Wake Forest Embarrassed, Notre Dame Rises And A Short Bench (Again) Means Good News For Georgia Tech
A very interesting night around the league
In Wednesday's ACC Action, Louisville slugged NC State 91-66, Florida State shocked Wake Forest 72-70, Georgia Tech handled Stanford 60-52, and Notre Dame and BC went to double overtime before the Irish prevails 97-94.
Steve Forbes probably didn't sleep well after Wake’s loss. Why?
Because, to be charitable, the Deacs blew it.
Up by 18 in the second half, Wake Forest not only let FSU back into the game, they allowed them to hit two shots in the last :15 seconds to pull off a shocking win.
Taylor Bol Bowen hit a three with :15 left to put FSU up 70-69 before Ty-Laur Johnson took a really long three with eight seconds left. Forbes has no hair to pull out but if he had any, he’d have yanked it all out on that play. Bol Bowen got the ball back and Chandler Jackson hit Justin Thomas for a dunk with :02 left to give the ‘Noles a 72-69 advantage.
For some reason, Daquan Davis fouled Cameron Hildreth on a three, who missed his first, hit his second, intentionally missed his third but Wake couldn’t get the tip.
Florida State is a decent but not great team and for whatever reason, Wake’s defense just fell apart in the second half. The Deacs gave up 51 points after halftime.
Forbes, who we think has been well-liked by Wake fans, is going to catch some heat over this one. Here’s what he said afterwards. It’s pretty brutal.
Louisville just blew out NC State. The Cards hit 63.6/57.9 to 36.1/33.3 for the Pack.
It was such a laugher that Chucky Hepburn actually took a minute and high-fived State fans sitting courtside.
Why not?
They owned the gym, might as well claim the fans too.
Here’s another measure of how bad it was: the Cards had 17 turnovers and still won by 25.
The one thing that State can usually count on, defense, but like Wake Forest it wasn’t there. Perhaps the long trip back from the Bay Area had something to do with that for both teams.
Kevin Keatts got an automatic extension after last year’s miracle run in March, but that’s long over. With nine straight losses and a record of 9-15, could Keatts find himself on the hot seat just a year after making the Final Four?
Wouldn’t rule it out.
Good news for Stanford: Jaylen Blakes is back. Bad news for Stanford: didn’t matter. Worse news than that: Georgia Tech beat them convincingly without leading scorer Lance Terry.
Terry is out with a wrist injury and Javian McCollum has a concussion.
Tech is back to a seven-man rotation and you know what that means. That means trouble - for their opponent and Tech never trailed.
Blakes had 12 points and six assists, but the Yellow Jackets managed to contain Maxime Raynaud to eight points and six rebounds.
Baye Ndongo had a terrific game with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Naithan George led with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jaeden Mustaf, who has been terrific for Tech, played for the first time since January 14th.
Multi-overtime games are all the rage lately in the ACC and while the Irish and the Eagles played just two, it was a taut and interesting game.
Markus Burton finished with 32, seven rebounds and three assists, Braeden Shrewsberry had 16 and Tae Davis had 20 points and six boards.
Kebba Nijie had five but points but an impressive 12 rebounds in 20 minutes, and he hit the winning shot.
Super win for the Irish who have been lacking some heart lately and obviously at tough loss for BC. The Eagles were led by Chad Venning with 21. Donald Hand had 17.
No games until Saturday, as usual.
- Bol Bowen’s Late 3-Point Shot Lifts Seminoles Over Wake Forest, 72-70
- Wake Forest loses at home to Florida State
- Thrilling comeback lifts FSU Men’s Basketball to 72-70 win at Wake Forest
- THRILLING FASHION!! FSU men’s basketball squad knocks off Wake Forest on the road
- FSU Basketball completes improbable comeback at Wake Forest, wins 72-70
- CRAWFORD | Louisville’s Explosive Offense Dismantles NC State 91-66 in Hepburn’s Epic Return
- NC State players following blowout loss to Louisville: ‘Today wasn’t our day’
- Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn does the unimaginable while throttling NC State
- Louisville basketball dominates NC State in Hepburn’s return
- Stanford’s Cold Shooting Night Dooms Them Against Georgia Tech
- Georgia Tech Takes Down Stanford 60-52 in Statement Win
- Jackets topple Stanford 60-52 in wire-to-wire win without Terry
- Njie hits winner, Burton has career-high 32 points and Notre Dame edges Boston College 97-94 in 2OT
- Did Notre Dame basketball finally figure out how to win a close ACC game?
- Boston College men’s basketball falls to Notre Dame in double overtime
- Irish Triumph: Notre Dame edges Boston College 97-94 in a thrilling finish