Donning my blue and orange and chanting Hoos yer daddy starting about 7 PM tonight and hoping to finish about 9(F) PM with said actions.
Duke and UNC tied at the top, and both of them have tough tests to start the week. Clemson is officially back in the conversation for a bid with its nice win over Virginia Tech this week. NC State is looking a little shaky now at 5-6 - everyone else below .500 in conference play is not likely to have any postseason after the ACCT
Monday
[8]North Carolina (9-1) (+2) hosts [2]Virginia (8-2) (7:00, ESPN)
Tuesday
[125]Boston College (2-8) (-1) hosts [77]Pittsburgh (2-9) (7:00, ESPNU)
[13]Louisville (8-3) (+6) hosts [1]Duke (9-1) (9:00, ESPN)
Wednesday
[73]Miami (2-9) (+2) hosts [31]Clemson (5-5) (7:00, ESPN2)
[22]Florida State (6-4) (-18) hosts [176]Wake Forest (7:00, ACCNE)
[10]Virginia Tech (7-4) (-15) hosts [102]Georgia Tech (3-8) (8:00, ACCNE)
[39]NC State (5-6) (-4) hosts [42]Syracuse (8-3) (8:00, ACCNE)
Thursday and Friday are dark
Saturday
[13]Louisville (8-3) (-7) hosts [31]Clemson (5-5) (12:00, ESPN)
[176]Wake Forest (2-8) (+17) hosts [8]North Carolina (9-1) (12:00, ACCNE)
[2]Virginia (8-2) (-19) hosts [89]Notre Dame (3-8) (2:00, ACCNE)
[102]Georgia Tech (3-8) (+5) hosts [22]Florida State (6-4) (2:00, ACCNE)
[77]Pittsburgh (2-9) (+6) hosts [10]Virginia Tech (7-4) (4:30, ACCNE)
[1]Duke (9-1) (-19) hosts [39]NC State (5-6) (6:00, ESPN)
Sunday
[125]Boston College (2-8) (-1) hosts [73]Miami (2-9) (6:00, ESPNU)
ACC Non-Conference: 149-41
ACC vs. Power 5: 30-26
Efficiency margin (unadjusted) in conference play only:
Virginia - +21.2
Duke - +17.8
Louisville - +14.9
North Carolina - +13.4
Virginia Tech - +6.1
Florida State - +3.9
Clemson - +3.9
Syracuse - +3.3
NC State - -5.1
Miami - -9.1
Pittsburgh - -10.7
Notre Dame - -11.4
Georgia Tech - -12.6
Boston College - -13.5
Wake Forest - -20.3
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
Donning my blue and orange and chanting Hoos yer daddy starting about 7 PM tonight and hoping to finish about 9(F) PM with said actions.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Well, our first half schedule wasn't kind to us...but this is the ACC...NC State's losses (NET rankings)
#11 at Wisconsin (by 4 on the road)
#9f Cheaters (*$^@ the cheating cheaters)
#196 at Wake Forest (ouch...first game without starting PG)
#14 at Louisville
#3 UVA (by 1 in OT)
#14 VT (a game that will live in infamy)
#9f Cheaters (where is their banner for beating the NCAA COI?)
So, 7 losses. 6 to teams inside the top 15 and one without our starting PG. While I'd like some more big wins than just a slowly fading Auburn, the big games are going to be Syracuse, Clemson and FSU. State has got to win most of the games against the middle of the ACC and we'll be fine. That WF loss really really hurt, but ultimately shouldn't matter if we take care of business.
Unfortunately I think UNC wins pretty easily like the Gonzaga game. Combining the quick turnaround with travel and being banged up, UNC will be able to score easier than it would against a normal VA team. I would love to be wrong though...
I find it interesting that KenPom’s 125th ranked team (BC) is favoured in both its games this week.
“Those two kids, they’re champions,” Krzyzewski said of his senior leaders. “They’re trying to teach the other kids how to become that, and it’s a long road to become that.”
No official word but it seems Diakite will be playing.
My hope is that Tony has them past the game against you guys and focused on the work ahead. It's really terrible to have this kind of pileup on a schedule.
Honestly, we always knew Duke's ceiling was the highest and you guys were playing nearly perfectly in the JPJ on Saturday. That we remained in the contest until nearly the end is a testament to UVA's strength this year, but I bet our kids don't feel that way about it.
Absolutely agree. Our three point shooting in the first half was off the chart, yet we only led by 4 or 5 at half IIRC.
This is a fun UVA team to watch. And I think UVA may have the best coach in the conference outside of Durham. (Although Jimmy B may edge him just based on experience, I guess).
This seems as good a place as any to post my pet-theory, so here goes: UVA reminds me of 2010 Duke.
They get nearly all of their scoring from three perimeter players with two post players who play defense, set screens, and rebound. I see a lot of Brian Zoubek in Jack Salt, and Diakate's game is similar to Lance Thomas. Then there's Ty Jerome, a tall point guard who is steady but unspectacular and unafraid of the big shot, a la Jon Scheyer. Kyle Guy and DeAndre Hunter aren't exactly like Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler (despite two guys named Kyle!), but the roles they fill for their teams are quite similar.
Their main weapons off the bench are two bigs, Braxton Key and Jay Huff, who are more versatile and potentially more skilled than the starting bigs, but are younger and less proven. Kind of like the freshman Mason and sophomore Miles.
It works a bit on a macro-level too. Both teams were/are maligned for recent tournament failures. Both stayed in games with tough, hard-nosed defense but were prone to scoring droughts.
It's not a perfect comparison, but that's the model I see for them. Whether they can regroup and win in Chapel Hill tonight will go a ways to showing whether they really are like 2010 Duke.
Curious about how our UVA friends think about this year’s team vs last year’s team? I think of this team as better - especially offensively - but last year’s teamed seemed more of a powerhouse. It may just be that some of the rest of the league is better - particularly us.
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Jerome and Salt both picked up a couple fouls when coming on the court for warm-ups.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.