Charlotte, N.C. ? The deliberate pace North Carolina needed was frustrating for No. 3 Duke, but it was a perfect tune-up for the rest of the postseason.

North Carolina slowed Friday night’s game against Duke to a crawl, enabling the Tar Heels to hang with the Blue Devils for much of the contest before eventually bowing out 60-48 in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

The defeat officially ended Carolina’s (8-20) record of 27 straight appearances in the NCAA tournament and secured its first 20-loss season in school history.

“That was an NCAA tournament game,” said Jason Williams, who led Duke with 20 points. “Tournament games are going to be slowed down and you are going to be fighting for possession after possession. That’s what happened here.”

After losing the first two meetings with Duke (27-3) by a combined 54 points including Sunday’s 93-68 drubbing the Tar Heels knew they couldn’t run with the Blue Devils. Needing to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to extend the season, coach Matt Doherty spent the week working on a completely different game plan.

What he came up with was one of the slowest tempos in North Carolina history, with guard Adam Boone often stopping the ball at midcourt as 10 or more seconds ticked off and the Tar Heels let the clock wind all the way down before taking their shots.

“You don’t want to have to play that way, but it was the only chance we had to win,” said Doherty, who had clearly been crying in the locker room.

No. 2 Maryland 85, Florida State 59

Charlotte, N.C. Juan Dixon scored 20 points, and Byron Mouton added 18 to help No. 2 Maryland pull away from Florida State for a victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

No. 5 Cincinnati 71, Charlotte 55

Cincinnati Steve Logan managed only seven points, but No. 5 Cincinnati used its defense to beat Charlotte in the Conference USA semifinals. Cincinnati (29-3) matched the school record for wins.

No. 7 Pittsburgh 76, No. 20 Miami 71

New York Brandin Knight and Julius Page took over down the stretch and led No. 7 Pittsburgh to its second straight Big East tournament championship game. Knight tied the tournament record with 14 assists and scored 20 points for the Panthers (27-4), who lost last year’s title game to Boston College.

No. 8 Alabama 91, Tennessee 72

Atlanta Rod Grizzard and Alabama showed just how potent they can be this postseason. Grizzard scored a career-high 33 points, including 27 in the first half, to carry the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide over Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

No. 22 USC 89, No. 9 Oregon 78

Los Angeles Brandon Granville and reserve Desmon Farmer scored 17 points each to lead six players in double figures, and the Trojans defeated the ninth-ranked Ducks in the semifinals of the Pacific-10 tournament.

No. 10 Illinois 92, Minnesota 76

Indianapolis Cory Bradford scored a season-high 25 points, including 18 in the first half, as the 10th-ranked Illini defeated the Golden Gophers.

Mississippi State 62, No. 11 Florida 52

Atlanta A few weeks ago, Florida was a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Not anymore. A late-season slide by the No. 11 Gators carried over to the Southeastern Conference tournament, where a terrible shooting night helped Mississippi State to a victory in the quarterfinals.

South Carolina 70, No. 12 Kentucky 57

Atlanta South Carolina ended a 12-game losing streak to the 12th-ranked Wildcats with a victory in the SEC quarterfinals, playing stifling defense as five players scored in double figures. Kentucky had won eight of the past 10 league tournaments, including last year’s.

No. 13 Marquette 85, Houston 73

Cincinnati Cordell Henry scored 27 points and No. 13 Marquette used its balanced offense to beat Houston, earning a berth in the Conference USA championship game.

No. 15 Arizona 90, No. 25 California 78

Los Angeles Arizona earned a spot in the Pacific-10 tournament final against Southern California with a victory over California. Jason Gardner led Arizona with 25 points, and Luke Walton scored 20.

LSU 78, No. 17 Georgia 76

Atlanta Georgia had another meltdown in the Southeastern Conference tournament, losing to LSU when Ezra Williams missed two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. The Bulldogs (21-9), who came in as the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Division, have lost their first game in the tournament four years in a row.

No. 19 Connecticut 82, Notre Dame 77

New York Freshman Ben Gordon had 19 points and six assists for Connecticut. He scored four points and had an assist on the closing basket of the Huskies’ 10-0 run that broke open the close game and made it 69-59 with 6:35 to play.

No. 21 Ohio State 75, Michigan 68

Indianapolis Terence Dials scored 14 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 21 Ohio State held off Michigan in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. Brian Brown and Zach Williams each had 11 for the Buckeyes (21-7), while Boban Savovic and Brent Darby added 10.

No. 23 Indiana 67, Michigan State 56

Indianapolis Indiana’s defense wasn’t about to let another double-digit lead vanish against Michigan State. The Hoosiers received 14 points from Big Ten player of the year Jared Jeffries and 11 each from Dane Fife and Tom Coverdale.

No. 24 Xavier 66, Dayton 59

Philadelphia David West scored 21 points, and No. 24 Xavier beat Dayton to earn a spot in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game. Romain Sato added 16 points for Xavier (24-5).