This Week in ACC Hoops

Biggest Win of the Week: North Carolina over Boston College 77-72 

Both BC and UNC came into this game knowing that the loser would likely be eliminated from contention for the ACC Title, while the winner would be in 1^st place in the conference. With so much at stake, neither team disappointed fans, as this was one of the most entertaining games of the year.

You have to feel bad for Jared Dudley. Besides his three crucial free throws, the guy played a tremendous game. Unfortunately, the likes of SportsCenter would have you believe he was the biggest goat in the country on Saturday.

In the end, you just have to hand it to UNC. The ACC standings might say that they’re tied for 1^st place, but the Tar Heels are simply on another level above the rest of the league. UNC now controls their own destiny to get the #1 seed for the ACC Tournament, and I wouldn’t expect them to falter.

Runner-up: Maryland winning on the road at Clemson 82-66

D.J. Strawberry had one of the best offensive nights of his career, as the senior poured in 22 points (2^nd highest of his career). A majority of Stawberry’s points came from hard drives to the hoop, as the Tigers really couldn’t stop him all game long.

The Terps also received a sensational performance from their freshman point guard Greivis Vasquez, who recorded the first double-double (15 points, 11 assists) of his career. Each game I become more and more impressed with the poise of this young point guard, and I’ve actually been able to notice a direct correlation between the improved play of Vasquez, and the success of his team. By stabilizing the point, Vasquez has taken away the “train wreck” dimension of the Maryland offense from last season…which is a good thing.

The win for Maryland finally climbs them to the .500 mark in conference play. Who would’ve thought that the Terps’ would come back to respectability status after starting the season a woeful 1-4 in ACC play? Gary Williams has his team playing well, and believing that they can beat anyone. D.J. Strawberry may have summed up the confidence of his team last week when he said, “Who’s to say we won’t win the rest of our games?”

Worst Loss of the Week: Clemson going down to last place Wake Forest 67-65

If you are associated with Clemson basketball in anyway, whether you’re a coach, player, or fan, then you have to get down on your knees and hope that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee is not taking as much stock as usual in “last 10 games played”. Assuming the committee will take a look at the last 9 regular season games, and at least 1 ACC Tournament game, the Tigers have started that stretch a pretty miserable 1-4. 

After starting the year 17-0, the Tigers have been on a freefall losing 7 of their last 9 games. Thing don’t look any easier coming up, as Clemson will host Duke, go on the road to BC, host Miami, and then finish the year at Virginia Tech. It’s very conceivable that the Tigers could go 1-3 in that stretch, and end up finishing in 9^th in the ACC.

With all of the above being said, how exactly do you allow last place Wake Forest to comeback and beat you? Clemson was up by 6 points with just over 6:00 left, but they couldn’t put the Deamon Deacons away. The Tigers were only able to muster 3 points over the last 6:00 of play, and the last field goal they made was Vernon Hamilton’s trey with 6:03 remaining in the game. The bottom line is the Tigers don’t have a go-to-guy that they can give the ball to when they need a big hoop.

Runner-Up: Florida State’s bubble bursting at Virginia 73-70

Honestly, if I hadn’t watched the last few minutes of this game, then I would’ve never given FSU the “honor” of winning runner-up for worst loss of the week. However, after watching the execution of FSU down the stretch I have to wonder if they are cut out to play in the NCAA Tournament.

&FSU trailed Virginia by just 4 points, with 5:00 remaining, and very much still in the game. However, on their next three possessions, the ‘Noles settled for 3 straight 3-pointers, including a pair of them shot by Uche Echefu, who is shooting a stellar 33% from behind the arch on the year. Yikes. It was an ugly, ugly couple of sequences for FSU, as they continue to play themselves out of a March Madness berth.

ACC Power Rankings

1. North Carolina (2/21 vs. NC State, 2/24 @ Maryland)

2. Virginia Tech (2/21 vs. BC, 2/24 vs. Miami)

3. Boston College (2/21 @ VT 2/24 vs. Clemson)

4. Virginia (2/21 @ Miami, 2/24 vs. GT)

5. Duke (2/22 @ Clemson, 2/25 @ St. John’s)

6. Maryland (2/21 vs. FSU, 2/24 vs. UNC)

7. Georgia Tech (2/21 vs. WF, 2/24 @ Virginia)

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8. Florida State (2/21 @ Maryland, 2/24 vs. NC State)

9. Clemson (2/22 vs. Duke, 2/24 @ BC)

10. NC State (2/21 @ UNC, 2/24 @ FSU)

11. Wake Forest (2/21 @ GT)

12. Miami (2/21 vs. Virginia, 2/24 @ VT

;This week is the first instillation of my “bubble marker”. Basically any team above the line I predict would be in “The Dance”, and any team below it is NIT-bound, or on the road to nowhere. Keep in mind this forecast is based on if the season ended today. This is not used to predict how teams will fare from here on out.

Game of the Week: Georgia Tech at Virginia 2/24

With just two weeks remaining in the season, Virginia finds themselves tied with UNC for 1^st place in the conference. You’d be hard pressed to find someone that you could sell that scenario to at the start of the year. However, behind JR Reynolds and Sean Singletary, the Cavaliers have an outside shot of their 1^st outright conference crown since 1981. To do it they have to win out and hope that UNC loses one more game.

On the other side of the court, few teams in the league are playing better than GT, as the Yellow Jackets have won four of their last five. Could it be too little too late for GT though? The ‘Jackets are 5-7 in ACC play, and likely need to win at least 2 of their last four, and then win two more in the ACC Tournament so they can go to “The Dance With UNC and BC still looming on the schedule it would take a lot of pressure off of this team if they could defeat Virginia.

Runner-Up: Boston College at Virginia Tech 2/21

Both of these teams are almost mathematically eliminated from the ACC Title after losses on Saturday, and the loser of this one will need a miracle to win the league. More importantly though, this game could go a long way in determining which of these two teams gets the #3 seed in the ACC Tournament. Why is that a big deal you might ask? Well the #4 seed will most likely get a meeting with Duke in the 2^nd round, while the #3 seed will play the #6 or #11 seed.