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The ACC is well-represented in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame escaped an upset bid from Princeton, while Virginia Tech is joining Wake Forest on the bench.

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The 2017 NCAA Tournament shifted into high gear on Thursday following the First Four set of games earlier in the week, and the ACC won three of its four contests on the event’s first full day.

Let’s check in and see how the teams from the nation’s best conference fared as we get set for Friday’s matchups.

Notre Dame

Fifth-seeded Notre Dame ended up in quite a fight with Princeton, as the Fighting Irish nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead. Mike Brey’s squad held off pesky Princeton, though, in Buffalo on Thursday to advance in the West Region. The Fighting Irish (26-9) claimed a 60-58 win behind Bonzie Colson’s 18 points. After Irish guard Matt Farrell missed the front end of a one-and-one with a 59-58 lead, Princeton’s Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer, and ND’s Steve Vasturia hauled in the rebound as the Tigers’ upset bid fell short. Brey’s team didn’t play its best, but perhaps a close first-round game is just what it needed as it gears up for an intense second-round matchup on Saturday.

In the end, Bonzie Colson could not be stopped. Princeton chose not to double team ND’s double-double machine, and his inside play was the difference. He was helped by his point guard Farrell, who went 6-of-9 shooting from the floor en route to 16 points. Notre Dame, which is the only team to reach the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons, snapped the Ivy League champion Tigers’ 19-game win streak. ND now faces a very difficult test, as it must prepare for West Virginia and its in-your-face defensive presence. Brey has to get his team to regroup, because it was beaten off the dribble by Princeton and did not look sharp down the stretch against the Tigers.

Notre Dame holds on! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/dSXHx58M4p

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2017

Virginia

It was Virginia’s offense that ultimately was the difference against UNC-Wilmington in Orlando on Thursday. Tony Bennett’s squad fell behind early, but it increased its offensive tempo and even employed a five-guard lineup to outlast the No. 12 Seahawks. London Perrantes scored 24 points and Marial Shayok added a career-high 23 off the bench to help the fifth-seeded Cavaliers (23-10) rally from a 15-point deficit and claim a 76-71 win. Perrantes scored 19 points in the second half, including a driving bank shot with 1:37 remaining to put the Cavs up 5. After UNC-Wilmington cut it to 73-71 with less than a minute to play, Shayok banked in a runner to give UVA some breathing room. Virginia advanced past the first round for the fourth consecutive year.

Perrantes was 9-of-14 shooting, while Shayok went 8 of 14 from the floor. The Cavaliers closed the first half with a 16-1 run that erased the double-digit deficit after UNCW was hot from the floor. The difference in the game was the guard play of Perrantes and Shayok, as the Seahawks could not slow the duo down. Now we’ll see if UVA can score enough to take down Florida. It’s still a defense-first team, but if Perrantes and Shayok are making their shots, maybe UVA can make a deep run. It would also help to hold KeVaughn Allen and Canyon Barry in check next round as it did against UNCW leading scorer C.J. Bryce, who was just 2-of-11 shooting against the Cavaliers.

Florida State

It wasn’t easy, but Florida State held off Florida Gulf Coast in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. The third-seeded Seminoles claimed an 86-80 win in a West Region game in Orlando on Thursday night. The Seminoles (26-8) let a late double-digit lead crumble, though, as Leonard Hamilton’s squad battled through some sloppy play. But FSU defended well enough down the stretch to hold off the Eagles’ upset bid. Dwayne Bacon led the Seminoles with 25 points to help set up a matchup against No. 11 seed Xavier on Saturday. Star freshman Jonathan Isaac added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

FSU missed 15 free throws, and some of those misses helped FGCU hang around in a game that was controlled by the ‘Noles. The inside presence of FSU’s 7-foot-1 Michael Ojo and 7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje was huge, as it forced FGCU to rely on outside shooting. The Eagles were just 8-of-28 from downtown, while the ‘Noles shot 55.6 percent from the floor. FSU attacked the rim and earned high-percentage shots, and it recorded nine blocked shots on its way to dominating the interior. It was obvious that FSU’s height, length and athleticism were the difference.

Thank you, basketball gods. ????#MustSeeACC @fsuhoops
(via @MarchMadness)pic.twitter.com/guPRord4Cl

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) March 17, 2017

Virginia Tech

Zach LeDay’s 17 second-half points were not enough, as Virginia Tech’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 ended quickly with an 84-74 loss to Wisconsin. LeDay was the Hokies’ leading scorer with 23, but it was not enought for the ninth-seeded Hokies (22-11) in Buffalo. Ultimately, VT could not contain Badgers sharp shooter Bronson Koenig, who made a school-record eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points in the win to advance in the East Region. The eighth-seeded Badgers (26-9) now have a meeting with top-seeded Villanova on Saturday.

The Hokies had surprising success inside, as LeDay was able to get several layups off of feeds from Seth Allen and Justin Robinson. But the outside shooting of Koenig and inside play of Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ were too much for VT, which missed a couple of long-range shots late. Ty Outlaw scored 16 points and Robinson had 11 for the Hokies, while Allen finished with 10. But Allen was dealing with a turf toe injury that he received treatment for in the first half and was only 3 of 10 from the field while playing only 25 minutes. Wisconsin was able to make key plays late, while VT was unable to do the same. Buzz Williams and Co. certainly missed Chris Clarke in this one, while Allen’s injury certainly didn’t help. Nonetheless, Williams has made the Hokies a tough out after three years in the program.

Friday’s games

Midwest: No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State, 2:45 p.m. ET, Indianapolis, CBS
East: No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern, 4:00 p.m. ET, Greenville, TNT
South: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy, 7:20 p.m. ET, Greenville, TBS
South: No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Michigan State, 9:20 p.m. ET, Tulsa, TNT

MORE: Purdue Exorcises NCAA Tournament Demons