This Week in the ACC: 1/17/11 - 1/24/11

[Bob Green]

Tuesday:

Clemson @ UNC (the Tar Heels only play once this week)

Wednesday:

Duke @ NC State (we need to secure our first conference road win)
Wake Forest @ Georgia Tech
Virginia @ Boston College
Florida State @ Miami

Thursday:

Virginia Tech @ Maryland (neither team can afford to lose)

Saturday:

Duke @ Wake Forset
Georgia Tech @ Virginia
Clemson @ Maryland
Boston College @ Florida State
Longwood @ Virginia Tech

Sunday:

Miami @ NC State

[gw67]

Thanks for posting Bob.

There are eleven ACC games this week and several of them will be interesting, IMO.

The Devils “travel” to NC State and Wake for road games. The opposition has played the Devils tough the last three games and Duke has lost its’ only real road game this year; nevertheless, I expect talent, experience and superior coaching to hold sway in these games and for the Devils to improve to 5-1 in league play.

Clemson also goes on the road to play UNC and Maryland. The Tigers, as usual, have a good early season record against mediocre opposition and they have lost 2 of 3 on the road. While Pomeroy shows that they have been playing well, I expect them to lose both games.

BC plays Virginia at home and visits Florida State. They should defeat the Cavs and lose to the Noles.

Florida State at Miami, Virginia Tech at Maryland and Miami at NC State are toss up games although the home teams have an advantage in league play.

Wake travels to Atlanta to play GT and Tech should get their 2nd win.

At the end of this week, I predict that Duke will lead the conference at 5-1, followed by UNC at 3-1, BC 4-2, seven teams at 3-2 or 2-3 and Wake at 0-5. The outlier is Florida State. If they can win on the road against Miami, they can tie the Devils at the top.

gw67

[sagegrouse]

Tuesday:

Clemson @ UNC (the Tar Heels only play once this week)
Wednesday:

Duke @ NC State (we need to secure our first conference road win)
Wake Forest @ Georgia Tech
Virginia @ Boston College
Florida State @ Miami
Thursday:

Virginia Tech @ Maryland (neither team can afford to lose)

Saturday:

Duke @ Wake Forest
Georgia Tech @ Virginia
Clemson @ Maryland
Boston College @ Florida State
Longwood @ Virginia Tech

Sunday:

Miami @ NC State

With five one-loss teams in the ACC, this could be a "breakout week" that gives some shape to the conference standings. (In a gentler time I might have referred to this as jailbreak week, but that's no joke any more.) There will be -- at most -- three one-loss teams by Sunday night.

Highlights from atop the grouse's lek:



Clemson-UNC and FSU-BC match two one-loss teams. UNC-Clemson is a program game for both teams: Is UNC going down the tubes again? Can Clemson finally turn out the lights in Chapel Hill.
Duke goes on the road in-state twice, vs State in a get-even game and Wake (Sage Grouse is taking nothing for granted in Winston).
VT-Md is an important game for two contenders, as Bob has pointed out. Maryland must win at home.
sagegrouse

[loran16]

(Sage Grouse is taking nothing for granted in Winston).
[/LIST][/INDENT]sagegrouse

Take it for granted in Winston. The only question is by how much will we win by. Wake is truly and utterly godawful this year. They will be lucky to defeat Georgia Tech once this year....if Duke truly is the top of the ACC, Wake will be lucky to lose by 20.

[pfrduke]

Take it for granted in Winston. The only question is by how much will we win by. Wake is truly and utterly godawful this year. They will be lucky to defeat Georgia Tech once this year....if Duke truly is the top of the ACC, Wake will be lucky to lose by 20.

It's really hard to describe how bad Wake is, but this helps: with 8 minutes to play, Wake trails Georgia Tech 68-29. They have 3!!!! total points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Ugh.

[Duvall]

It's really hard to describe how bad Wake is, but this helps: with 8 minutes to play, Wake trails Georgia Tech 68-29. They have 3!!!! total points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Ugh.

No one can tell you how bad Wake Forest is - you have to see it for yourself.

[NSDukeFan]

No one can tell you how bad Wake Forest is - you have to see it for yourself.

That made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

[loran16]

From Patrick Stevens (D1scourse - MD Blogger and former newspaper journalist):

" So, based on Wake's work so far and its game tonight especially, can we say that five teams will have a bye in the ACC tournament this year? "

[arnie]

No one can tell you how bad Wake Forest is - you have to see it for yourself.

So we shouldn't have a problem with them this Saturday? Games in Winston Salem are usually very intense!

[Olympic Fan]

Good road win for FSU tonight at Miami. They trailed for 35 minutes, but stayed close with some great defense, then took a seemingly safe lead with a 9-0 run, keyed by Mr. Kitchen. Then, just when it seemed they were in control, they almost gave it back at the FT line -- but Durand Scott blew two chances to tie with inept driving shots, then Thomas had a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer either blocked or there was a foul and the refs swallowed the whistle (not sure ... I thought it was a foul and was before the buzzer ... Dan Bonner thought it was a block and came after the buzzer. Fox did a poor job of clearing it up with replays).

BC also kept pace with Duke and FSU (all three are now 4-1 in the league), but I was more impressed with how tough Virginia played them in Chesnut Hills. Got to give Tony Bennett credit for keeping a crippled team competitive.

Second great game in a row for Georgia Tech, but you've got to wonder how much to credit them and how much to rip on Wake. The Deacs ended up scoring 13 second-half points (after scoring 26 in the first half).

Miami is at N.C. State Saturday and at 1-3 in the ACC, both are already in pretty desperate shape.

The loser to tonight's game -- Virginia Tech at Maryland -- is going to be in deep poo too.

[Bob Green]

Road wins are going to be key for teams to separate themselves from the muddy middle this season. Tonight, Duke and Florida State went on the road and won.

[loran16]

Good road win for FSU tonight at Miami. They trailed for 35 minutes, but stayed close with some great defense, then took a seemingly safe lead with a 9-0 run, keyed by Mr. Kitchen. Then, just when it seemed they were in control, they almost gave it back at the FT line -- but Durand Scott blew two chances to tie with inept driving shots, then Thomas had a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer either blocked or there was a foul and the refs swallowed the whistle (not sure ... I thought it was a foul and was before the buzzer ... Dan Bonner thought it was a block and came after the buzzer. Fox did a poor job of clearing it up with replays).

BC also kept pace with Duke and FSU (all three are now 4-1 in the league), but I was more impressed with how tough Virginia played them in Chesnut Hills. Got to give Tony Bennett credit for keeping a crippled team competitive.

Second great game in a row for Georgia Tech, but you've got to wonder how much to credit them and how much to rip on Wake. The Deacs ended up scoring 13 second-half points (after scoring 26 in the first half).

Miami is at N.C. State Saturday and at 1-3 in the ACC, both are already in pretty desperate shape.

The loser to tonight's game -- Virginia Tech at Maryland -- is going to be in deep poo too.

Before today, Wake was losing on average by 23.4 points (efficiency margins here, not an exact average). If we consider the road, that's probably 30 points. GT won by 35, so lets say at least 5 points of that was GT's own skill. Which is not bad at all.

[gw67]

Virginia, NC State and Miami are all 1-3. I expect Virginia to defeat GT and State to beat Miami this weekend to move up. Maryland is at home against VT and Clemson and wins will also move them up the standings; however, a loss in either game will hurt. At the end of the week Duke and Florida State should be tied at 5-1.

I note that DBR did not link the following Post article on the Terps. This is an old story regarding Maryland basketball. Gary Williams doesn't like the three-point shot and has never adjusted to the modern game and recruited good outside shooters. As a result he has lost a bunch of games over the years where an observer would say that Maryland played better but they lost to a team that shot and made more outside shots (see game against BC earlier this year). That weakness coupled with awful shooting from the foul line has doomed them against good teams although they have been competitive or better in other aspects of the games. It will be interesting to see how they do against the two best three-point and foul shooting teams in the ACC (ACC games).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011906624.html

gw67

[-jk]

Well, Maryland is stinking up the game. Down 15 early in the second half. Jordan Williams - trying to tie Elmore's double-double streak - has 3 points and 7 boards.

-jk

[loran16]

Yes their loss to Virginia was bad, but aside from that they now have wins against FSU and AT Maryland, both by not bad margins. They've been the most efficient team in the ACC thus far and look to be doing well despite tremendous injuries. Yeah they blew the UNC game but it was AT UNC, so it was hardly a game that was an easy win.

[Bob Green]

Yeah they blew the UNC game but it was AT UNC, so it was hardly a game that was an easy win.

Erick Green was out of the Carolina game down the stretch due to leg cramps. If he was able to stay on the court, perhaps VT wins that game. Of course, if worms carried .45s, chickens wouldn't eat them!

Bottom line: Virginia Tech is still in the hunt for a successful season and an NCAAT berth.

[gw67]

Last night started pretty well for me. I had a couple of golfing buddies over and we had a good time planning our spring and fall outings (Pennsylvania and Williamsburg). When they left, I turned on the tube and the Caps were about to win a low scoring game. I then made the mistake of settling in to watch the Terps against the Hokies. Seemingly within a minute or so, Tech grabbed a 12-0 lead and never looked back. All the negatives associated with the Maryland basketball team seemed to line up – poor play by freshmen point guards in conference games; ineffective offensive play against a zone and inability to get ball inside to Williams; poor shooting from the field; ineffective press; and a lack of energy on the boards and going for loose balls. On top of this, Tech spread the floor and sliced up the Maryland defense, and they played with high energy.

In recent years, Maryland fans have gotten used to slow starts against OOC opponents and playing at least one “stinker” every year (think William and Mary, Ohio U., Morgan State). Well they somehow avoided the horrible game until conference time and I suspect last night was it. Where they go from here, nobody, including G. Williams, knows. In the past, they have made comebacks to get on the bubble but I think last night’s game on national TV and a 0-2 start at home has doomed them. Further, the players they depend on for leadership, Bowie, Tucker, Mosley and Gregory, are simply not good enough to carry them to success in the ACC. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Williams does to shake things up. You can’t lose your seniors and juniors but I would cut into their time and play Palsson, Parker and Padgett more minutes. I would grit my teeth and hope that one or both of the freshmen point guards begins to understand the intensity and energy needed for conference games.

Lastly, some folks will read into this game that Tech is a good team. First, Maryland has played good teams (Duke, Pitt, Nova. Illinois, Temple). The Hokies are not close that good. They always get up for Maryland and to Greenbergs’ credit, he came up with a very good game plan. The link below provides quotes from coaches and players. I like the quotes from both coaches.

http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/012111aaa.html

gw67

[pjhw2021]

Last night started pretty well for me. I had a couple of golfing buddies over and we had a good time planning our spring and fall outings (Pennsylvania and Williamsburg). When they left, I turned on the tube and the Caps were about to win a low scoring game. I then made the mistake of settling in to watch the Terps against the Hokies. Seemingly within a minute or so, Tech grabbed a 12-0 lead and never looked back. All the negatives associated with the Maryland basketball team seemed to line up – poor play by freshmen point guards in conference games; ineffective offensive play against a zone and inability to get ball inside to Williams; poor shooting from the field; ineffective press; and a lack of energy on the boards and going for loose balls. On top of this, Tech spread the floor and sliced up the Maryland defense, and they played with high energy.

In recent years, Maryland fans have gotten used to slow starts against OOC opponents and playing at least one “stinker” every year (think William and Mary, Ohio U., Morgan State). Well they somehow avoided the horrible game until conference time and I suspect last night was it. Where they go from here, nobody, including G. Williams, knows. In the past, they have made comebacks to get on the bubble but I think last night’s game on national TV and a 0-2 start at home has doomed them. Further, the players they depend on for leadership, Bowie, Tucker, Mosley and Gregory, are simply not good enough to carry them to success in the ACC. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Williams does to shake things up. You can’t lose your seniors and juniors but I would cut into their time and play Palsson, Parker and Padgett more minutes. I would grit my teeth and hope that one or both of the freshmen point guards begins to understand the intensity and energy needed for conference games.

Lastly, some folks will read into this game that Tech is a good team. First, Maryland has played good teams (Duke, Pitt, Nova. Illinois, Temple). The Hokies are not close that good. They always get up for Maryland and to Greenbergs’ credit, he came up with a very good game plan. The link below provides quotes from coaches and players. I like the quotes from both coaches.

http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/012111aaa.html

gw67

I agree with everything you've said. I was at this game and wanted to punch a baby afterwards. We have held our own (though unfortunately have not won) against elite, ranked teams at AWAY games, but we self-imploded against a mediocre (I would argue) Virginia Tech at HOME. Geez. Seriously concerned about our tourney chances now.

I think Gary has made a statement in some of the last MD games that even if you're a senior, if you can't step up, you WILL be replaced. Cliff Tucker is extremely inconsistent in his game and hadn't started since early December (I think), with freshman Stoglin in his place. Last night Howard, another freshman, started because Stoglin was late for a team "thing" (Gary's words) and Tucker started as well. It was obvious how that worked out. I think Tucker will be back on the bench, and hopefully Sean Mosley and the other seniors get the message that they will be next. Most of these seniors are used to having a supporting role behind Vasquez and Eric Hayes, and they seem to have not gotten the message that this is their turn to lead. Though the bench is young and with it make some rookie mistakes, many of the players riding it have showed way more effort and enthusiasm than most of the starters on the floor last night.

In last night's game Gary put in freshman Mychal Parker for 8 minutes. He hasn't played in 9 games this season and hasn't ever put in more than 11 minutes, which were against cupcake teams. I think this was also a sign of Gary's desperation and another demonstration to the "leaders" (yeah right) of this team that they have some serious work to do.

This game was also a somber foreshadowing of where Maryland will be next year if Jordan Williams goes to the NBA (possible, but not likely). Maryland is nothing when they can't get the ball to Jordan.

Hey, Maryland was told the game started at 11...no wonder they didn't show up. :(

[Bob Green]

Saturday action is underway with Virginia pounding Georgia Tech 43-29 at the half. Farrakhan is playing strong as is freshman K.T. Harrell. They both have 13 points.

[dukelifer]

Saturday action is underway with Virginia pounding Georgia Tech 43-29 at the half. Farrakhan is playing strong as is freshman K.T. Harrell. They both have 13 points.

I was beginning to wonder if Tech had turned a corner - but watching them play away from home- they look a bit lost. There is really no leader on that team.

[Bob Green]

In their 72-64 victory over Georgia Tech, Virginia shot 10-15 on 3-point field goals. The Cavaliers consistently pushed the ball up the center of the court and dished the ball to wide open shooters in the corners. I quit watching with 7 minutes to go and Virginia up 13 points as I had to take care of a quick task but in watching this game I was surprised at Virginia successfully playing uptempo when it was available. A huge part of their success was not forcing things when they were not available but backing of and running their half court sets.

[jv001]

In their 72-64 victory over Georgia Tech, Virginia shot 10-15 on 3-point field goals. The Cavaliers consistently pushed the ball up the center of the court and dished the ball to wide open shooters in the corners. I quit watching with 7 minutes to go and Virginia up 13 points as I had to take care of a quick task but in watching this game I was surprised at Virginia successfully playing uptempo when it was available. A huge part of their success was not forcing things when they were not available but backing of and running their half court sets.

Virginia has a great young coach. He never seems to get rattled and has his players ready to play. When they begin to recruit better, watch out. Go Duke!

[CDu]

It's 50-38 with 8 minutes to go in Tallahassee. The 'Noles are just shutting down what had been the 2nd most efficient offense in the country this year. FSU's defense is really good. There's a lot of time left though, and because FSU isn't an offensive juggernaut BC is not out of it. That said, I'm becoming more convinced that BC will fall back to the pack.

[davekay1971]

The Wolfpack is currently 1-3 in the ACC and many have already written them, and Lowe, off. But you don't get the feel that they've written themselves off. And really, when you look at their first 4 ACC games, realistically no one should have expected them to be better than 2-2. After all, Duke in Raleigh and FSU in Tallahassee are tough wins for anyone.

So now they're 1-3, home against Miami, a winnable game, staring at 1-4 if they lose. There's such a psychological difference between being 2-3, coming off a home win, and feeling like the mountain you have to climb isn't insurmountable, versus being 1-4 coming off a disappointing home loss, and probably losing faith that you're going to be able to turn it around.

Add to the mix the fact that State is honoring 100 years of NC State basketball and honoring Everett Case today at halftime. What better way to take the pressure off a struggling coach than to honor the proud tradition of the program and the coaching legend that started it all!

Even if they win today, of course, what we've seen of the Pack so far doesn't give much hope that they'll be able to win enough conference road games to drag their record up to the 10-6 that I think they need to make the NCAAT. But if they lose today, you can put a pitchfork in State and Sidney Lowe...they'll be done.

[Olympic Fan]

Although it says on the front page that Sene did not play for Virginia Saturday, that's incorrect ... he played 23 minutes and scored four points with five rebounds. Georgia Tech did miss Holsey, who had been playing fairly well lately.

Clemson played at Maryland without Tanner Smith, who is not a great player, but is their No. 4 scorer -- his absence probably had an impact on a two-point loss.

And Boston College had to play at FSU without Biko Paris, their second ball-handler and No. 4 scorer (and their No. 2 3-point shooter). That had to hurt a team that is painfully thin. He had a stomach virus and should be okay fior the Duke game Wednesday night.

Wow ... injuries (and illness) are having a HUGE impact on the ACC this season.

[Bob Green]

But if they lose today, you can put a pitchfork in State and Sidney Lowe...they'll be done.

Nice post! Whichever team loses this game will be 1-4 in conference and all alone in 11th place in the ACC standings. The difference in Miami's situation is three of their four losses would have occurred on the road where as State would have two home losses. The loser of this game will have put themselves into a hole most likely too big to climb out.

[gw67]

I came away from yesterday's game against the Terps impressed by the Clemson team and their new coach, Brownell. The hung with Maryland to the very end although the Terps were playing much better than they did against VT. Brownell had his team well prepared and he seemed to make several good moves to keep his team from being blown out in the first half as the Terps were uncharacteristically hot from behind the three-point line. He then kept them close late in the second half and would have won the game if the Terps, again uncharacteristically, hadn't made some foul shots at the end. There are a lot of things to like about Clemson besides their coach. Their three person big man rotation of Grant, Booker and Jennings may be the best in the ACC, IMO. They attack the boards, play defense and each can step out and hit a jumper. Their backcourt of Stitt and Young is underrated. Both are good outside shooters, passers and ballhandlers, and Stitt can take it to the basket. Smith didn't play yesterday and Narcisse stepped in. Smith is a nice wing player who helps in a number of areas and is an above average defensive players. It appears that the Tigers are a little weak off the bench in the backcourt so Stitt and Young play a bunch of minutes.

One thing that I liked seeing in yesterday's game, as compared to the game against VT, was the good sportsmanship demonstrated by both teams. On at least four occasions, there were strong fouls or physical play underneath the basket and in all instances the youngsters involved helped one another off the floor and either shook hands or gave a pat to the back or shoulder. Purnell installed good fundamentals and a good attitude with his teams and Brownell seems to be carrying on with this approach.

gw67

[gw67]

I came away from yesterday's game against the Terps impressed by the Clemson team and their new coach, Brownell. The hung with Maryland to the very end although the Terps were playing much better than they did against VT. Brownell had his team well prepared and he seemed to make several good moves to keep his team from being blown out in the first half as the Terps were uncharacteristically hot from behind the three-point line. He then kept them close late in the second half and would have won the game if the Terps, again uncharacteristically, hadn't made some foul shots at the end. There are a lot of things to like about Clemson besides their coach. Their three person big man rotation of Grant, Booker and Jennings may be the best in the ACC, IMO. They attack the boards, play defense and each can step out and hit a jumper. Their backcourt of Stitt and Young is underrated. Both are good outside shooters, passers and ballhandlers, and Stitt can take it to the basket. Smith didn't play yesterday and Narcisse stepped in. Smith is a nice wing player who helps in a number of areas and is an above average defensive player. It appears that the Tigers are a little weak off the bench in the backcourt so Stitt and Young play a bunch of minutes.

One thing that I liked seeing in yesterday's game, as compared to the game against VT, was the good sportsmanship demonstrated by both teams. On at least four occasions, there were strong fouls or physical play underneath the basket and in all instances the youngsters involved helped one another off the floor and either shook hands or gave a pat to the back or shoulder. Purnell installed good fundamentals and a good attitude with his teams and Brownell seems to be carrying on with this approach.

gw67

Klem,

Following the Maryland game earlier this season, I gave the Tigers some love (see above). This year's team is not your Dad's Clemson team. They shoot well from the field and foul line, share the ball and their big men are effective but a little less physical than in the past (I still recall when Chris Hobbs got upset, picked up Tahj Holden and tried to plant him in the floor with a move the pro wrestlers would be proud of.) IMO, they are a better all around team than BC, which is sort of a one-trick pony, and I expect them to win tonight at home.

gw67