This Week in the ACC: 11/13-11/19

[pfrduke]

Other than Wake dropping its home opener to Georgia Southern (which admittedly, per Pomeroy, was the 2nd toughest opponent any ACC school played all weekend), the opening weekend went largely as expected. The Jackets gave UCLA a game in Shanghai but couldn't quite get it done. And Pitt's performance against Navy bolsters the belief that they'll be at the bottom of the standings. This week brings some stiffer tests and starts conference tournament play.

Monday
[19]Notre Dame (-23) hosts [271]Mount St. Mary's (7:00, ACCNE)
[125]Pittsburgh (-5) hosts [153]Montana (7:00, ACCNE)
[10]Virginia (-27) hosts [313]Austin Peay (7:00, ACCNE)

Tuesday
[6]Duke (-1) vs. [9]Michigan State in Chicago (7:00, ESPN)
[56]Florida State (-13) hosts [151]George Washington (7:00, ACCNE)
[62]Syracuse (-11) hosts [129]Iona (7:00, ACCNE)
[92]Boston College (-17) hosts [301]Sacred Heart (7:00, ACCNE)
[96]NC State (-18) hosts [319]Bryant (7:00, ACCNE)
[63]Wake Forest (-13) hosts [181]Liberty (7:30, ACCNE)

Wednesday
[125]Pittsburgh (-7) hosts [205]UC Santa Barbara (7:00, ACCNE)
[13]North Carolina (-15) hosts [86]Bucknell (8:00, ACCNE)

Thursday
[51]Clemson (-10) vs. [151]Ohio in Charleston (5:00, ESPN2)
[16]Miami (-30) hosts [337]Florida A&M (7:00, ACCNE)
[19]Notre Dame (-30) hosts [334]Chicago State (7:00, ACCNE)
[47]Virginia Tech (-10) vs. [164]St. Louis in Madison Square Garden (7:00, ESPN2)
[96]NC State (-22) hosts [343]Presbyterian (7:00, ACCNE)

Friday
[10]Virginia (-7) at [81]VCU (4:00, CBSSN)
[56]Florida State (-12) vs. [206]Fordham in Montego Bay (6:00, CBSSN)
[6]Duke (-34) hosts [332]Southern (7:00, ACCNE)
[18]Louisville (-23) hosts [249]Omaha (7:00, ACCNE)
[63]Wake Forest (-12) vs. [223]Drake in Lynchburg (8:30)
[51]Clemson vs. [104]Dayton/[117]Hofstra in Charleston (7:00/9:30, ESPNNEWS/ESPNU)
[47]Virginia Tech vs. [24]Providence/[126]Washington (5:00/7:00, ESPN2)

Saturday
[92]Boston College (+8) vs. [32]Texas Tech in Uncasville (12:00, ESPN3)
[62]Syracuse (-18) hosts [266]Texas Southern (7:00, ACCNE)
[63]Wake Forest vs. [89]Colorado/[307]Quinnipiac in Lynchburg (2:30/8:30)

Sunday
[10]Virginia (-18) hosts [159]Monmouth (1:00, ACCNE)
[48]Georgia Tech (-28) hosts [341]Bethune-Cookman (2:00, ACCNE)
[56]Florida State (-7) vs. [109]Colorado State in Montego Bay (7:00, ACCNE)
[51]Clemson vs. [49]Auburn/[66]Temple/[97]Old Dominion/[165]Indiana State in Charleston
[63]Wake Forest vs. [59]Houston/[105]Mercer/[181]Liberty/[213]Drexel in Lynchburg

ACC Non-Conference Record: 17-3
ACC v. Power 6: 1-1
America East: 1-0
Atlantic 10: 1-0
Big East: 1-0
Big South: 2-0
Colonial: 1-0
Horizon: 1-0
Ivy: 1-0
MEAC: 2-0
MVC: 1-0
Pac 12: 0-1
Patriot: 1-1
Southern: 4-0
Sun Belt: 0-1
WAC: 1-0

[pfrduke]

UVA and Notre Dame won comfortably but Pitt lost at home to Montana. It’s going to be a long year for the Panthers.

[devildeac]

Go Bucky:


https://media.thetab.com/blogs.dir/231/files/2017/09/b9bd9d8c0bb88ced66900770088780911505426369128.jpeg

[Olympic Fan]

UVA and Notre Dame won comfortably but Pitt lost at home to Montana. It’s going to be a long year for the Panthers.

First Power 6 win for Montana since 2010 ....

I watched large parts of the game ... Pitt was lucky to get to OT but lost it in the extra period.

They get U-Cal Santa Barbara at home next, then go to New York for games against Penn State and either Texas A&M or Oklahoma State

[Troublemaker]

Watching Virginia v. Austin Peay. The Huff kid looks like he's going to be good. They're supposed to be down this year I wouldn't bet against Bennett getting this team into the top 25.


Huff is probably still a year away. He's extremely skilled, and has a great motor, but still will be pushed around by any team with half-decent bigs (read: NOT Austin Peay). Give him some spot minutes for experience, and put another 10-15ish lbs on in the offseason and he'll be ready for a featured role. Actually the other redshirt frosh we have, DeAndre Hunter, I expect bigger contributions from this season.

I still think we'll be a top 15ish team this year honestly... maybe better.

I hope Huff receives more than spot minutes, since UVA is one of the teams I'm hoping can finish ahead of UNC. (Duke, Miami, ND, and Louisville are the others and maybe a darkhorse like VaTech, although I only need 3 of them to do it). I'm not sure you guys have ever had a stretch big man in the Bennett era since Mike Scott developed his 3-pt shooting post-UVA in the NBA. A stretch big would be HUGE for your offense. Plus, Huff blocked 5 shots!

[Wahoo2000]

I hope Huff receives more than spot minutes, since UVA is one of the teams I'm hoping can finish ahead of UNC. (Duke, Miami, ND, and Louisville are the others and maybe a darkhorse like VaTech, although I only need 3 of them to do it). I'm not sure you guys have ever had a stretch big man in the Bennett era since Mike Scott developed his 3-pt shooting post-UVA in the NBA. A stretch big would be HUGE for your offense. Plus, Huff blocked 5 shots!

He's still struggling with picking up all the nuances of the pack line - mostly defending screen action out away from the basket. AP didn't do much of that. Still, one has to wonder at what point his offense becomes so valuable that even a "defense 1st, 2nd, & 3rd" guy like Bennett will play him anyway, despite any deficiencies on the other end. What I'm really hoping is that getting some good minutes in the nonconference speeds his comfort with his defensive responsibilities. If he and Diakite both get comfortable with the defense, I really like our frontcourt overall.

[pfrduke]

Wake may not be very good this year. They just lost at home - by 13! - to Liberty.

[millerecu]

NCSU’s freshman point guard finally made eligible by NCAA. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.si.com/college-basketball/2017/11/14/braxton-beverly-ohio-state-nc-state-ncaa-eligibility

[PackMan97]

Wake may not be very good this year. They just lost at home - by 13! - to Liberty.

What the heck? I know Ga Southern and Liberty aren't exactly bad teams (especially in comparisson to the teams NC State is playing)....but still dropping back to back games to non-P6 teams...one of which is rated 150+...ugh.

[Olympic Fan]

Wake may not be very good this year. They just lost at home - by 13! - to Liberty.

I had that game on my little TV while watching Duke-Michigan State. So I only got a few glimpses (during timeouts, stoppages, etc).

Still, easy to see how badly the Deacs are struggling. Their big men are all useless and their freshman Brown is erratic -- he was their best player in the loss to Georgia Southern, but he was terrible in the loss to Liberty ... I guess that's a fairly normal freshman.

I've seen both Pitt losses ... I think Wake is better than Pitt, but that's not saying much.

Interesting quite in the front-page story about Pitt's loss to Montana. The writer was talking about how the Panthers were shredded by Montana's guards -- two good mid-major players without a chance at the NBA (according to the writer). Then he added:

Fortunately for Pitt, it doesn’t play in a conference full of smart and speedy guards who will never come close to sniffing an NBA roster.

Is he being sarcastic? Or is the point that Pitt is in a conference full of smart and speedy guards who WILL be sniffing NBA rosters?

[ChillinDuke]

<snip>[/I]

Is he being sarcastic? Or is the point that Pitt is in a conference full of smart and speedy guards who WILL be sniffing NBA rosters?

Both?

- Chillin

[arnie]

Both?

- Chillin

Or, the writer is an ACC basher and preferred the affiliation with the Big East.

[JasonEvans]

Then he added:

Fortunately for Pitt, it doesn’t play in a conference full of smart and speedy guards who will never come close to sniffing an NBA roster.

Is he being sarcastic? Or is the point that Pitt is in a conference full of smart and speedy guards who WILL be sniffing NBA rosters?

I'm going to go with sarcasm. Here are the potential NBA guards currently in the ACC:

Allen, Trent and Duval (Duke)
Berry, Pinson, and Felton (UNC)
Brown and Walker (Miami)
Okogie (GT)
Robinson (BC)
Crawford (Wake)
Snyder (Lou)
Alexander-Walker (Va Tech)
Ferrell (ND)

-Jason "that's just off the top of my head... probably missing a few good ones" Evans

[PackMan97]

-Jason "that's just off the top of my head... probably missing a few good ones" Evans

Markell Johnson at NC State. He didn't get any looks last year because of Smith Jr. I know State's not played anyone, but right now he's averaging 12ppg and 9.7apg.

[Newton_14]

Love these threads! Major props to PFR for providing this content each week.

Hoping Bagley will be ready to go Friday Night but if they need to let him heal a little longer I dont see harm in him not playing again until next week.

[Olympic Fan]

I'm going to go with sarcasm. Here are the potential NBA guards currently in the ACC:

Allen, Trent and Duval (Duke)
Berry, Pinson, and Felton (UNC)
Brown and Walker (Miami)
Okogie (GT)
Robinson (BC)
Crawford (Wake)
Snider (Lou) (FIFY)
Alexander-Walker (Va Tech)
Ferrell (ND)

-Jason "that's just off the top of my head... probably missing a few good ones" Evans

BTW: Has anybody else seen Walker play this year?He has to win props for the most outrageous hair do in the ACC.

It's a stacked afro -- kind of like the guy from Kids n' Play. Actually, it looks more like Abe Lincoln's top-hat without the brim.

Amazing.

PS I'd add Miami's Newton, VPI's Robinson and Hill, Battle at Syracuse, Clemson's Mitchell and maybe Louisville's Perry. Plus, at least a couple of athletes at FSU ... not saying they all make it, but they'll sniff the NBA.

[JasonEvans]

BTW: Has anybody else seen Walker play this year?He has to win props for the most outrageous hair do in the ACC.

It's a stacked afro -- kind of like the guy from Kids n' Play. Actually, it looks more like Abe Lincoln's top-hat without the brim.

Amazing.

http://www.hurricanesports.com/images/2017/7/15/LonnieWalkerHS.jpg?width=300

[Bob Green]

St. Louis University 77, Virginia Tech 71. :cool: VT losing always brings a smile to my face.

[OldPhiKap]

St. Louis University 77, Virginia Tech 71. :cool: VT losing always brings a smile to my face.

“I’m OPK, and I approve of this message”

[devildeac]

St. Louis University 77, Virginia Tech 71. :cool: VT losing always brings a smile to my face.

I dunno about this one, Bob. They're still in the ACC, Buzz Williams (?) *seems* to be a good guy/coach and the insufferable seethe groanburg (sic)doesn't coach his brand of thuggery there anymore so this OOC loss bothers me. But only a little :o.

[Olympic Fan]

I'm with devildeac on this one -- I can't see any reason to pull against VPI in basketball. It helps us when other ACC teams are good. With one noteable exception I pull for every ACC team against non-conference teams (I think you can guess the one cheating team I never pull for). I had high hopes for the Holies and was disappointed o seer them play so poorly.

One nice tidbit from last night's VPI-St. Louis game -- Tech freshman Alexander-Walker, who had been averaging 27.5 a game, scored just four against the Billikens. That dropped his average to 19.3 ppg and allowed Grayson Allen to take over the ACC scoring lead.

[Troublemaker]

We also play the Hokies twice this year, so it'll be good for our computer rankings (e.g. RPI) if they're successful.

And I'd agree that VaTech under Buzz is more likeable than VaTech under Greenberg.

[Ultrarunner]

We also play the Hokies twice this year, so it'll be good for our computer rankings (e.g. RPI) if they're successful.

And I'd agree that VaTech under Buzz is more likeable than VaTech under Greenberg.

Well, in that case, it's good they're thumping UDub by almost 30.

[Nrrrrvous]

Went to the UVA @ VCU game on Friday. Even though UVA led almost the entire way, it was a one possession game with about 2 minutes to play. Rams crowd was in mid-season form. Couple of points...

- Kyle Guy played better than I've ever seen him play. (Must be that he ditched the man-bun!) 29 points, 5 for 9 from 3. He was clearly the focal point of their offense, very active off of lots of screens to try to get him open. His first few 3's were wide open but VCU finally started playing him tighter. Didn't seem to slow him down much.
- UVA broke the Ram's press with ease. Honestly, VCU's press doesn't look like it used to but Guy and Jerome had no problems with it whatsoever.
- For the first few minutes the Rams just passed around the outside of the Cavs D and they were struggling to get decent shots. At one particular timeout, the Ram coaches must have talked to Senior guard Johnny Williams. He came out and started driving right into the heart of it. I didn't think it was a good plan but it seemed that every time he did, something good would happen, either he was getting fouled on a layup or he was able to pass to an open man. I'm not sure that the Wahoo's defense is as far along as Tony would like.
- The UVA big men looked decent, they were getting fouls called on them all over the place on defense but were also drawing some charges. I guess it's saying something that the only time I noticed Diakite was when he fouled.

My gut feeling leaving the game was that UVA definitely is not where it usually is defensively. They let the Rams score 67 and if a couple more guys for VCU could hit wide open jumpers, it would have been more. If Guy hadn't been shooting as well, they probably would have lost to a good but not great VCU team.

Oh yeah, in the second half I felt a cold chill go down my spine. As I looked to the right, Eric Maynor was walking by. :mad:

[Wahoo2000]

Went to the UVA @ VCU game on Friday. Even though UVA led almost the entire way, it was a one possession game with about 2 minutes to play. Rams crowd was in mid-season form. Couple of points...

- Kyle Guy played better than I've ever seen him play. (Must be that he ditched the man-bun!) 29 points, 5 for 9 from 3. He was clearly the focal point of their offense, very active off of lots of screens to try to get him open. His first few 3's were wide open but VCU finally started playing him tighter. Didn't seem to slow him down much.
- UVA broke the Ram's press with ease. Honestly, VCU's press doesn't look like it used to but Guy and Jerome had no problems with it whatsoever.
- For the first few minutes the Rams just passed around the outside of the Cavs D and they were struggling to get decent shots. At one particular timeout, the Ram coaches must have talked to Senior guard Johnny Williams. He came out and started driving right into the heart of it. I didn't think it was a good plan but it seemed that every time he did, something good would happen, either he was getting fouled on a layup or he was able to pass to an open man. I'm not sure that the Wahoo's defense is as far along as Tony would like.
- The UVA big men looked decent, they were getting fouls called on them all over the place on defense but were also drawing some charges. I guess it's saying something that the only time I noticed Diakite was when he fouled.

My gut feeling leaving the game was that UVA definitely is not where it usually is defensively. They let the Rams score 67 and if a couple more guys for VCU could hit wide open jumpers, it would have been more. If Guy hadn't been shooting as well, they probably would have lost to a good but not great VCU team.

Oh yeah, in the second half I felt a cold chill go down my spine. As I looked to the right, Eric Maynor was walking by. :mad:

I'd agree with that, adding that usually, it takes close to 1,000 minutes of time on the floor (sometimes 200-300 less for players that have redshirted) for guys to become totally proficient running the pack line. Hall and Wilkins are the only team members currently over that threshold. In the next 10-20 games, Salt, Guy, Jerome, and Diakite will also reach the magic number. So you're correct that the defense isn't where Bennett wants it, though I think we'll get there.

MORE worrisome is our def reb%. We have historically completely locked down in that dept. Almost always in the top 15 nationally. Right now we're sitting at 220, letting opponents get nearly a third of their own misses back. Honestly, if we were limiting opponents to one shot as much as usual, I think our overall def #s would be much more impressive. This is one are where we're going to need to see a significant change if we want to compete with the teams at the top of the ACC. I also think it's in part due to again, guys being unsteady/slow/behind in the pack line. Guys are running around with their head spinning at times and don't even realize a shot has gone up in time to turn and block out correctly. When our positioning gets better, the rebounding should get better.

[Nrrrrvous]

I'd agree with that, adding that usually, it takes close to 1,000 minutes of time on the floor (sometimes 200-300 less for players that have redshirted) for guys to become totally proficient running the pack line. Hall and Wilkins are the only team members currently over that threshold. In the next 10-20 games, Salt, Guy, Jerome, and Diakite will also reach the magic number. So you're correct that the defense isn't where Bennett wants it, though I think we'll get there.

MORE worrisome is our def reb%. We have historically completely locked down in that dept. Almost always in the top 15 nationally. Right now we're sitting at 220, letting opponents get nearly a third of their own misses back. Honestly, if we were limiting opponents to one shot as much as usual, I think our overall def #s would be much more impressive. This is one are where we're going to need to see a significant change if we want to compete with the teams at the top of the ACC. I also think it's in part due to again, guys being unsteady/slow/behind in the pack line. Guys are running around with their head spinning at times and don't even realize a shot has gone up in time to turn and block out correctly. When our positioning gets better, the rebounding should get better.

Agreed, VCU's big men were only 6'7" or so and they were getting a lot of boards they shouldn't have. I think VCU ended up +12.

But, as I was thinking watching the Duke/MSU game the other night, it's really early in the season and you know that neither team will be the same in April. If I were a UVA fan I would only be ever so slightly worried after this game.