ACC Roundup - Interesting Matchups, And Themes, For Saturday
The season is slipping away for some unless they can get some wins.
Another busy Saturday in the ACC as Clemson visits Florida State, Miami goes up to Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech rumble in Blacksburg, BC visits slumping NC State, Cal takes on the Yellow Jackets, the Tar Heels take on Syracuse in the Dome and Wake Forest has a get-together with SMU in Dallas.
That last one is pretty compelling for two reasons: first, Wake just threw the Florida State game away earlier in the week, a loss that Steve Forbes said was his worst ever since taking the job.
And second, while we don’t know what exactly happened between Boopie Miller and Wake Forest, the basic understanding is they didn't think he had enough heart to get it done. SMU begs to differ and Miller, we’re sure, would love to stick it to Wake.
Speaking of Florida State, the ‘Noles have won two straight and just barely lost to BC before that. It’s not a horrible team and they may match up reasonably well with Clemson. We’re not huge fans of Leonard Hamilton’s system, but he does have some strengths that could help here: long, athletic guards, a deep rotation and a particularly effective scorer in Jamir Watkins. We’re not 100 percent certain they can pull this off, but it’s definitely possible. And consider this too: we don’t think there’s any way Clemson will be as emotionally primed for Florida State as it was for Duke or UNC.
Pitt has lost four straight, although one was by two points and one by just one, and they really need a win. Miami is playing better, finally, but if Pitt has Jaland Lowe, the Panthers should prevail.
Both Virginia and Virginia Tech have shown signs of life lately and it could be a better game than most expect. The Hokies won in Charlottesville on February 1st and we think they’ll win again. However, Andrew Rohde has really picked up for Virginia and the Cavaliers are definitely improved. On the other hand, Jaden Schutt appears to be hitting his stride.
Boston College and NC State both like hard-nosed, defense-first basketball which is good since neither is an offensive powerhouse. The Pack is still trying, mostly anyway, but State hasn’t won a game in about five weeks. A.D’s notice stuff like that even if you did make the Final Four last season.
We get the feeling that either Trey Parker or Paul McNeil is about ready to have a big game. Couldn’t pick a better time.
We were impressed with Cal the other night and they are a well-coached, disciplined team. Georgia Tech is suddenly hard core though. Who knew injuries could help? You kind of wonder if Damon Stoudamire is sneaking around and trying to figure out who he can hurt next to keep this glory train rolling.
Seriously, the Yellow Jackets just seem to thrive in adversity. It’s possible that adversity has been coded into the program’s DNA this season and that’s an asset.
Baye Ndongo could be a tough matchup.
On a separate note, we’d like to see a comprehensive accounting of how teams are handling the cross-country games.
Something to keep in mind: Cal freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson is from Powder Springs, which is just about 22 miles from downtown Atlanta. Wilkinson is a really promising player and he’s basically playing at home. Just a thought.
Finally, UNC’s trip north to Syracuse. What to think?
Well, both teams are a mess. Syracuse has had some injuries. Star freshman Donnie Freeman is out for the year and JJ Starling missed some time.
Meanwhile, UNC is essentially a doughnut team, with a hole in the center.
If Syracuse can limit the guards, then the frontcourt needs to step up. But the ‘Cuse is not a great defensive team. So we’d go with....a tossup? Tough call here.
Speaking of UNC, rather than renovating the Dean Dome, the university is apparently planning a new arena.
But why?
There’s nothing functionally wrong with the Dean Dome. Plus the new arena apparently will be off campus and tougher for students to get to. Ask NC State how well that has worked out.
Saturday’s ACC Action
- Clemson @ Florida State || 12:00 || CW
- Miami @ Pitt || 12:00 || ESPN2
- Virginia @ Virginia Tech || 2:00 || CW
- Boston College @ Notre Dame || 2:00 || ACCN
- Stanford @ Duke || 4:00 || ABC/ESPN+
- Cal @ Georgia Tech || 4:00 || ACCN
- UNC @ Stanford || 6:00 || ESPN
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