Holiday basketball

[Olympic Fan]

The ACC has been on a good run the last few days, although usually against less-than-imposing opposition.

That changed tonight -- 3-3 and very little to brag about.

Florida State was blasted at Florida by a Gator team playing without two top subs. Georgia Tech lost to Mercer in its home away from home. And Clemson was smashed at home by UTEP.

Best win was Miami's solid victory at Charlotte (against a 7-2 Charlotte team that had beaten Davidson). NC State won at home over Northeastern and Va Tech won at home over East Michigan.

All in all, a pretty unimpressive night for the ACC.

I admit that Florida State is looking less and less like a strong No. 3 team in the ACC. Right now, I'd give that spot to 10-1 Virginia. But keep an eye on Miami, now that Reggie Johnson and DeQuan Jones are back.

[grossbus]

"Clemson was smashed at home by UTEP."

wasn't clemson in hawaii?

FSU made some truly awful turnovers after closing to within 2 in the second half. a lot of them.

[Newton_14]

Thanks Oly. Man, what in the world is going on with FSU? Like everyone else, I expected them to be a strong contender this year. They have a lot of talent on this team. Very strange they are struggling so badly in the early going.

Have to agree that as of right now, UVA looks like the team that will join UNC and Duke as one of the top tier teams. (Disclaimer: After last years "who will finish 2nd in the ACC Reg Season Thread" that blew up in our faces, I for one am not going to give the 1, 2, or even 3 slot to any team before play starts. Not even UNC and Duke.):o

Much more comfortable saying Duke, UNC, and UVA in no particular order look like the current Top Tier teams in the ACC heading into conference play. Let the games begin!:p

[gep]

Much more comfortable saying Duke, UNC, and UVA in no particular order look like the current Top Tier teams in the ACC heading into conference play. Let the games begin!:p

OK then... I'll put them in order for you. Duke, UVa, unc. :cool:

[Newton_14]

OK then... I'll put them in order for you. Duke, UVa, unc. :cool:

I'm hopeful for that outcome as well! But, Karma, Basketball gods, and all that.... :)

[jipops]

Thanks Oly. Man, what in the world is going on with FSU? Like everyone else, I expected them to be a strong contender this year. They have a lot of talent on this team. Very strange they are struggling so badly in the early going.

Have to agree that as of right now, UVA looks like the team that will join UNC and Duke as one of the top tier teams. (Disclaimer: After last years "who will finish 2nd in the ACC Reg Season Thread" that blew up in our faces, I for one am not going to give the 1, 2, or even 3 slot to any team before play starts. Not even UNC and Duke.):o

Much more comfortable saying Duke, UNC, and UVA in no particular order look like the current Top Tier teams in the ACC heading into conference play. Let the games begin!:p

Fortunately, our one game vs. UVA is at home. But I agree, it is incorrect to assume we are no worse than 2nd in the ACC.

[gep]

I'm hopeful for that outcome as well! But, Karma, Basketball gods, and all that.... :)

Yes... I spoke out of turn....

GO DUKE!!!!

[patentgeek]

Thanks Oly. Man, what in the world is going on with FSU? Like everyone else, I expected them to be a strong contender this year. They have a lot of talent on this team. Very strange they are struggling so badly in the early going.

Have to agree that as of right now, UVA looks like the team that will join UNC and Duke as one of the top tier teams. (Disclaimer: After last years "who will finish 2nd in the ACC Reg Season Thread" that blew up in our faces, I for one am not going to give the 1, 2, or even 3 slot to any team before play starts. Not even UNC and Duke.):o

Much more comfortable saying Duke, UNC, and UVA in no particular order look like the current Top Tier teams in the ACC heading into conference play. Let the games begin!:p

I watched a good portion of the FSU-Florida game last night and was appalled by how poorly FSU cared for the ball. As well as they play half-court defense, if they could just cut down on the bad turnovers (especially those that turn into easy fastbreak points), they'd be tough. But they were really, really careless on offense last night. At one point my viewing partner was even moved to utter "do they even practice offense?"

[gw67]

I'm not surprised at the Noles troubles. Based on the 2 times I've seen them play, they have nice size and are a good defensive team but they really struggle on offense. The team that I like is Virginia Tech. They are a good shooting team from the field and foul line, have decent team size and compete on the boards (Finney-Smith is a warrior at forward), are a decent passing team and have two players (Green and Eddie) and occasionally a third (Hudson) who can get them points late in the game. I expect the Hokies to finish in the top 3-5 of the ACC.

For me, it will be interesting to see which teams fall to the bottom. BC is playing a bunch of freshmen and shouldn't be expected to win many league games. From what I've seen, Wake, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Maryland all may have a difficult time this year. I've seen parts of the last few Terps' games. They are the worst ballhandling, passing and shooting Maryland team that I've seen play in a long time. To his credit, Turgeon has this undermanned team playing hard but I don't see them winning more than 4-5 ACC games (they may have the toughest ACC schedule as of now) and 13-15 games total. Adding Howard and Len will help provide depth and allow them to be competitive against better teams.

gw67

[Olympic Fan]

Wow, Clemson really lucked out in their second game in 24 hours in Hawaii.

Trailing Southern Illinois all the way, they're down three with seconds left. Instead of trying a three, Rod Hall takes it to the basket ... dumb play, but he's bailed out when he is fouled as he shoots a layup with 4.0 seconds left. His three-point play forces OT. Clemson seizes control in the extra period. The win will make the, 7-5 on the season.

Still, they are only saved by a bonehead play by SIU.

[CDu]

I admit that Florida State is looking less and less like a strong No. 3 team in the ACC.

I think people failed to realize just how bad FSU's offense was going to be prior to the season. Their defense is again terrific (#4 in the nation), but that offense has gotten worse than it was last year.


Right now, I'd give that spot to 10-1 Virginia. But keep an eye on Miami, now that Reggie Johnson and DeQuan Jones are back.

Miami was my sleeper team before the season as a team with a shot at the #3 spot in the conference. They've got a very talented (though inconsistent) backcourt, and it appears that Reggie Johnson is healthy and going to be effective in time for ACC play. The only question is their lack of size and decision making.

UVa is surprising. They're playing terrific defense (#7 in the country) and just enough offense. Of course, they've done it mainly against inferior competition (the Michigan game excluded). They've faced the #300 schedule so far, so that 10-1 might be misleading. So we'll see what they do when the schedule gets tougher.

In any case, the #3 spot is, I'd say, still wide open for the taking.

[jimsumner]

I think people failed to realize just how bad FSU's offense was going to be prior to the season. Their defense is again terrific (#4 in the nation), but that offense has gotten worse than it was last year.

The word from FSU folks going into the season was that Michael Snaer was poised to make a big jump offensively.

Hasn't happened, yet. Still could. But if it doesn't, FSU just doesn't have a lot of options.

FSU is a curious team. Even when they're winning, watching them is like getting your teeth pulled. Just excruiating. Winning a bunch of 52-45 games is bad enough. Losing 52-45 games is worse.

Of course, we realize they'll give Duke a hard time this year. They always do.

[devildeac]

The word from FSU folks going into the season was that Michael Snaer was poised to make a big jump offensively.

Hasn't happened, yet. Still could. But if it doesn't, FSU just doesn't have a lot of options.

FSU is a curious team. Even when they're winning, watching them is like getting your teeth pulled. Just excruiating. Winning a bunch of 52-45 games is bad enough. Losing 52-45 games is worse.

Of course, we realize they'll give Duke a hard time this year. They always do.

I'll up the ante and compare one of their games to getting teeth pulled AND having a colonoscopy. Without sedation or local anesthesia. I thought I had suppressed the memory of one our games with them recently that was 22-19 at the half, IIRC. Excruciating to watch.