GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Georgia Tech took the difficult, windy route, but coach Paul Hewitt has his talent-laden team where many felt it should be: the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

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Jim Bounds/Associated Press

Georgia Tech players react at the end their semifinal game against North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Jackets will face No. 1-seeded Duke in the final.

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Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors (top) slaps the ball away as N.C. State's Tracy Smith falls back in the second half of the Jackets' win Saturday. Favors finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

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Jim Bounds/Associated Press

Georgia Tech's Glen Rice Jr. (right) dribbles behind his back as N.C. State's Javier Gonzalez defends. The Jackets won by three.

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Just overlook all those maddening turnovers and blown leads.

Overcoming another near second-half meltdown, the Yellow Jackets ended North Carolina State's surprise run in this ACC Tournament full of upsets with a 57-54 victory on Saturday in the semifinals.

With freshman Derrick Favors contributing 17 points and eight rebounds, fellow NBA prospect Gani Lawal posting a double-double and highly touted guard Iman Shumpert making another key defensive play late, the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-11) advanced to today's final against top-seeded and No. 4 Duke.

Despite his team coughing up a 10-point halftime lead and looking rattled against the press in the second half, Hewitt was smiling after being a target of criticism for what some argue is serial underachieving.

Georgia Tech had recently tumbled out of the rankings and entered the tournament with five losses in seven games.

"The fans have been great, that's the one thing that has been consistent. There are other areas where some cheap shots have been taken," Hewitt said. "When I walk through the airports and go out to dinner with my family, you would be really shocked at how this stuff has turned. Now everybody goes out of their way to say, 'Hey coach, we respect what you're doing.' "

They might be a little louder now after Georgia Tech halted 11th-seeded N.C. State's dream of stealing the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In a sloppy game where both teams showed the fatigue of playing for a third consecutive day, the Wolfpack made more mistakes down the stretch.

Tracy Smith had 15 points for N.C. State (19-15). Javier Gonzalez had a chance to atone for a key turnover and intentional foul in the final 2 minutes, but he missed a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.