A few lingering thoughts on last night's first round games before they fade from memory, overtaken by subsequent memories and events:

Wake Forest and Georgia Tech did not bumble their way through their double overtime game, won by the Demon Deacons, 114-112. The combatants in the marathon contest combined to make 74 of 125 field goal attempts, their combined 59.2 percent accuracy the best ever by two teams in an ACC Tournament game. They also combined to make 25 of 40 3-pointers, 62.5 percent accuracy.

Individuals also shone for both Georgia Tech and especially Wake Forest. Ish Smith, the Deacon point guard who paced the ACC in assists during the regular season, with 5.9 per game, had 15 against the Yellow Jackets, some of the improbably spectacular variety that left onlookers shaking their heads appreciately and defenders wondering what happened. Smith’s total was the most ever for an individual in an ACC Tournament game, eclipsing the 13 compiled by North Carolina’s Larry Brown in 1963.

Then there was Harvey Hale, averaging eight points per outing this season. Hale came off the bench and exploded for 21 points in the two overtime periods, joining the ranks of unlikely tournament heroes such as MVP Larry Worsley of N.C. State in 1965 and Jamal Robinson of Virginia, who made first team all-tournament in 1994 and never returned to such heights again.

Folks here at the St. Pete Times Forum were still buzzing this morning about the 2 OT extravaganza, asking one another whether they stayed up to see it, or stayed around to watch as the game ended at nearly 1 AM. Like a gift from those basketball gods coaches like to cite, it was an experience to savor.

Consider, on the other hand, the fate of Duke, which lost in overtime to N.C. State and was eliminated in its ACC Tournament opener for the first time since 1997. Through much of the game, with the outcome in the balance, coach Mike Krzyzewski sat on the bench, uncharacteristically calm, right hand cupped over his mouth. He called timeouts to set up plays, but infrequently remonstrated with officials or shouted encouragement to his team.

Following the Wolfpack’s 85-80 victory, Krzyzewski went on at length about his team’s failure to communicate adequately on the court the past several weeks, with the result they played as individuals rather than a unit, a cardinal sin in the Coach K catechism. “Effort is coordinated as a result of having talk,” he said. “You have to talk on defense. In the last two weeks we’re not communicating on defense.”

His words, and his sideline demeanor, indicated a coach who, while praising his players, was a bit fed up with their actions.

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A front page story in todays St. Petersburg Times recounts the difficulties that scalpers are experiencing trying to sell tickets to the ACC Tournament. The demand just is not there, and of course there are not a great number of interested fans in the area eager to get in the games. So, if Triangle residents don't mind a 14-hour drive, hey, chances are they can find a spot among the 22,269 spectators.