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pfrduke
02-08-2011, 12:14 PM
Halfway through the season, and there's been a little bit of separation thus far, with a top 7 that are all still tournament contenders, and a bottom 5 that are hoping the NIT, CIT, or CBI comes calling (or, in Wake's case, just hoping for next season). Duke and Carolina have drawn separation at the top, and their matchup is certainly the marquee game of the week, but there are a couple contests pitting the 5-4 squads against each other that will have significant tournament ramifications.

Monday was dark.

Tuesday gives us the first battle of the 5-4's as Boston College travels to Clemson. Clemson's home dominance (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?24212-ACC-Efficiency-Rankings-(Week-5)-Tobacco-Road-on-top...and-on-bottom.&p=472265#post472265) and general under-the-radar-ness (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?24218-Building-the-case-for-Clemson&p=472330#post472330) has been profiled elsewhere. For Boston College, they're the one seeming pretender in the top 7, as their efficiency margin sits at 9th in the conference, thanks to some close wins and some blowout losses. The game at Clemson is the chance to right a rapidly sinking ship.

[30]Clemson hosts [76]Boston College

Wednesday = Duke and Carolina about which little needs to be said here since so much will be said elsewhere. The undercard gives us Miami traveling to Wake Forest, and the under-undercard has Maryland hosting Longwood in search of a free win.

[4]Duke hosts [11]North Carolina
[253]Wake Forest hosts [68]Miami
[21]Maryland hosts [323]Longwood

Thursday sends the home/road schizophrenic Florida State Seminoles to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. Judging just by their site-only splits, Georgia Tech comes out much higher - Florida State comes in all the way down at 10th in conference in road performance after being embarrassed by both Clemson and UNC.

[81]Georgia Tech hosts [44]Florida State

Friday is dark.

Saturday sends the Tar Heels to South Carolina for their rematch with Clemson. The Tigers could be looking at 3rd place with a win, depending on other results around the league. Another matchup of 5-4's (well, BC will no longer be 5-4 by then, but you get the point) happens in Chestnut Hill as the Eagles host Maryland. BC made early noise by stealing a road win in the Comcast Center, and Maryland will be looking to seize February momentum by returning the favor. And Florida State has a quick turnaround from their Atlanta trip, although if you're going to have a quick turnaround, doing it against a team like Virginia is not a bad draw.

[30]Clemson hosts [11]North Carolina
[76]Boston College hosts [21]Maryland
[44]Florida State hosts [125]Virginia

Sunday puts the rest of the conference in weekend action. Call me crazy, but this time next week we could be looking at a 2-game winning streak for the Demon Deacons, as home games against first Miami and then NC State present winnable contests. For NC State, just seeing some effort and fight would be a good turn of events. Battle of the Tech's part 2 takes place in Blacksburg as Virginia Tech looks to get back to its winning ways. And Duke heads down to Coral Gables in what could easily be a post-UNC trap game. Miami has made life difficult for Duke at home, and should be playing with a sense of desperation. Hanging a win on the wall over the conference's top team could get their season moving back in the right direction.

[253]Wake Forest hosts [98]NC State
[32]Virginia Tech hosts [81]Georgia Tech
[68]Miami hosts [4]Duke

-jk
02-08-2011, 03:29 PM
Georgia Tech to lose Oliver (http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8574/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=UwQK8wLb) for three weeks. Surgery on his broken left thumb.

-jk

HCheek37
02-08-2011, 03:30 PM
[30]Clemson hosts [76]Boston College

[4]Duke hosts [11]North Carolina
[253]Wake Forest hosts [68]Miami
[21]Maryland hosts [323]Longwood

[81]Georgia Tech hosts [44]Florida State

[30]Clemson hosts [11]North Carolina
[76]Boston College hosts [21]Maryland
[44]Florida State hosts [125]Virginia

[253]Wake Forest hosts [98]NC State
[32]Virginia Tech hosts [81]Georgia Tech
[68]Miami hosts [4]Duke

We'll see how I do, toughest picks were Clemson vs UNC and BC vs Maryland

Bob Green
02-08-2011, 09:55 PM
Halftime score: Clemson 30, Boston College 27

Clemson started fast but suffered a long mid-half slump missing eight straight field goal attempts at one point. Tanner Smith broke the streak by burying a 3-PT FG from the corner. Devin Booker scored four of Clemson's first six points and hasn't scored since.

Not the most entertaining game I've ever watched, but hopefully both teams pick up the pace in the second half.

sagegrouse
02-08-2011, 11:19 PM
Halftime score: Clemson 30, Boston College 27

Clemson started fast but suffered a long mid-half slump missing eight straight field goal attempts at one point. Tanner Smith broke the streak by burying a 3-PT FG from the corner. Devin Booker scored four of Clemson's first six points and hasn't scored since.

Not the most entertaining game I've ever watched, but hopefully both teams pick up the pace in the second half.

Clemson won at home 77-69. Clemson moves to 6-4 in the ACC, one-half game behind FSU for third place. The home-team winning percentage goes up a notch to 72% (39-15).

Clemson got beat on the boards by BC but shot 53% vs. 38% for the Eagles.

sagegrouse

Olympic Fan
02-08-2011, 11:44 PM
Bad news for two of the ACC's weaker teams ...

Melvin Tabb, a freshman whose season got off to a slow start due to a bout of mono and some academic issues, had just been dismissed from from the Wake team for unspecified rule violations. He was a talented forward who hadn't made much impact.

And Georgia Tech just lost Oliver for four to six weeks with thumb surgery.

JasonEvans
02-09-2011, 08:31 AM
Bad news for two of the ACC's weaker teams ...

Melvin Tabb, a freshman whose season got off to a slow start due to a bout of mono and some academic issues, had just been dismissed from from the Wake team for unspecified rule violations. He was a talented forward who hadn't made much impact.

And Georgia Tech just lost Oliver for four to six weeks with thumb surgery.

Seeing as these teams had zero chance of making the Dance, these injuries (especially the one to Oliver) should reduce the chance that these teams somehow rise up and steal wins from the ACC teams that could make it to the NCAAs.

--Jason "I've said for a while, the key to the ACC getting 5 or more bids this year is the bottom of the league winning as few games as possible" Evans

Bob Green
02-11-2011, 02:17 PM
Big games for the top of the ACC this weekend starting with Duke @ Miami and Carolina @ Clemson. How these two teams react after their emotional face-off on Wednesday night will be interesting to observe. Will Duke build off the momentum of their phenomenal comeback win? Will Carolina rebound from their disappointing loss? Miami and Clemson have the talent to push the league's top teams so victories will need to be earned. Finally, Florida State is at home against Virginia in a game they should easily win. However, that's the problem - FSU seems to struggle in games they should easily win. I'm ready for another weekend of ACC Basketball. With the proper mix of results, Duke could open up a little breathing room at the top of the standings.

Wow! March is only 18 days away.

gw67
02-11-2011, 03:51 PM
Big games for the top of the ACC this weekend starting with Duke @ Miami and Carolina @ Clemson. How these two teams react after their emotional face-off on Wednesday night will be interesting to observe. Will Duke build off the momentum of their phenomenal comeback win? Will Carolina rebound from their disappointing loss? Miami and Clemson have the talent to push the league's top teams so victories will need to be earned. Finally, Florida State is at home against Virginia in a game they should easily win. However, that's the problem - FSU seems to struggle in games they should easily win. I'm ready for another weekend of ACC Basketball. With the proper mix of results, Duke could open up a little breathing room at the top of the standings.

Wow! March is only 18 days away.

Bob,

You missed the Maryland @ BC. I think that game is important for both teams as far as their participation in the ACCT and NCAAT are concerned. Duke @ Miami will be interesting to watch but the football school doesn't stand a chance IMO. UNC @ Clemson may turn out to be a close game if the Heels can't shake the loss to the Devils.

gw67

OldPhiKap
02-11-2011, 05:04 PM
Bob,

You missed the Maryland @ BC. I think that game is important for both teams as far as their participation in the ACCT and NCAAT are concerned. Duke @ Miami will be interesting to watch but the football school doesn't stand a chance IMO. UNC @ Clemson may turn out to be a close game if the Heels can't shake the loss to the Devils.

gw67

UNC @ Clemson should be a close game regardless. That is a very tough place to play, great atmosphere for the home team. Probably the most interesting game from an objective standpoint.

Miami has talent and this is a huge game for them. I don't expect it to be a walk-over by any stretch.

Maryland @ BC is a bubble bash bonanza. Someone's gonna look back at losing that game and see where they fell off of it. Very good coaching battle, too.

Bob Green
02-12-2011, 08:55 AM
Bob,

You missed the Maryland @ BC.

gw67

I was just looking at the top teams as the muddy middle of the conference standings are a mess. BC defeated Maryland in College Park back in December so now is Maryland's chance to return the favor. The Terps need to finish strong if the are going to make the NCAAT.

Bob Green
02-12-2011, 01:18 PM
The Clemson fans do a very good job of booing the refs every time a call goes against the Tigers. So far, they've been booing a lot.

loran16
02-12-2011, 04:16 PM
Maryland dropped another game today, to BC by 4 (Reggie Jackson had 31 points).

This apparently puts Maryland, according to D1scourse's Patrick Stevens at:
"16-1 vs. teams outside top 50 [RPI], and 0-8 against the top 50. That screams "Destination: Madison Square Garden"

Ummm, yikes! I think 10 wins might not be enough for Maryland if one of them isn't against UNC....and even then!

1 24 90
02-12-2011, 06:17 PM
Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Chris Singleton broke his foot today and is out indefinitely.

GLTBD
02-12-2011, 06:34 PM
Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Chris Singleton broke his foot today and is out indefinitely.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201102120213

Bob Green
02-12-2011, 06:43 PM
Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Chris Singleton broke his foot today and is out indefinitely.

This is a huge blow to the Seminoles. I absolutely despise players being injured so here's to wishing Chris Singleton a speedy return.

Duvall
02-12-2011, 06:47 PM
Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Chris Singleton broke his foot today and is out indefinitely.

Yikes. Fortunately for FSU, their schedule sets up well for the rest of the regular season, so they should be able to ride this out.

rogermortimer
02-12-2011, 07:11 PM
Maryland just isn't much of a program any longer. Yes, they did well last year for a brief spell with Vasquez, but in the last five years they mostly are a NIT team. This year, they have one offensive weapon - Jordan Williams, and well coached teams sag on him like crazy, as BC did today.

Their seniors by and large don't play well, meaning that they are not all that talented, or that Williams' reputation for developing players is no longer the case. A program in trouble is one with upperclassmen who don't perform. Of course this is the opposite with Coach K's team.

Losing to BC (again) when you have to have a win? Losing to VaTech on your home floor? Losing to Duke twice, the latter badly at home - the two games they get up for and play above their level each year? They are not very good, and their hallmark merely seems to be that of having obnoxious fans.

This is not just an arbitrary negative rant on Maryland. Their facilities and recruiting base are tremendous (which is not the case for their football squad). It should be one of the top posts in the nation from a coaching perspective. It still is, it just doesn't quite look that way now.

gw67
02-13-2011, 10:04 AM
Watched yesterday's game between the 6th and 7th place teams in the ACC. The Terps again made BC look like a good team and Reggie Jackson look like a 1st team All American. BC is undermanned and relies on three point shooting to make up for their many deficiencies. Williams has never bought into the three point shot and as a result he neither features it in his offense nor has figured out how to defense it. (Deep down that may be one of the reasons he doesn't schedule decent mid-majors. He knows that many of them will hoist up a bunch of threes and that the skill level of these players to shoot and pass is good enough to give the Terps a good run for their money.)

At the beginning of the season, I predicted that they would be a middle-of-the-league team because their returning seniors were three-year reserves and they needed to rely on freshmen at PG. It was clear that they would be a poor shooting team from both the field and foul line and that they would rely on turning over the opposition with their defense. After some good efforts against Pitt, Illinois and Penn State, I let myself believe that they could do better. Subsequently, it has become very clear to me that their four upperclassmen are simply not talented enough to get them over the hump. This is not a shot at them. They are ACC quality players but at least two and perhaps three of them should be playing in a reserve roll. IMO, they play hard and give it their all but their mistakes and lack of consistency are magnified when they are playing 25-30 minutes a game rather than 15 minutes a game. Yesterday, Tucker, who is counted on for offense, scored zero points and made three turnovers at crucial times during the game. Tuesday against VT, he will probably have a good game and one of the freshmen point guards will have a difficult time. They will also make Delaney look like a 1st team All American.

At this point in time, it appears to me that the Terps will finish 8-8 (9-7 tops) and will finish in 7th place in the ACC regular season. Their sophmore and freshmen classes are much better that their junior-senior classes so perhaps there is hope in the future for some improvement.

Other than the Devils, this continues to be a tough year for my teams (Skins, O's, Caps, Terps). I'm counting on Duke to do well in the NCAAT in March. Maybe the young pitching on the Orioles will allow them to hang around till August for a change.

gw67

pfrduke
02-13-2011, 01:44 PM
Virginia Tech is mopping the floor with the Jackets, up by 23 with 6 to go in the first half. They have 44 points in 14 minutes. And Paul Hewitt got himself ejected.

Bob Green
02-13-2011, 02:03 PM
State is up on Wake Forest 37-29 at the half in Winston-Salem. The half ended in a bizarre fashion. State had the ball with 3.5 seconds remaining but the clock started running before the ball was thrown in bounds. Then the clock stopped with .09 seconds and started running again when a State player caught the in bounds pass and quickly jacked up a shot as time expired. The Wake players run off the court toward the locker room.

Naturally, Sidney Lowe complained to the refs about the timekeeper dysfunction. So, what do the refs do? They put 2.5 seconds back on the clock and award the ball to Wake Forest. Wake in bounds and fires off a long shot that misses (I believe time expired before the shot was released).

Bizarre!

JasonEvans
02-13-2011, 05:18 PM
And Paul Hewitt got himself ejected.

The only question is-- will Paul Hewitt get himself ejected from his job.

-Jason "Tech has the talent to be decent, but not the coach" Evans

DukieInBrasil
02-13-2011, 05:35 PM
I'm glad to see State get a road-win, even if it was against the Hapless Deacons. I like El Sid and would like for him to earn his way back to the coaching gig next year, but he needs to improve on last year's showing. To do that he needs to win at least half their remaining games (3-7), so if they go 6-10 he'll probably keep his job. I think he'll be pretty safe if they get to 7-9 and I say that cuz their 3 Fr. could become an excellent nucleus of a team and that sort of improvement after just one year would be a good indicator that Il Sid has things going in the right direction. I'd say that a 5-11 finish would not be a very safe finish for O Sidninho's job security, unless one of those wins is over UNC.
In other news, wow, did Tech put a beat down on the Bumbling Bees. It appears that Hewitt's job description does not include teaching defense.

CDu
02-13-2011, 06:27 PM
I'm glad to see State get a road-win, even if it was against the Hapless Deacons. I like El Sid and would like for him to earn his way back to the coaching gig next year, but he needs to improve on last year's showing. To do that he needs to win at least half their remaining games (3-7), so if they go 6-10 he'll probably keep his job. I think he'll be pretty safe if they get to 7-9 and I say that cuz their 3 Fr. could become an excellent nucleus of a team and that sort of improvement after just one year would be a good indicator that Il Sid has things going in the right direction. I'd say that a 5-11 finish would not be a very safe finish for O Sidninho's job security, unless one of those wins is over UNC.
In other news, wow, did Tech put a beat down on the Bumbling Bees. It appears that Hewitt's job description does not include teaching defense.

I think it's highly unlikely that the Pack can get to 7-9 in the ACC this year. They're 3-7, and they still have Clemson, UNC, FSU, and @Maryland to go. Considering how bad they've looked against the better teams in the ACC, to expect them to win at least 2 of those 4 games is probably unrealistic.

And even if they do get to 7-9 in conference I wouldn't say his job is "pretty safe." That'd still be 5 losing ACC seasons in 5 years, and he'll be losing his best player on top of it. The 3 freshmen have some nice qualities, but Lowe hasn't proven he knows what to do to utilize the talent he has.

I think the Sidney Lowe ship has basically sailed. It would take a miracle at this point. It's too bad, because he does seem like a nice guy and you hate to see anyone struggle (except maybe UNC coaches :)). But I think the damage has been done.

ACCBBallFan
02-13-2011, 07:00 PM
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Chris Singleton has made something like 11 of FSU's first 13 points in the UVA game before he stepped onto a teammate's foot. His team was losing at the time but fought back for the win.

FSU had had a rash of injuries this year. The kid Terrance Shannon who played pretty well against Duke is also out, not sure for how long.

Noles are just getting Ian Miller and Xavier Gibson back into game shape after they were each out several games.

If/until Singleton returns Leonard Hamilton may have to go small with Michael Snaer at the SF and Ian Miller and Kitchen playing combo guards. This is a totally different alignment than what FSU had been using.

The 7 footer Jon Kreft has been foul prone. He has NBA potential but has not shown it yet. Bernard James has played well, and Okaro White runs hot and cold like most frosh.

The Lithuanain Devidas Dulkys has been awful shooting the ball but can get hot too. Luke Loucks has some experience but is not that good of a player from what I have seen.

FSU has road games with Wake, Maryland and NC St and home games with MD and UNC. Probably have to win 3 of those 5 and win their first ACCT game to get in.

If they finish 5th, that may get them another win versus Wake in first round.

If they finish 4th, they must have won at least 3 of the last 5 regular season. So I think Noles still get in, but may have trouble advancing, as has been the case lately.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/os-florida-state-news-0214-2-20110213,0,3796196.story