ACC Basketball Recap: January 28, 2012
Here is the recap for the ACC basketball action on January 28, 2012. It was a big day for impressive individual performances, as a few players got into the high teens in rebounds.
The big win of the day goes to… Pittsburgh, who defeated #9 Georgetown by a score of 72-60. Bear in mind that the Panthers had lost eight straight before winning their last game. To get that second conference win, and to do it over a very good Georgetown team, is going to rejuvenate this team. Nasir Robinson went 9 for 9 from the field en route to a 23 point-game to lead Pitt. Robinson added 8 rebounds too. Lamar Patterson was another star for Pitt, with 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds. At this juncture, every win is a big one for Pittsburgh. But Saturday’s win was huge. For Georgetown, this would ordinarily be chalked up as a “good” road loss. With the Panthers’ struggles this year, that may not be the case. Still, Georgetown is 16-4 and looking at a top seed in the Big Dance. Otto Porter led the Hoyas with 14 points.
As a close second, how about #19 Virginia landing a road win over the streaking North Carolina State Wolfpack? The Cavaliers won 61-60, as Lorenzo Brown missed a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the game that would have won it for NC State. Not surprisingly, Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points and 5 rebounds. However, despite winning, the Cavaliers were outrebounded 40-20. In fact, North Carolina State’s Richard Howell almost single-handedly outrebounded Virginia by grabbing 18 boards. With the loss, the Wolfpack dropped to 15-7 on the season. Virginia improved to 17-3.
#3 Syracuse also overcame a poor rebounding effort, narrowly defeating visiting West Virginia, 63-61. The Mountaineers dominated Syracuse–who was again playing without Center Fab Melo–on the glass, 36-20. But this game was notable for its poor officiating, as the referees failed to call a rather obvious goaltending against Syracuse with less than 10 seconds to go. However, before feeling too sorry for West Virginia, they retained possession and missed a three-point shot at the buzzer. Had the basket counted, Syracuse would have had 9 seconds to get off a shot. Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 20 points and 8 rebounds, but missed the three-pointer as time expired. Brandon Triche led Syracuse with 18 points.
Visiting St. Johns rallied in the second half, but ultimately lost to #8 Duke in Durham, 83-76. Duke had a 16-point lead at the half, which grew to 22 points during the second half. However, the Red Storm were able to narrow the margin to only four points with 21 seconds remaining. They would never get any closer. St. Johns looks like it has a budding star in Moe Harkness, who scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. The big star for Duke was Mason Plumlee, who scored 15 points and grabbed an impressive 17 rebounds. With the win, Duke improved to 18-3 on the season and looks poised to rise a few places in the rankings this week.
Maryland got back to its winning ways with a 73-69 victory over Virginia Tech. Credit the Hokies for making a game of it, as they trailed by 13 at the half and by as many as 16 in the second-half. But they just dug too big a hole to get out of. Erick Green led the Hokies with 18 points. At 12-9, Virginia Tech is running out of time to get back on the right side of the bubble. Terrell Stoglin was the hero for Maryland, leading the Terps with 28 points. Maryland is now 13-7 and controls its own post-season destiny.
Finally, Clemson handed Wake Forest its 10th loss of the season, defending its home court in a 71-60 victory. CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points, while Andre Young led the four Clemson players that scored in double-figures with 19 points of his own. With the win, Clemson improves to 11-9.
The Confidential 