ACC/Big10(11) Challenge Thread - 2010 edition

[RoyalBlue08]

Bob Knight:Shot Fake::Christopher Walken:cowbell

[FerryFor50]

Yeesh.

I don't know if it's that Wisconsin is that good, or if State isn't that good, or if it was just an anomaly. But a 39 point blowout hurts. State needs Tracy Smith back in a bad way...

[burns15]

sidenote... MD's jerseys are atrocious

[AlaskanAssassin]

sidenote... MD's jerseys are atrocious

Haha, thats exactly what I was thinking when flipped to the game. They should have worn their red jerseys.

[ice-9]

C'mon VT, lousy offensive foul!

1 point lead with 1 minute left to go...

[NSDukeFan]

C'mon VT, lousy offensive foul!

1 point lead with 1 minute left to go...

Good game to watch. Slow game, but both teams value possession and have been moving the ball around to get good shots. Both teams have missed a bunch, but it has been good to listen to as well, with Coach Knight providing commentary.

[ice-9]

Not very impressed with Delaney this game...blown layups, bad turnovers, doesn't pass enough, missed a key free throw that would have put them up by 3...not a good game for the guy at all.

Just checked the boxscore -- wow, 2-16 shooting. Let Jeff Allen take the last shot methinks?? Now the game goes into OT and I don't think VT will pull it out especially with Davila fouled out.

[ice-9]

originally posted by ice-9
the real "swing" game to me is purdue vs. Virginia tech. Purdue is more highly lauded between the two but lost in their first real test of the season against richmond. Virginia tech didn't look good against kansas st or unlv but did beat a solid oklahoma st team. Can vt play up to its preseason acc #2 expectations and get a nonconference win that they're going to need? Does purdue miss hummel and its seniors that much?

I expect maryland to win comfortably and for the vt-purdue game to go down to the wire in a low scoring, defensive slugfest. If vt wins, i say the acc pulls out with an unexpected 6-5 victory. But my gut says the hokies choke.

right so far with vt down 21-25...c'mon hokies prove me wrong! Get one for the acc!!

My Gut 1, Chokies 0

[SMO]

KI looks like the best player on the floor right now. Almost gives me chills.

[DukieInBrasil]

yeah, it looked like they gave up about 14 into the 1st half. They looked almost like zombies out there.

[Slackerb]

I watched the game and here's my observations:

You have 7 freshmen/sophomores playing in their first real road test of the season.

Mix that in with:
A veteran and well coached Wisconsin team.
A Wisconsin team that could not miss, especially from 3.
A State team that shot very poorly, even with the bad shot selection, even open shots didn't go down.
Fouls. Howell and Vandenburg foul out early to mid second half...without Smith, that leaves only 1 big body on the roster. Painter, the other big, has to play the entire second half almost with 4 fouls and no one else to relieve him.

While it wouldn't change the outcome, this game would been VERY different if the fouls were more evenly called. Wisconsin went an entire half worth of basketball, almost 27 minutes (with halftime in between) with no fouls getting called...while State racked them up. During this same time, Wisconsin went on a 15-0 run to close the first half. The foul descrepancy was 21-11, but it was about 16-4 until midway through the first second half...and Wisconsin doesn't really drive to the basket hard or dish it inside a lot. It was baffling and the people I was watching with agreed...

After that run midway to the end of the first half, it was already a blowout...and State never could recover.

A point of note: halfway through the first half, Lowe didn't like what CJ Leslie was doing and how he wasn't responding to him (he was playing one on one ball and trying to take over), so he sat him for 18 minutes of the game. He only put him back in when Vandenburg fouled out and he had to.

Good lesson, or point of contention?

Let's hope this is a learning experience and just chalk this one up to a bad night.

[ice-9]

Right so far with VT down 21-25...c'mon Hokies prove me wrong! Get one for the ACC!!

Haha, thats exactly what I was thinking when flipped to the game. They should have worn their red jerseys.

Maryland making me looking good -- I thought they'd win comfortably, but 23 points? That's domination! Maryland looks like a solid NCAA tournament team.

[77devil]

Maryland making me looking good -- I thought they'd win comfortably, but 23 points? That's domination! Maryland looks like a solid NCAA tournament team.

Agreed, but when Greenberg is whining about missing the tournament again, he can look back on today

[JasonEvans]

The question for Va Tech-- is it better to beat bad teams or lose close games to good ones?

Maryland is clearly the #2 team in the conference thus far. A lot of the teams that were expected to challenge for that role have shown themselves to have very serious issues (especially on offense where Va Tech, Clemson, and FSU look godawful).

-Jason "ACC coulda won this... ahh well" Evans

[nocilla]

When was the last time the Badgers put up 80+ in basketball? Not watching the game but State was not even at 40 points when I last checked.

I wonder who is averaging more points, the Wisc basketball team or the football team?

[Slackerb]

One thing to keep in mind RE: "no one looks like they can beat Duke in the ACC", is that while they looked horrible and still woudl have lost, State is without it's best player. And that offense is designed to run through Tracy Smith.

Still, a horrible showing by the Pack.