updated 12:01 p.m. ET March 12, 2005

WASHINGTON - After escaping with a quarterfinal victory over the ninth-seeded team, No. 2 North Carolina meets Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals on Saturday.

Raymond Felton helped the Tar Heels rebound from a 13-point deficit in the final nine minutes to defeat Clemson, 88-81, on Friday.

Georgia Tech gave Virginia Tech a rude welcome to the tournament, using a 20-2 run to post a 73-54 victory on Friday.

B.J. Elder scored 19 points, while Jarrett Jack and Will Bynum added 13 each for the Yellow Jackets, who shot 55 percent (28-of-51) from the field and had a 37-27 rebounding edge.

Georgia Tech haa won the tournament three times but is seeking its first title since 1993.

North Carolina defeated Georgia Tech in their only meeting this season, 91-69, on January 12.  Williams led the Tar Heels with 18 points, while Jack had 24 for the Yellow Jackets.

A victory over Clemson probably meant little to North Carolina’s postseason plans. A loss? That’s a different story.

Felton made sure it didn’t happen.

The star point guard made the go-ahead 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down in the final 90 seconds, and the second-ranked Tar Heels avoided the biggest upset in Atlantic Coast Conference tournament history with an 88-81 victory over the Tigers on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Since the conference expanded to nine teams in 1992 — it since has gone to 11, and Boston College joins next season — no ninth-seeded team has beaten the No. 1 seed. The Tar Heels (27-3) clearly were on the ropes, trailing by 13 points with about 9 minutes left before rallying behind Felton, their All-ACC point guard.

“His will and his play was incredible,” teammate Sean May said.

Felton had 24 of his career-high 29 points in the second half and scored the final 10 points for North Carolina. Time and again down the stretch, he drove to the basket and either scored or drew a foul, and his 3 with 5½ minutes remaining cut the margin to two.

“He didn’t exactly take over,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “But one important part of our offense is Raymond’s penetration, and I think he really did force the issue three or four times in a row.”

The Tigers (16-15) increased their lead back to five on a three-point play by Olu Babalola, and they still led 79-77 on Vernon Hamilton’s over-the-shoulder layup with 2:20 left. Rashad McCants, playing for the first time since missing four games with an intestinal disorder, made a free throw and Clemson missed a pair of shots on its next possession.

That set up Felton’s fourth and final 3-pointer. With the shot clock under 10, he shot over Hamilton from a few steps beyond the arc, and it swished through for the Tar Heels’ first lead since late in the first half.

“The shot clock was going down, and I was looking for a ball screen,” Felton said. “Hamilton was trying to cheat over it, and he left me wide open.”

At that point, Roy Williams chimed in: “And the coach said shoot it.”

Shawan Robinson tried to answer on the other end, but his effort fell well short of the rim, and Felton and North Carolina held on.

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