff" as the team name across the front. Poplar Bluff, of course, is the high school of star UNC freshman Tyler Hansbrough. Obviously, that fan was planning to stay for both games....

Second Result: Boston College 85, UNC 82

News flash: Boston College is really, really good. Some veteran ACC observers objected to the inclusion of power forward Craig Smith on the All-ACC first team, and Smith now has two straight all-universe performances at the ACC Tournament. How's this for two stat lines: 21 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists (one turnover) and three steals against Maryland, then 23 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals versus UNC. In today's game, he did most of his damage against Carolina's David Noel, who's one of the top defenders and most sculpted athletes in the league. So far, Smith is the MVP of the weekend....

The most surprising development of the day was the collapse of UNC's defense, which has been the best in the conference this season. BC shot 61 percent from the field. In some cases, the Eagles simply made outstanding individual plays, but on many other occasions the Tar Heels were either late coming out on a shooter, slow getting back in transition, or just dominated in head-to-head battles inside. Forward Jared Dudley finished with 21 points, guard Sean Marshall had 14 and freshman guard Tyrese Rice had 10....

The UNC-BC game was by far the most physical contest of the tournament. The Eagles are a physically imposing bunch, and they play an inside-out style offensively that maximizes the amount of contact in the lane. With Noel giving away some size to Smith, and Tyler Hansbrough the Tar Heels' only other reliable post player, Carolina simply wore down physically for one of the few times this season....

The Eagles have many NBA-like aspects to their style. They have a punch-the-clock approach to the game, never getting too high or too low, whether ahead or behind. Along the same lines, no ACC team talks with officials more often, or more casually. Jared Dudley spent an entire two-shot free throw situation with an arm around one of the officials, discussing in detail the previous play. The BC bench, led by head coach Al Skinner (a former NBA player), mostly takes a similar approach. The coaches don't berate the referees, and they limit the wild gyrations often seen after disappointing calls, preferring instead to converse calmly with the men in stripes. Just another day at the office....

Seen in the stands: former UNC players Jackie Manuel, Damion Grant and Kevin Salvadori. They had very good seats near mid-court, all in the same row. Surprisingly, they said they hadn't seen any other former Carolina players all weekend long, and they hadn't seen many of their former ACC opponents, either. Salvadori, who now works in sales in the Charlotte area, said the 2006 tournament is the first he's attended since he was a player in the early 1990s....

The Eagles obviously are very, very tired of the new-guy angle that's often brought up by sportswriters who cover the league's other 11 schools. "We didn't crash the party," BC coach Al Skinner said, in response to a question that used that phrase. "We're part of this league now. People are going to have to get used to this."...

With a lead that hovered around double-digits at the 10-minute mark, BC took advantage of a strong ball-handling lineup down the stretch that (until the very end) did an outstanding job of dealing with the full-court pressure and half-court traps that UNC always utilizes when it's behind in the second half. After building their lead with big-bodied shooter Sean Marshall at wing guard, the Eagles switched to a quintet led by both of their smooth-handling point guards, senior Louis Hinnant and freshman Tyrese Rice. As the Tar Heels learned, it's very difficult to pressure a team with two point guards on the floor, and the Eagles got a handful of easy baskets on those possessions when they broke through the initial line of defense....

UNC coach Roy Williams couldn't let his post-game press conference end without a sly reference to the mini-controversy (Pepsi/Coke) outlined above. Throughout an extended Q&A session, Williams dramatically peeled pieces of tape from a roll and placed them over his Coke-sponsored cup, to cover the offending logos. When he ran out of tape, he (unprompted) made his first public comments about the topic, with sarcasm dripping from every word. "Does anybody have any extra tape they can lend me," Williams said, "so they don't fine me or take away my shoe contract because I came up here with the wrong sponsor?"

Again, thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.