WOMEN’S ACC Day 1: Wake Forest endures, Clemson hangs on and Boston College surprises on Day 1 of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament

Wake Forest – 68
Virginia – 57

Clemson – 71
Pitt – 53

Boston College – 62
Georgia Tech – 57

There’s no cheering in the press box, as the old-timers like to say. So at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament — held all week here at the Greensboro Coliseum — I’m not supposed to have a favorite. But, of course, I’m low-key pulling for Wake Forest, the only ACC team in the Triad, where the ACC was born.

This tournament has been held in Greensboro 23 of the past 24 years, skipping only 2017 because of the notorious NC Bathroom Bill, which was repealed and replaced after costing the state $3.76 billion in lost opportunities from film shoots, tourism, economic development, gay weddings and, yes, sports tournaments.

That contract is up this year; a new one has not been signed. It’s possible that the women’s tournament might go the way of the men’s, for which Greensboro had been the default location for generations but now jumps around the country like the monster truck show.

The Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament comes back to Greensboro next week. But it’s possible this could be the last we see of the women for a while. More on that as it develops.

Anyway, back to Wake Forest, which came into the first day as a 12-seed against 13-seed Virginia.

The first day of this tournament is an undercard: It’s the day the bottom six teams make their cases for advancement. Carolina, a 7-seed, won’t play until tomorrow; 2-seed Duke and 1-seed Notre Dame won’t start their runs until Friday.

It’s possible we’ll see a Duke-Carolina game on Friday — Carolina fans crept into the coliseum today to watch the Clemson Tigers (10-seed) defeat Pitt (15-seed) 71-53. The TV folks are hoping the Tarheels can handle Clemson tomorrow so we’ll get that big-time showdown, a rivalry in the women’s game that’s as strong as in the men’s.

As far as I know, there’s no established rivalry between Boston College (11-seed) and Georgia Tech (14-seed). Boston College is a relative newcomer to the ACC, coming over in 2005 as the first conference team from the Northeast.

I took Georgia Tech on my bracket in this one. But I found myself rooting against my own pick because of the singular play of Boston College sophomore center Maria Gakdeng, a 6-foot-3 dynamo with an incredibly high basketball IQ. Against the Yellowjackets she scored 14 points, tied for team high with junior guard Dontavia Waggoner, shooting 6-6 from the field and contributing 7 rebounds in the 62-57 upset.

She’s magnificent; I don’t even mind the busted bracket. Looking forward to her performance against Miami in the next round.

Miami is not fucking around, by the way — the whole team came in to watch the last game of the night from the stands, including the mega-influencer Cavinder twins, both chewing gum. More on them tomorrow.

But back to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who have disappointed me time and time again with their tournament performance. This time, Wake pulled ahead two minutes into the first quarter and never lost the lead. They took it 68-57, with 19 points and three rebounds from junior guard Jewel Spear, and a ridiculous 11 rebounds from junior forward Demeara Hinds. Still, they will have to shoot better than 45 percent from the field to beat 5-seed Florida State tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I’ve got Florida State (5-seed) beating Wake Forest tomorrow, Carolina beating Clemson (hoping for that Tobacco Road matchup!) and 6-seed Miami advancing to Friday against 3-seed Virginia Tech.