ACC Basketball Recap: January 7, 2012
The ACC opened conference play yesterday and there were a lot of good games. And all the ranked teams held off their opponents.
In the closest game of the day, #21 Virginia improved its winning streak to 12 by defeating visiting Miami, 52-51. The Cavaliers led by 11 at the half, but the Hurricanes made it a see-saw affair for most of the second half in this very low-scoring tilt. Although maybe some criticism for the offenses is justified, the defenses can take credit for each team shooting under 40% for the entire game. Miami big man Kenny Kadji led the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Virginia forward Mike Scott led all scorers with 23 points, while also adding 8 rebounds of his own. With the loss, Miami falls to 9-5 on the season. Virginia moves to a very impressive 14-1. All ACC eyes now turn to their upcoming visit to Duke on January 12.
Speaking of Duke, the #5 Blue Devils were the only ACC team to win on the road as Duke defeated struggling Georgia Tech, 81-74. Georgia Tech was never able to grab a lead and ultimately suffered its fourth straight loss to fall to 7-8 on the season. But it was not for the lack of effort by Glen Rice, Jr, who led all scorers with 28 points. Instead, credit goes to Duke for rebounding from its loss to Temple with a good performance on the road. Ryan Kelly led Duke with 21 points, while Seth Curry added 15 in a balanced Duke attack. With the win, Duke improves to 13-2 on the season.
In a somewhat surprising result, Wake Forest was able to defeat Virginia Tech at home, 58-55. After going 1-15 in conference play last year, Wake Forest has already matched its conference win total from last year. As the score indicates, neither team shot very well, with both teams failing to surpass the 40% barrier. And CBS provides the following play-by-play recap of the exciting finish:
The Hokies took their first lead of the game at 53-52 when Jarell Eddie knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:18 left. But [C.J.] Harris answered seconds later, faking a pass to the left corner to buy some space and then burying the 3 for the 55-53 lead with a minute left.
[Erick] Green answered with a jumper with 45.1 seconds left, but Harris came through again by rounding a screen from Carson Desrosiers and burying another 3 to make it 58-55. This time that lead held up, though not until after Robert Brown missed a hurried long 3 on the Hokies’ final possession. Travis McKie grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0.2 seconds left, essentially sealing the victory.
Harris and McKie led Wake Forest with 13 and 12 points, respectfully. Green’s 19 points led Virginia Tech. With the win, Wake Forest improves its overall record to 10-5. With the loss, Virginia Tech falls to 11-4.
And, in a matchup between two ranked teams, #1 Syracuse held off #20 Marquette, 73-66. Syracuse led by as many as 23 in the first half, only to see its 18-point halftime lead evaporate within minutes in the second half. Marquette even got as close as 2 points down the stretch before Syracuse closed them out to improve to 17-0 on the season. Darius Johnson-Odom led Marquette with 21 points, while Brandon Triche led Syracuse’s typically balanced scoring attack with 16 points. Syracuse will keep its well-deserved #1 ranking for yet another week.
In other games, the visitors were not able to keep the games close at all. #3 North Carolina had no trouble in defeating cellar-dweller Boston College, 83-60. With the win, North Carolina moves to 14-2. Clemson upended visiting Florida State, 79-59. Both teams are now 9-6.
In today’s action, Maryland (10-3) will travel to North Carolina State (10-4).
The Confidential 