This Week in ACC Hoops

"The cause of losing Williams may lead to the effect of the team rallying around each other. There’s no doubt about that. However, losing an All-American level defender is hard for any team to bounce back from, and it is not going to make you a better team."

Biggest win of the week: North Carolina drubbing Clemson 77-55

It seems like just yesterday that Clemson was soaring high as the only remaining undefeated team left in the country. There were even rumblings from “experts” that the Tigers might challenge for the conference title this season. Leave it to the likely future ACC Champions to burst the bubble of Clemson.

UNC came onto Clemson’s home court and showed that they are a class above Clemson, and really a class above the rest of the conference. The Tar Heels built a hefty 44-31 halftime lead and never looked back. Like most other teams, Clemson simply didn’t have a way to stop UNC’s frontcourt tri-fecta of Hansbrough, Terry, and Wright.

Runner up: Florida State defending their home court over Virginia Tech 82-73

This was really a backwards sort of game in many ways. FSU built a 16 point halftime lead, even though Al Thornton (leading scorer this season for FSU) was held scoreless in the 1st half. Then, in the 2nd half, Thornton had one of the most memorable moments of the ACC season to date, as he went off for an astonishing 27 points. While FSU’s star was busy carrying the team on his back VT was able to cut the lead down to one. Give credit to the Seminoles though, because they buckled down on defense when the game got close and pulled out a much needed win at home.

FSU needs to defend their home court like this the rest of the way. I can’t see the Seminoles making the “Dance” unless they win the rest of their regular season games at home, or at the very least winning all but one of them.

Worst loss of the week: Boston College losing Sean Williams

When you were back in school do you remember learning cause and effect? I bet you do, so let’s play a little game of that right now.

I have to admit that it’s a little humorous for me to hear some people say things along the lines of, “Now that Williams is gone I think the team is better without him. They will rally around each other after this.”

Ladies and gentleman, losing the nation’s leading shot blocker doesn’t lead to the effect of becoming a better team. The cause of losing Williams may lead to the effect of the team rallying around each other. There’s no doubt about that. However, losing an All-American level defender is hard for any team to bounce back from, and is not going to make you a better team.

Not only did Williams block a lot of shots, but he accounts for countless shots that he alters just by his presence down low. This loss really effects the dynamics of BC’s already suspect defense. BC has gone from a possible contender for the ACC crown to a team that needs to find it’s identity on the defensive end quickly if it wants to get into March Madness.

Runner-up: Maryland falling to Virginia Tech 67-64 in O.T

Maryland certainly was not expected to win this game, but they had a great opportunity to win and couldn’t pull through. After fighting back with a feverish 11-3 run to end the game and force O.T., the Terps’ laid an egg in the extra session. In a 4 minute stretch of O.T. Maryland mustered only one point, which ultimately cost them the game.

With the loss, the Terps now find themselves tied for 10th in the ACC. After a strong start in non-conference play Maryland has hit a wall against ACC competition. Since the Terps entered contest play, they have averaged the worst field goal % in the ACC at 40%. Furthermore, Mike Jones is the only one of their players that’s in the top 25 in ppg in conference play. Both of these stats are unacceptable for a team with this much talent. Now, more than ever, Maryland needs their senior starters, D.J. Strawberry, Mike Jones, and Ekene Ibekwe to step up their game.

ACC Power Rankings

1. North Carolina (1/24 @ WF, 1/27 @ Arizona)
2. Virginia Tech (1/23 @ Miami, 1/28 @ GT)
3. Clemson (1/25 @ Duke, 1/28 vs. Virginia)
4. Duke (1/25 vs. Clemson, 1/28 vs. BC)
5. Boston College (1/23 vs. FSU, 1/28 @ Duke)
6. Georgia Tech (1/24 @ Maryland, 1/28 vs. VT)
7. Florida State (1/23 @ BC, 1/27 vs. WF)
8. Virginia (1/24 vs. NC State, 1/28 @ Clemson)
9. Maryland (1/24 vs. GT)
10. NC State (1/24 @ Virginia)
11. Miami (1/23 vs. VT)
12. Wake Forest (1/24 vs. UNC, 1/27 @FSU)

All-ACC Freshman 1st Team G- Ishmael Smith - WF
G- Javaris Crittenton - GT
F- Thaddeus Young - GT
F- Brandan Wright - UNC
F- Brandon Costner - NC State

Freshman of the Year: Brandon Wright

Yes, I realize Costner isn’t a true freshman, but it’s still his first full season so he makes my list.

As for Brandon Wright being freshman player of the year so far, it isn’t even up for debate. On the season, Wright is averaging 15.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and 1.6 bpg all while averaging just over 25 minutes of playing time each game. Not to shabby to say the least.

Game of the Week: UNC @ Arizona 1/27

I know it’s not a conference game, but still, how can you not think this is the game of the week? This will be a battle that Paul Westphal would be proud of, as UNC comes in with the 2nd ranked scoring offense in the country (87.5 ppg) against Arizona’s 7th ranked scoring offense (84.1 ppg).

The reason I’m intrigued by this game is because all season long we’ve heard about how great the Pac-10 is, and how it’s the best conference in the country. Even though ‘Zona has struggled recently (off to a 4-4 mark in conference) they are still one of the best teams in the Pac-10. It will be interesting to see how the best in the ACC stacks up against one of the best in the Pac-10.

Runner-Up: Clemson at Duke 1/25

UNC has shown that they are clearly the best team in the ACC. I guess the next logical thing would be to figure out who’s the best of the rest. I firmly believe that VT is the 2nd best team in the ACC, but it could be argued that VT, Duke or even Clemson is deserving of that that title.

Clemson has all but locked up a NCAA Tournament berth, and now it’s time for them to pad their resume for a higher seed. The Tigers don’t have any signature road victories this year, so a win over Duke would really help.

As for Duke, they’ve responded to their two losses to VT and GT by throttling the bottom feeders of the conference. Duke hasn’t beaten a legitimate team in the ACC yet, so it will be intriguing to see if they’ve gained enough of their confidence back to beat their nationally ranked visitors.