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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) Ding-Dong, the Witch Is Dead(UNC’s NCAA Tourney Shot)–And Virginia Dominates Reigning National Champ on Their Court
It’s one of those results that was told in the first few minutes of the game. North Carolina never held the lead–at home–against UVA and those first few minutes–the Heels were out-hustled for everything as the ‘Hoos came out and looked like the reigning NCAA Champs themselves. Virginia guard Sylven Landesberg is playing on another level as he scored a career high 29 points in the dominating effort from start to finish. Honestly, I think Coach Williams is at a loss with his team–they are just not a NCAA Tournament team–they have the talent individually, but the whole is just not all that good.
2) Hoyas Slice/Dice Blue Devils in a OOC Match in the Heart of ACC Play
It was just weird–the placement of the game, Duke not playing defense, Devils playing on the road at a tough opponent–just weird. Duke missed 20 perimeter shots, committed more fouls than normal in the ACC, and again, failed to play effective defense on the road. The game would make sense if it was a lower-scoring, close loss for the Devils, but the 89-77 result was far from sensical. The Hoyas shot 71% from the field! Weird, just weird.
3) Tigers Dig Deep and Pull Out Slugfest with Terps
Booker had one point with 7:05 to go in the second half of the 62-53 win over the Terps–one. It was Clemson forward Jerai Grant that saved the day with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks as his play staved off the late Terps run and Booker would score a vital nine points in those final 7:05 for the win. Clemson’s defense came up huge in this crucial victory as they forced 26 turnovers–Tigers PG Andre Young forced 7 steals by himself in the game. I could see signs of this team coming together offensively in the second half of the BC game–and they have a long ways to go, but this was an impressive win as they got in Maryland’s best shooters, Hayes and Vasquez, collective faces and stopped them. Hayes/Vasquez combined for 21 points–and in this game, was not good enough as they also committed a combined 14 turnovers.
4) Noles Pull Off Key ACC Road Win at BC; Player Transfers Subsequently
FSU’s star center Solomon Alabi had an outstanding game in the 61-57 ACC road win at BC. It was a typical Noles win as they grinded their opponent out on defense and put up enough points to gain the victory. A starter in the game for FSU, Jordan DeMercy, decided to transfer after the game–he only played 10 minutes despite starting. As for the Eagles, another disappointing result with a good effort–already at 10 losses, BC looks a like a better team than their record, but the bad early out of conference losses plus all of these close ACC losses lend to an extremely disappointing season thus far.
5) Canes Rise Up and Defeat Hokies 82-75
Miami is now 16-1 when leading at the half–not coincidentally, they have 16 wins on the season–this team does not come from behind, but they managed not to repeat the BC incident from a few weeks ago to hold on to their lead at home over the Hokies. This game is so far down the headlines because I’m not sure this one has much of an effect for either team–Miami will still be inconsistent and unable to complete games down the stretch and Virginia Tech will be better than this going into March–we’ll see, but I think this game is an aberration for both.
6) Cupcake Report: NC State and Georgia Tech Win
The ‘Pack took out NC Central 77-42 and the Jackets beatdown Kentucky State 98-50.
Did the Georgetown win expose some weaknesses in Duke? Can anyone behind them really step up? Are the ‘Hoos here to stay into March? Just one bad game for the Terps or a trend coming out of Clemson? Lot’s of questions to discuss if you would like in the comments…
