Delaney's place of residence...
Welcome to OTB’s ACC B-Ball Weekend Wrap-Up where we rewind the games by ranking the headlines from the weekend of ACC basketball.
1) Terps Dominate Heels 92-71
North Carolina losing is not surprising anymore this season, but the way they lost–was astounding. Heels held one lead at the start of the game, but would trail by large margins for the final 10+ minutes of the game to finally fall by 21 points. The Terps’ Vasquez was en fuego with 26 points and 11 assists with partner-in-crime Eric Hayes hitting four 3-pointers to aid in the rout. If there was a question about the Terps being a NCAA Tourney team–consider it answered emphatically by this result.
2) Duke Pulls Out Close ACC Road Win at BC
They had to hold on for dear life at the end, but Duke got the 66-63 win over Boston College on the shoulders of Scheyer and Smith each scoring 21 and knocking down key free throws. As for the Eagles, just another heart-breaker at home as they made the furious come-back, but failed to get a good shot off to force OT. I hear that some important game is coming up on Wednesday for Duke(*cough*UNC*cough*) on the road–it will be an interesting matchup of the only place that Duke has lost this season(the road that is) and a desperate team coming off a tough stretch.
3) Georgia Tech Almost Snatches Defeat From the Jaws of Victory 73-71 over ‘Pack
This is GT coach Paul Hewitt…after a win:
“This game is over,” Hewitt said. “Let’s get ready for Miami, but they better take a long look in the mirror, including me. I have to figure out what we have to do to play 40 minutes like the way we’re supposed to play ball.”
A win, it was for the Jackets, but the Wolfpack press would cause an almost complete collapse by Georgia Tech and Lowe would leave the court mad himself as he believed his player was fouled on a 3-point shot that could have won the game. Close doesn’t count though for the Wolfpack as they sit at the bottom of the ACC standings–while Georgia Tech is a game over .500 and right in the middle of the ACC standings.
4) Tigers Run A-Foul in Blacksburg–Lose 70-59 to Hokies
The Hokies’ Delaney made 20 free throws–20–2-0–TWENTY! He was at the line every other minute in the game(or something to that effect) and his Hokies pulled out the win as they had Clemson’s Booker in foul trouble and limited–and they did all of this shooting only 30.9% from the field and 18.2% from the perimeter. The Tigers lack of experience outside of Stitt at the guard position hurt them when Booker was not able to be effective and Virginia Tech took advantage(for more on the Tigers, check out my new post on the Raycom ACC Blog). This was a win that the Hokies needed as they build their tournament resume–it wasn’t pretty though.
5) Deacs Notch Road Win in OT at Virginia
It was Aminu/Smith vs. Landesberg/Scott–and the Deacs prevailed with the 64-61 OT win at Charlottesville. Wake stays just out of the ACC race for a number one seed in the ACC Tournament while the ‘Hoos need to make the most out of the second half of the ACC season because they need 5 more ACC wins + ACC Tourney wins to get off the NCAA bubble.
6) Noles Beat Rival Canes 71-65
Miami and FSU went back and forth for much of the first half and eight minutes into the second half until the ‘Noles pulled away. FSU guard Luke Loucks would come out of nowhere to lead scoring with 19 points including three 3-pointers and 6 free throws. Miami is not a terrible team, but just not all that good comparatively to the rest of the ACC as there record shows. Your guess is as good as mine as to where Florida State is as a team–the road trip to Clemson on Wednesday could tell a lot about this team.
Is Maryland going to be able to take over Duke soon? What’s up with Georgia Tech? Can Clemson and Virginia right the ship? The ACC is wide-open with a bunch of contenders and a number of bubble teams(and a few more than I expected that are heading to double digit ACC losses).
