MBB: Wake Forest 73, (19) UNC-Chapel Hill 67

[sagegrouse]

Wake is hosting UNC. The game is in the 2nd half -- worth a check on ESPN-U.

[devildeac]

Wake is hosting UNC. The game is in the 2nd half -- worth a check on ESPN-U.

I don't hate Christmas OR puppies.

Remember, that's arnie-is-king, not me.

It's not worth a check either. Really. Stay away from this game.

[chaosmage]

best thing about WatchESPN app... no commercials - pictures or other type things. It's a thing of beauty.

[arnie]

I don't hate Christmas OR puppies.

Remember, that's arnie-is-king, not me.

It's not worth a check either. Really. Stay away from this game.

The GoDaddy bowl game on ESPN is fantastic!

[FerryFor50]

Leslie MacDonald just threw an intentional elbow. Bet the WF guy wishes he had some personalized mouthpieces right about now...

[chaosmage]

But then again, in a program as undisciplined as UNX, what do you expect? McDonald again, surprise surprise.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

The GoDaddy bowl game on ESPN is fantastic!
Looks pretty cold, too! The wind is whipping the national flag around.

[FerryFor50]

Should have been a foul on Cavanaugh, to be honest. Never have understood how it's not a foul to dive right on top of another player to get to a loose ball.

[FerryFor50]

WFU is leading this game despite going 11-23 from the FT line. Stranger yet, UNC only has 8 FT attempts!

[CDu]

Should have been a foul on Cavanaugh, to be honest. Never have understood how it's not a foul to dive right on top of another player to get to a loose ball.

Yeah, I think the fact that McDonald wasn't ejected for the elbow is because it was a makeup for not calling the foul on Cavanaugh.

[chaosmage]

Yeah, I think the fact that McDonald wasn't ejected for the elbow is because it was a makeup for not calling the foul on Cavanaugh.

I always assumed that the player doesn't have full control of the ball, so that's why there isn't a foul. Someone with a better, more thorough knowledge of the rules can clarify for me.

[FerryFor50]

So I'm starting to hear the UNC love that someone commented Jay Williams tends to hand out. It is... annoying.

[throatybeard]

The GoDaddy bowl game on ESPN is fantastic!

Is Danica there?

[chaosmage]

strangest thing to me is that Roy doesn't have four timeouts at the end of the game, he's actually USING them. ?!?!?!!

[FerryFor50]

I always assumed that the player doesn't have full control of the ball, so that's why there isn't a foul. Someone with a better, more thorough knowledge of the rules can clarify for me.

I thought he had it until Cavanaugh jumped right on top of him. Then they called a tie up when MacDonald clearly had control with his off arm. (The one he wasn't throwing an elbow with)

[devildeac]

I'm drinking a Stone IPA now. I'll put a review on the Ymm, Beer thread in a few minutes and read about this game in the AM. Run away!!

[CDu]

So I'm starting to hear the UNC love that someone commented Jay Williams tends to hand out. It is... annoying.

He was a UNC fan growing up. Sounds like he still is.

[FerryFor50]

Paige fouled out. UNC now has -1 3 point threats left in the game.

[FerryFor50]

Loss to Wake? Way worse than loss to Notre Dame.

Wake = 82 in kenpom
Notre Dame = 52 in kenpom

[arnie]

Is Danica there?

Don't think so - I watched for 5 minutes and they didn't show her. Think it's safe to proclaim a WF victory?

[FerryFor50]

Don't think so - I watched for 5 minutes and they didn't show her. Think it's safe to proclaim a WF victory?

Not yet... only 6 down with 14 sec left and WF is a bad FT shooting team.

[Ggallagher]

Wow - Roy's going crazy with time outs now. What's gotten into him?

[uh_no]

Loss to Wake? Way worse than loss to Notre Dame.

Wake = 82 in kenpom
Notre Dame = 52 in kenpom

eh......teams in that range are relatively closely packed....wake is worse, but not way worse.....and we have yet to see how ND ends up with what's his face out.

[kcduke75]

no timeouts left

[FerryFor50]

Ok, now it's safe.

WAY TO GO DEACS! This week just got a little better.

[fisheyes]

Go Deacs!!!

[arnie]

no timeouts left

Minimal court storming- not a big deal to beet the Holes.

[throatybeard]

Wow - Roy's going crazy with time outs now. What's gotten into him?

I just saw the presser, and Roy Williams is not in the dadgum Epiphany spirit.

[wsb3]

Finally some good sports news. Hope this is a sign of a better Duke week.

[Duvall]

Wow - Roy's going crazy with time outs now. What's gotten into him?

This is what Roy (and Dean) would hoard their timeouts for - being behind in late-game situations.

[devildeac]

Well, at least half of me is happy this weekend...

:D

[luburch]

strangest thing to me is that Roy doesn't have four timeouts at the end of the game, he's actually USING them. ?!?!?!!

He's reached his rollover limit for the season so he has to use them or lose them.

[devildeac]

PF: unc-23, Deacs-14

FTA: unc-11, WFU-33

Bizarro universe. Must have been played in the Twilight Zone.

[moonpie23]

it's a new league, folks...

[throatybeard]

This is the sort of idiotic prediction based on nothing at all, for which I usually satirize others...

...but I could totally see someone winning the regular season with a record as mediocre as 11-7 or something.

[-bdbd]

Bad day in Chapel Hell.

Both the men and the women (top-10, playing at home vs MD) lost Sunday. Ha!

Ha! Well, finally th universe is getting back in balance...

[jv001]

This is the sort of idiotic prediction based on nothing at all, for which I usually satirize others...

...but I could totally see someone winning the regular season with a record as mediocre as 11-7 or something.

You could be correct in that the winning team might have a 11-7 won-lost record, but I don't think Syracuse will lost 7 conference games. We'll check back on this March 1st. GoDuke!

[Kfanarmy]

You could be correct in that the winning team might have a 11-7 won-lost record, but I don't think Syracuse will lost 7 conference games. We'll check back on this March 1st. GoDuke! Duke, and Carolina for that matter, better get their act together. I like Syracuse, but don't really want to see them win the ACC title in their first year, or Pitt for that matter.

[lotusland]

Good to know it's safe to troll IC again

[flyingdutchdevil]

Duke, and Carolina for that matter, better get their act together. I like Syracuse, but don't really want to see them win the ACC title in their first year, or Pitt for that matter.

Why? Syracuse winning the ACC would be great for college basketball. It shows that realignment is a proven strategy and makes the ACC much more competitive. Also, moving forward, if Syracuse wins, I hope that it gives Coach K and RoyWill more motivation for the future years.

I am very impressed with Syracuse. Year after year, they are a consistent basketball program despite getting gutted year in and year out.

Proud to have them in the ACC.

[Dev11]

I saw a tweet from Patrick Stevens this morning that this year is the first time that State, Duke, and UNC have all lost their first conference games.

It may be our state in football, but apparently it's Wake Forest's state in basketball.

[sagegrouse]

Bad day in Chapel Hell.

Both the men and the women (top-10, playing at home vs MD) lost Sunday. Ha!

Ha! Well, finally th universe is getting back in balance...

And a Monday morning welcome from the New York Times in the form of a scathing editorial (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/opinion/acing-the-course-at-chapel-hill.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)on the fake courses for athletes:


Another shameful lesson in the multibillion-dollar entertainment industry euphemistically referred to as collegiate sports is playing out at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former professor was indicted on fraud charges last month after running dozens of bogus and no-show courses heavily enrolled with student athletes looking for easy academic credits.

[Kfanarmy]

Why? Syracuse winning the ACC would be great for college basketball. It shows that realignment is a proven strategy and makes the ACC much more competitive. Also, moving forward, if Syracuse wins, I hope that it gives Coach K and RoyWill more motivation for the future years.

I am very impressed with Syracuse. Year after year, they are a consistent basketball program despite getting gutted year in and year out.

Proud to have them in the ACC. Syracuse is a national power in BB. If they were to win the ACC title, I think it would demonstrate more that the ACC was weak to being with than anything else. I'm not so sure Coack K or Coach Williams need more motivation...they seem to be trying pretty hard now.

The goal of realignment is money, so in that respect you may be right. I'm not a big fan of realignment, because I valued the rivalries a bit more than the conference making even more $ in basketball. Validating realignment is not a priority for me; Duke having success is.

[PSurprise]

Sometimes I just love ESPN *sarcasm* The highlights from the game are all UNC, except for one. So UNC had a few dunks...I'm sure Wake also had a few pretty nice plays as well, not just the final AND1 layup. ESPN will do this with close Duke games as well, except they'll show the other team scoring 16 (okay, little exaggeration) times while Duke gets a single highlight right before the announcer says, "oh yeah, and Duke won". I know ESPN is pandering, but I think they should give the winning team some more credit, since, you know, they won the game and all.

[CDu]

Sometimes I just love ESPN *sarcasm* The highlights from the game are all UNC, except for one. So UNC had a few dunks...I'm sure Wake also had a few pretty nice plays as well, not just the final AND1 layup. ESPN will do this with close Duke games as well, except they'll show the other team scoring 16 (okay, little exaggeration) times while Duke gets a single highlight right before the announcer says, "oh yeah, and Duke won". I know ESPN is pandering, but I think they should give the winning team some more credit, since, you know, they won the game and all.

I watched the game, and to be completely honest Wake didn't have many highlight plays. They had a couple of nice blocks, but most of what they did was pretty vanilla as far as highlights go. UNC had a MUCH higher percentage of their buckets as highlight-reel material. Tons of dunks (including one vicious dunk in transition by Tokoto) and a couple of circus shots (one by Tokoto, one by Paige).

I agree that the recap should show more balance, but if the goal is to show highlight plays rather than a blow-by-blow account of the game, then that distribution of highlights sounds about right.

[freshmanjs]

Syracuse is a national power in BB. If they were to win the ACC title, I think it would demonstrate more that the ACC was weak to being with than anything else. I'm not so sure Coack K or Coach Williams need more motivation...they seem to be trying pretty hard now.

The goal of realignment is money, so in that respect you may be right. I'm not a big fan of realignment, because I valued the rivalries a bit more than the conference making even more $ in basketball. Validating realignment is not a priority for me; Duke having success is.

not following the logic. if a national power wins the conference, how does that demonstrate that the conference is weak? just sounds like an expected result to me.

[FerryFor50]

not following the logic. if a national power wins the conference, how does that demonstrate that the conference is weak? just sounds like an expected result to me.

Yea, agree. Not sure why Syracuse winning would be so bad.

Now, if UNC won the conference... :p

[chaosmage]

I watched the game, and to be completely honest Wake didn't have many highlight plays. They had a couple of nice blocks, but most of what they did was pretty vanilla as far as highlights go. UNC had a MUCH higher percentage of their buckets as highlight-reel material. Tons of dunks (including one vicious dunk in transition by Tokoto) and a couple of circus shots (one by Tokoto, one by Paige).

I agree that the recap should show more balance, but if the goal is to show highlight plays rather than a blow-by-blow account of the game, then that distribution of highlights sounds about right.

Plus the usual TV analogies to link-baiting on the web, etc. They're showing what gets them ratings.

[DBFAN]

Plus the usual TV analogies to link-baiting on the web, etc. They're showing what gets them ratings.

I just don't buy Syracuse yes they are doing well right now, record wise, but the fact that they barely pulled out a game with one of the worst teams in the ACC was unimpressive at best. And the fact it was in Syracuse doesn't help convince me any. I could easily see this team losing 6 in the conference

[Billy Dat]

I just don't buy Syracuse yes they are doing well right now, record wise, but the fact that they barely pulled out a game with one of the worst teams in the ACC was unimpressive at best. And the fact it was in Syracuse doesn't help convince me any. I could easily see this team losing 6 in the conference

A few friends went up to Syracuse for the Villanova game and reported that the town is completely fired up for the Duke game including selling "BEAT DUKE" tshirts all around the Dome. They project it to be the largest crowd ever in the Dome for a Syracuse basketball game. Personally, I am excited for these Big East teams to have joined the conference, it adds a ton of new excitement to the conference season.

[Kedsy]

I don't think Syracuse will los[e] 7 conference games. We'll check back on this March 1st. GoDuke!

Yeah, Syracuse's five point win at home against Miami probably does make them the ACC favorite. ;)

[flyingdutchdevil]

Yea, agree. Not sure why Syracuse winning would be so bad.

Now, if UNC won the conference... :p

Hehehehe. Syracuse winning the ACC would just show how much more powerful the ACC really is. This will bring in more fans, more sponsorships, more $$$$, more top recruits, more everything.

It's a win-win for every team.

Like or hate realignment, Syracuse winning isn't a big deal.

[Dev11]

Hehehehe. Syracuse winning the ACC would just show how much more powerful the ACC really is. This will bring in more fans, more sponsorships, more $$$$, more top recruits, more everything.

It's a win-win for every team.

Like or hate realignment, Syracuse winning isn't a big deal.

Also, like it or hate it, Syracuse is in the ACC, and how well they do this year has everything to do with the current ACC and nothing to do with the past incarnations of the ACC or Big East. That debate is in the past.

I only mind Syracuse winning the conference because it means that Duke didn't win the conference.

[ChillinDuke]

A few friends went up to Syracuse for the Villanova game and reported that the town is completely fired up for the Duke game including selling "BEAT DUKE" tshirts all around the Dome. They project it to be the largest crowd ever in the Dome for a Syracuse basketball game. Personally, I am excited for these Big East teams to have joined the conference, it adds a ton of new excitement to the conference season.

Yup. Saw one last weekend - my buddy's girlfriend (who grew up and went to Syracuse) got one for him.

I strongly considered using the word "former" in that last sentence.

In two locations.

- Chillin

[jv001]

Yeah, Syracuse's five point win at home against Miami probably does make them the ACC favorite. ;)

The 5 point win doesn't make me think Syracuse is the favorite to win the ACC. The old ACC teams having to play against their zone will be hard the first time around. I actually think the ACC championship will come down to Duke and Syracuse. I picked Duke with a 14-4 ACC record in that thread. I'll have to look at Syracuse's schedule before picking who is 1st and who is 2nd. They both are good programs and will be good reps in the NCAAT. GoDuke!

[weezie]

...ESPN is pandering, but I think they should give the winning team some more credit, since, you know, they won the game and all.

Details, details, young PSurprise! We need a drinking game centered around all the love nods espn (the Hall of Gasbaggery Fame) doles out to that bunch over there in the back of the room. Great woe will be upon them when syracuse and Duke romp in the deandome.

[DukeDevil]

Details, details, young PSurprise! We need a drinking game centered around all the love nods espn (the Hall of Gasbaggery Fame) doles out to that bunch over there in the back of the room. Great woe will be upon them when syracuse and Duke romp in the deandome.

Back of the room? that implies they actually made it to the classroom.

[Newton_14]

Also, like it or hate it, Syracuse is in the ACC, and how well they do this year has everything to do with the current ACC and nothing to do with the past incarnations of the ACC or Big East. That debate is in the past.

I only mind Syracuse winning the conference because it means that Duke didn't win the conference.

Totally agree. I have always hated expansion and especially hated the mega-conference, but we are here now, so I have to deal with it. I have no issue at all with Syracuse winning the ACC Reg Season, except for it meaning Duke didn't. If UNC somehow finds themselves in the ACC Tourney Championship against Syracuse, Pitt, or ND, there should be zero doubt in anyone's mind who this ol boy will be rooting for.

[Indoor66]

Totally agree. I have always hated expansion and especially hated the mega-conference, but we are here now, so I have to deal with it. I have no issue at all with Syracuse winning the ACC Reg Season, except for it meaning Duke didn't. If UNC somehow finds themselves in the ACC Tourney Championship against Syracuse, Pitt, or ND, there should be zero doubt in anyone's mind who this ol boy will be rooting for.

Hey Newt, does this mean you may be somewhat like that ol boy: "ol roy" over at the dump? :mad: :confused:



I seriously doubt it. :cool: