ACC Roundup - Stanford Dominates Syracuse & Hokies Pull A Surprise
Both Stanford and SMU are doing well in their ACC debut season.
In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Virginia topped Miami 82-71, Virginia Tech handled Florida State 76-66, Cal fell at SMU 76-65 and Stanford popped Syracuse, 70-61.
Syracuse has had an issue with slow starts all season but this one may set the standard: the Orange fell behind 25-2 before they started to compete.
At halftime, the ‘Cuse had made a credible comeback, down just 33-24.
The second half was dead even at 37-37 but it wasn’t enough to overcome the disastrous start.
This was also Syracuse’s third straight loss. It’s hard to imagine how Orange fans are taking this. There was a time when it was almost inconceivable that the Orange would lose to a team like Stanford. We’re not demeaning this team - they’re pretty good - but historically, Syracuse is a basketball school where Stanford has been hit or miss in hoops.
We thought early on that Maxime Raynaud might be running up numbers on lesser teams but he’s continued to play on a very high level. In this one, he finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Former Blue Devil Jaylen Blakes continues to excel, wrapping up tonight with 14 points and six rebounds.
Syracuse star JJ Starling was held to just seven points.
Poor Miami was close against Virginia, but they just couldn’t get over the hump. Isaac McKneely had 26 including 6-12 from deep. Taine Murray had 20, which just sort of underscores Miami’s utter inability to guard.
Former Blue Devil TJ Powers got some extended minutes and had two assists but didn’t scratch otherwise.
Matthew Cleveland had 27 to lead Miami and Brandon Johnson added 13. Miami hasn’t won since December 15th.
Virginia Tech pulled off a bit of a surprise by handling FSU with relative ease and on the road too. The Hokies were up 35-15 at the half. It’s not unprecedented or anything, but this team came in 8-12 and not many people expected such a dominant butt whipping.
Former Blue Devil Jayden Schutt had one of his better nights with 16 points. Tobi Lawal led the way with 17. Taylor Bol Bowen had 14 to pace the ‘Noles. Congratulations to Mike Young for his 400th career win.
Cal hung with SMU for awhile before the Mustangs pulled away near the end of the first half, building a 39-29 halftime lead. Although Cal got to within 61-55, they never fully recovered.
We thought that Andrej Stojakovic might be back, but he’s still out with an illness. Mady Sissoko and Devin Curtis both sat as well.
BJ Edwards had a nice game for Cal with 15 points, nine boards and five assists. Rytis Petraitis had 18 points and 10 boards while Jeremiah Wilkinson added 16.
Chuck Harris led SMU with 20 and three other starters hit double figures.
No more games until Saturday. Duke and UNC will get the most attention but Pitt at Wake Forest should be good and while it might sound weird, we’ve had a funny feeling about Louisville at Georgia Tech.
- Slow start hinders Syracuse in 70-61 loss to Stanford
- 4 takeaways from Syracuse’s 70-61 loss to Stanford
- Raynaud has 17th double-double, Stanford scores first 17 points to beat Syracuse 70-61
- UVA basketball earns first road win of season versus Miami behind McKneely, Murray
- Matt Cleveland scores 27, but Hurricanes drop to 0-10 in ACC with 82-71 loss to Virginia
- Miami’s inability to get second half stops leads to loss to Virginia
- Takeaways from Virginia’s win over Miami, the ‘Hoos first true road win of season
- With much-needed win over Miami, men’s basketball ends road losing streak
- Cal’s Streak Snapped In Dallas
- Harris scores 20, Cross adds double-double and SMU defeats Cal 76-65
- Short-Handed Cal Misfires in 76-65 Defeat at SMU
- SMU shows depth, keeps pace in tournament race bubble with win over Cal
- Isaac McKneely, Taine Murray lead UVA past Miami, Virginia Tech beats FSU
- Virginia gets first true road win at Miami 82-71
- A dominant first half helps see Virginia Tech take the win at Florida State
- Florida State comes out disinterested, loses to a bad Virginia Tech team
- FSU Basketball embarrassed at home by Virginia Tech, 76-66
- Virginia Tech Relies On Big First Half To Close Out Road Win At Florida State