ACC Roundup - Louisville, UNC Impress
The Cardinals are getting better fast.
In Tuesday’s ACC Action, Syracuse took down Georgia Tech 62-55, Louisville beat Clemson 74-64 and UNC welcomed SMU to the Dean Dome, 82-67.
Was it bad offense by Georgia Tech or good defense by Syracuse?
Whatever it was, the Yellow Jackets shot just 19 percent from behind the line and 36.4 percent overall. Georgia Tech had just eight assists on its 24 baskets.
Everyone shot poorly except for Jaedyn Mustaf, who hit 4-8. Naithan George was 6-15, Lance Terry 6-13 and Javian McCollum was just 3-13.
Syracuse did this without Donnie Freeman, who is out with an injury and listed as day-to-day.
JJ Starling led the way for the Orange with 21 points on 9-16/1-3 from the floor.
You might think that Chris Bell replaced Freeman in the starting lineup; you would be wrong.
That went to 6-5 senior and Raleigh native Lucas Taylor, who had a decent game with 10 points and five rebounds. Bell had 13 points and three rebounds off the bench.
If you haven't caught on yet, Louisville is heating up, no doubt to the delight of Cardinal fans.
Colorado transfer J’Vonne Hadley had a monster game with 32 points on 10-12/3-3 shooting. He also had 10 rebounds and four assists.
Good timing since Chucky Hepburn, who has been the star for Louisville so far, was just 1-10/1-6 although he did have seven assists.
You can tell things have changed, and quickly: the Cardinals got nearly 15,000 people to brave ice to come to this game.
Louisville is now tied for second in the ACC. Pat Kelsey has his program in position to make the tournament. We thought he’d do well, but it’s not easy to make that turnaround in just a year. What’s happening there is impressive, and also good for the whole conference.
Clemson cut the lead to 56-54 in the second half but then Louisville ripped off a 9-0 run and that was pretty much that.
We’re just at the beginning of ACC play, but so far, Louisville is as impressive as anyone other than Duke.
Finally, we weren’t 100 percent sure what was going to happen in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have been inconsistent and have a pattern of starting slow and defense has been somewhat suspect.
Well, not Tuesday.
Okay, they did start a bit slow, but so did SMU, so no major problem. UNC was up 6-0 three minutes in before BJ Edwards got a layup.
UNC didn’t break double digits until the 14:39 mark and SMU didn’t get past six until 12:51.
Things got more fluid after that as UNC took a 39-24 lead to the locker room.
The second half was even better as both teams scored 43 points.
Elliot Cadeau didn’t have one of his best games with just seven points, one assist, four turnovers and four fouls - in 19 minutes.
RJ Davis led the way with 26 points. Ian Jackson had 18 points and fellow freshman Drake Powell had 17.
Seth Trimble, who has been out with a leg injury, returned. He played 26 minutes and scored seven points.
The frontcourt wasn’t particularly productive offensively with 14 points and 12 rebounds between Jalen Washington, Ven-Allen Lubin, Jae’Lyn Withers and James Brown. Lubin and Withers had seven apiece while Washington and Brown whiffed from the field.
Defense was better however: Washington had four blocks and Withers had a pair. that doesn’t entirely sum up defense but it shows more of a commitment. And for Washington, that’s really great. He’s struggled to get past his high school knee injury and while he’s had flashes, if he can defend the lane, that will help to solve some issues for the Tar Heels.
Four games on Wednesday as Florida State visits Miami, Notre Dame starts a Triangle swing with a stop in Raleigh before a trip to Duke Saturday, and the Bay Area teams are back home and will host the Virginia teams before swapping opponents Saturday.
Wednesday’s ACC Action
Florida State @ Miami || 7:00 || ACCN
Notre Dame @ NC State || 7:00 || ESPNU
Virginia Tech @ Stanford || 9:00 || ACCN
Virginia @ Cal || 11:00 || ESPNU
- Syracuse allows season-low 55 points in win over Georgia Tech
- Georgia Tech falls to Syracuse, 62-55, in conference play
- Syracuse grinds their way to a 62-55 win over Georgia Tech
- Syracuse gets much-needed win despite Donnie Freeman’s absence; when will the Orange freshman return?
- BOZICH | Louisville flexes as ACC contender, handling Clemson, 74-64
- UofL hands Clemson first ACC loss in dominant win over Tigers
- What Louisville HC Pat Kelsey, J’Vonne Hadley Said After 74-64 Win vs. Clemson
- Davis scores 26 for Tar Heels to help surging UNC thump SMU 82-67
- North Carolina’s defense shuts down SMU
- Lucas: SMU Rapid Reactions
- UNC finally wins a blowout as they dispatch SMU behind RJ Davis
- Welcome to the ACC: Three takeaways from UNC basketball’s home win over SMU
- UNC Basketball displays renewed defensive effort, takes down SMU