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18 Feb 2012

Weekend Preview: February 18-19

As is always the case this time of year, there are a number of ACC games this weekend (February 18 & 19, 2012) in college basketball.

Saturday

At 1 p.m., Wake Forest travels to Miami.  Wake Forest’s season is slipping away, but Miami is just starting to get grounded.  The Hurricanes are 15-9.

In addition, Maryland travels to #22 Virginia.  At 15-10, Maryland does not have room to lose many more games.  Virginia is looking for its 20th victory.

But the big game at 1 p.m. is #20 Florida State at North Carolina State.  Both teams are looking for their 19th win.  And the Wolfpack will want to atone for the disappointing loss to Duke.

At 3 p.m., the disappointment bowl, with Georgia Tech traveling to Virginia Tech.  Both of these teams expected to be several wins better than they are.

At 4 p.m., #8 North Carolina hosts Clemson.  The Tar Heels are 22-4 on the season, but Clemson has surprised some teams this year.

Sunday

At 1p.m., #2 Syracuse travels to the always-challenging RAC to play Rutgers.  The Orange needs to continue taking care of business.

The other future ACC member, Pittsburgh, hosts South Florida at 7 p.m.  Pitt’s disappointing season continues.

The Sunday game of the week is #5 Duke at Boston College.  Like North Carolina, Duke is 22-4 on the season.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Weekend Preview and tagged , , , , , , , ,
17 Feb 2012

ACC Basketball Recap: February 16, 2012

February 16, 2012, was a great day of college basketball in the ACC.

First, #5 Duke rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat North Carolina State, 78-73.  In fact, the Wolfpack led at the half by 16 points.  But Duke really outplayed North Carolina State down the stretch to prevent a big upset.  Seth Curry was the scoring leader for Duke with 26 points, while Austin Rivers added 16.  Lorenzo Brown led the Wolfpack, who dropped to 18-8 with the loss, with 19 points.  Duke improved to 22-4 with the win.

Second, #20 Florida State won in the final seconds again, defeating Virginia Tech, 48-47.  Once again, it was Michael Snaer providing the heroics with a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left.  Against Duke, Snaer did it as time expired.  Snaer and Ian Miller were the scoring leaders for Florida State with 9 and 11 points, respectively.  Erick Green led Virginia Tech, who dropped to 14-12 with the loss, with 18 points.  Florida State is now 18-7 on the season.

Third, on a less exciting note, Maryland defeated Boston College 81-65.  This one was never really in doubt as Maryland led by 14 at the half.  Ryan Anderson led the 8-18 Eagles with 22 points and 10 rebounds.  Terrell Stoglin led Maryland with 24 points.  With the win, Maryland improves to 15-10 overall and keeps its Big Dance dreams alive.

Finally, Pittsburgh’s woes continued as they suffered a 66-48 home loss to rival West Virginia.  This game was actually close at the half (26-25), but West Virginia pulled away in the second-half.  Pittsburgh drops to 15-12 overall and 4-10 in conference play.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , ,
16 Feb 2012

Connecticut Newspaper: ACC Would Want UConn As Part of a 16-Team League

It’s pretty clear that conference realignment will never truly be done until Notre Dame is in a conference.  The Big 10 wants Notre Dame.  The ACC wants Notre Dame.  The Big XII wants Notre Dame.  The Big East… nevermind.  But it is not the least bit surprising that a Connecticut newspaper would suggest that the ACC would want UConn as part of a 16-team league along with Notre Dame.

Indeed, the Hartford Courant reported as follows:

Sources told The Courant recently that the ACC has a 16-team model in place with its first choices being Notre Dame and UConn, but with Notre Dame maintaining its independent position there is no rush to go to 16. If the ACC can’t convince Notre Dame, Rutgers could get the call with UConn, but sources say there is no rush there, either.

Really, this is not even news.  If Notre Dame called up the ACC and said it was ready to join, there is little doubt that UConn would be the choice.  They have a basketball pedigree that fits the ACC and more BCS bowl appearances than Rutgers.  Assuming Boston College was OK with the move, this would be a no brainer.

To be sure, the Confidential always hoped for a West Virginia-Notre Dame pairing.  That would fuse together the teams with Northeastern roots.  Notre Dame’s academic prowess would offset any concern about West Virginia.

But that ship has probably sailed.  And so UConn is the likely beneficiary if Notre Dame decides to join the ACC.

The amusing thing is that if Notre Dame joined the Big 10, it would likely be accompanied by Rutgers.  Rutgers as an institution fits in with the Big 10 model of a large public university with ample research and academic reputation.  It would provide a partner for Penn State.  So, depending on what Notre Dame does, that would impact who between Rutgers and UConn is saved.  As if Notre Dame didn’t need more reasons to stall.

In any event, the Confidential thinks it more likely the world will end in December 2012 than Notre Dame will join a conference.  So being the likely partner in a Notre Dame move is little consolation for the indefinite future.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment
15 Feb 2012

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for February 15, 2012

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for February 15, 2012:

  1. Syracuse (26-1).  Syracuse has gotten through a stretch of Georgetown, UConn, and Louisville.  A road trip to Rutgers is next.  Next up: @ Rutgers.
  2. Kentucky (25-1).  Kentucky is entrenched at Number 1 in the major polls.  Wins over Florida and Vandy last week did nothing to harm that perception.  Next up: Mississippi.
  3. Missouri (23-2).  A big win over Baylor keeps Missouri at the top of the Big XII.  They can take the foot off the gas a bit this week.  Next up: Oklahoma State.
  4. Michigan State (20-5).  Michigan State defeated Ohio State by a nice margin.  Tough game against Wisconsin next.  Next up: Wisconsin.
  5. Duke (21-4).  All of the sudden, Duke is back in the national picture.  All it took was a buzzer beater over North Carolina.  Next up: North Carolina State.
  6. Kansas (21-5).  A convincing win against Baylor on the road.  And then they followed that up with two more wins.  Next up: Texas Tech.
  7. Ohio State (22-4).  The Michigan State loss was tough.  But the Breslin Center is always a tough venue.  Next up: @ Michigan.
  8. North Carolina (21-4).  The Duke game was everything fans could have wanted, except the result.  The team took out their pain on Virginia.  Next up: @ Miami.
  9. Baylor (21-4).  Losing to Kansas and Missouri (again) makes this a very tough week.  But Baylor has yet to be upset.  Next up: Kansas State.
  10. Georgetown (19-5).  The Hoyas played an outstanding game against Syracuse, only to fall short in overtime.  This team is starting to come together.  Next up: @ Providence.
  11. Wisconsin (19-6).  The Badgers slide up several notches due to losses by other teams.  The win at Minnesota was nice.  Next up: @ Michigan State.
  12. Marquette (21-5).  Marquette rebounded from its loss to Notre Dame by defeating both DePaul and Cincinnati.  And that Notre Dame loss is looking better as the Irish are on fire.  Next up: @ Connecticut.
  13. Michigan (19-7).  Picked up two wins–at Nebraska and home to Illinois.  Rivarly game is next.  Next up: @ Ohio State.
  14. Indiana (19-6).  A nice win over fading Illinois last week.  The Hoosiers continue to stay relevant.  Next up: Northwestern.
  15. Louisville (20-6).  Don’t let that loss to Syracuse fool you–this team is going to give someone fits in the Big Dance.  Very good defensive team.  Next up: @ DePaul.
  16. UNLV (22-5).  UNLV got the needed win against San Diego State.  But then gave it up in a road loss to TCU.  Next up: @ New Mexico.
  17. San Diego State (20-4).  The loss to UNLV stings.  But at least it was a road game.  Next up: New Mexico.
  18. Florida (19-6).  Tough week for Florida, losing to both Kentucky and Tennessee.  The latter was the big surprise.  Next up: @ Alabama.
  19. Notre Dame (17-8).  The Irish keep winning.  First they knocked off West Virginia, then they returned home to defeat DePaul.  Next up: Rutgers.
  20. Florida State (17-7).  That loss @ Boston College was a head scratcher.  The Seminoles are losing to the bad teams.  Next up: Virginia Tech.
  21. Virginia (19-6).  Having to play North Carolina after an emotional loss was tough.  Losing at Clemson was a bad sign.  Next up: Maryland.
  22. Murray State (24-1).  The loss to Tennessee State was bound to happen.  Is Murray State an at-large team if they lose in their tournament?  Next up: @ Southeast Missouri State.
  23. Gonzaga (20-4).  Gonzaga got back into the hunt with a win over St. Mary’s.  A two-game road trip looms.  Next up: @ Santa Clara.
  24. St. Mary’s (22-2).  The loss to Gonzaga drops them a bit, but there is plenty of time to keep working on the resume.  Next up: Loyola Marymount.
  25. Wichita State (22-4).  The big win over Creighton by 21 points was impressive.  Next up: Missouri State.
  26. New Mexico (20-4).  This is the big week for New Mexico.  They have games against San Diego State and UNLV.  Next up: @ San Diego State.
  27. Temple (19-5).  The Owls have a bunch of good wins.  And now they are stringing together conference wins.  Next up: @ St. Bonaventure.
  28. North Carolina State (18-7).  The Wolfpack have a good record.  This week is a brutal 3 day stretch involving a game at Duke and hosting Florida State.  Next up: @ Duke.
  29. Virginia Commonwealth (22-6).  Before the narrow defeat at George Mason, the Rams had won 11 straight.  They deserve some slack here.  Next up: Northern Iowa.
  30. Creighton (22-5).  Creighton is reeling now, having lost three in a row.  On the brink of leaving the rankings.  Next up: @ Southern Illinois.

Tell us what you think.  Is anyone unfairly missing?  Anyone too high or too low?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , ,
14 Feb 2012
3 Comments

Syracuse & Pitt to Join ACC in 2013?

Ever since the ACC announced that it was expanding to take Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the conventional wisdom was that the plan would not be completed for at least one year.  Indeed, both schools were obligated to stay for 27 months after providing notice of their intent to depart.  While West Virginia has made news by suing to get out of its obligation (which was recently settled), Syracuse and Pitt remain within the Big East.  However, it looks like there is a real possibility of the expansion being completed for the 2013 season.

Although Big East commissioner John Marinatto has previously said that the 27-month obligation would be adhered to, he changed his tune a bit recently: “”But given the strength and speed of our expansion efforts, I think our board might be open to a discussion about 2013.”  Indeed, the article noted that the conference will have 13 football playing members in the 2013 season.  So it is not like the Big East will need the two schools.

With the recent news regarding the ACC’s television deal, there is some financial benefit to getting the expansion completed in 2013, rather than 2014.  If reports are true, the television deal will add at least $1 million per school and perhaps more.  It will not kick in until the expansion is done.  But there is no real urgency.

So everyone will just have to remain patient for at least one more year.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment and tagged , , ,
14 Feb 2012

Lacrosse is Back: Weekly Report 1, February 13, 2012

It’s hard to believe, but ACC lacrosse is already back.  There were three games played over the weekend.

Recap of Last Week:

Saturday, February 11, 2012

North Carolina got the season off to a winning start by defeating Penn State, 14-10.  Junior Davey Emala led the Tar Heels with five points, including four goals.

Duke also got the season off on a winning note by defeating Rutgers, 16-8.  Senior Robert Rotanz led the Blue Devils with four goals

Sunday, February 12, 2012

North Carolina defeated Mercer 20-7.  Freshmen Joey Sankey and Chad Tutton each scored three goals in the win over, Mercer, while Sankey led the team with 6 points.

Also, Syracuse and Maryland played a scrimmage on Sunday, which Syracuse won: 11-9.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Detroit @ North Carolina, 12:00 pm

Duke @ Notre Dame, 1:00 pm

Hartford @ Maryland, 1:00 pm

Virginia @ Drexel, 2:00 pm

 

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Albany @ Syracuse, 2:00 pm

 

Records:

North Carolina  2-0

Duke  1-0

Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland  0-0

 

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Standings:

1.  North Carolina (2-0).  The season is young, but having the most wins has to count for something.  The Tar Heels get the nod.

2.  Duke (1-0).  Similarly, one win is better than zero wins.  Even if it is against Rutgers.

3.  Syracuse (0-0).  Well, they did beat Maryland in that scrimmage.

4.  Virginia (0-0).  Nothing to go on here to move them ahead of Syracuse or behind Maryland.

5.  Maryland (0-0).  Well, they did lose to Syracuse in that scrimmage.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , ,
13 Feb 2012

ACC Basketball Rankings: February 13, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  Here is how we view the ACC basketball schools as of February 13, 2012:

1.  Syracuse (25-1)  It took overtime for Syracuse to beat Georgetown, but the Orange pulled away from UConn.  Up next is their nemesis: Louisville.

2. Duke (21-4)  A buzzer beater is still a win.  Duke was able to beat North Carolina on the road and then handle Maryland at home.Looked dominant in wins over Wake Forest and Maryland.  Next up?  Duke and Virginia.

3. North Carolina (21-4)  The loss to Duke was a disappointment.  The Tar Heels rebounded nicely in a win against Virginia.

4. Florida State (17-7)  Florida State is handling the good teams.  Unfortunately, it has been Clemson and Boston College that tripped them up.

5. Virginia (19-5)  The loss to the Tar Heels was not unexpected.  A road trip to Clemson awaits.

6. North Carolina State (18-7)  North Carolina State is making a nice run at the Big Dance.  The problem is that its games this week are against Duke (away) and Florida State (home).

7.  Miami (15-8)  Miami followed up the Duke win with a win over Virginia Tech.  But Florida State was too much for the Hurricanes.

8. Maryland (14-10)  Maryland is running short on opportunities to get the wins.  This week is Boston College (home) and Virginia (away).  The .500 weeks are not getting it done.

9. Pittsburgh (15-11)  The win over Villanova has faded.  The Panthers followed that up with road losses to USF and Seton Hall.

10.  Clemson (12-12)  Clemson split the week again, losing to Maryland and crushing Wake Forest.

11.  Virginia Tech (14-11)  The conference games have destroyed this team.  They finally had some luck against Boston College with a last second-win.

12. Boston College (8-17)  The win over Florida State has to be worth sliding up a few slots.  And they almost nipped Virginia Tech on the road.

13. Wake Forest (11-14) Not only is Wake Forest losing, they are getting blown out.  That is not going to get it done.

14. Georgia Tech (9-15)  Georgia Tech continues to struggle.  This season will end in disappointment, unfortunately.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
12 Feb 2012

Virginia Tech Wins in Final Seconds

Virginia Tech, a team desperate for wins just to make any post-season tournament, finally got a lucky bounce.  Dorian Finney-Smith scored on a tip-in with 1.8 seconds left to give Virginia Tech a 66-65 win over Boston College.  Finney-Smith led the Hokies with 17 points.  With the win, the Hokies move to 14-11 and 3-7 in conference play.

Boston College played good enough to win, shooting 55.8% from the field.  But it was not enough to get the win.  Ryan Anderson led Boston College with 17 points.  With the loss, the Eagles drop to 8-17 overall and 3-8 in conference play.

In the only other action, Pittsburgh fell to Seton Hall on the road, 73-66.  Herb Pope and Aaron Crosby each scored 19 points for the Pirates.  The Panthers were led by Ashton Gibbs’ 26 points.  That’s two losses in a row for Pittsburgh, as the already slim Big Dance hopes appear to be gone.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , ,
12 Feb 2012

Duke Improves to 21-4

The #5 Duke Blue Devils avoided any concern about a hangover from their Wednesday victory over North Carolina by defeating the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, 73-55.  Notwithstanding the final score, the teams were close for much of the contest.  In fact, Duke only led by 3 at halftime.

But the second-half ended up being a different story, as the Blue Devils overwhelmed the Terrapins.  In addition to the margin of the final score, Duke outrebounded Maryland 48-33.  Miles Plumlee led Duke with 22 rebounds, while brother Mason Plumlee added 10.  They also added 13 and 16 points, respectively.  Seth Curry led Duke with 19 points.  Wednesday’s hero Austin Rivers also scored 11.

The Terrapins were led by Nick Faust’s 15 points and 8 rebounds.  With the loss, Maryland drops to 14-10 on the season.  Duke improves to 21-4.

In other action Saturday, Clemson beat Wake Forest, 78-58.  Tanner Smith led Clemson, who improved to 12-12, with 20 points.  CJ Harris led the Demon Deacons with 18 points.  With the loss, Wake Forest dropped to 11-14.

As noted yesterday, the other ranked ACC teams fared well.  #2 Syracuse, #5 North Carolina, and #15 Florida State all won.  #19 Virginia lost to North Carolina.

In today’s action, Pittsburgh will travel to Seton Hall in a noon contest.  In the ACC Sunday Night Game of the Week, Boston College will travel to Virginia Tech.

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , ,
11 Feb 2012
1 Comment

Syracuse and North Carolina Win on Saturday Afternoon

A lot of big games in the ACC on February 11, 2012.  So far, with the afternoon games over, the favorites are doing what they need to do.

In the big ACC game of the day, #5 North Carolina rebounded from its loss to Duke by handily defeating #19 Virginia, 70-52.  Virginia led by a score of 41-40 with fifteen minutes to go, but the Tar Heels overwhelmed the Cavaliers down the stretch.  The size of the Tar Heels was a big problem for Virginia, as North Carolina finished the game with a 48-31 rebounding edge.  Mike Scott did his best, as usual, for Virginia with 18 points.  The big trio for North Carolina starred, with Tyler Zeller leading the way with 25 points and 9 rebounds.  Both Josh Henson and Harrison Barnes had double-doubles.  Barnes had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while  Henson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.  With the loss, Virginia drops to a still-decent 19-5.  North Carolina improved to 21-4.

#15 Florida State got back to its winning ways with a 64-59 win over rival Miami.  This game was close throughout, although Florida State maintained a lead for most of the second-half.  Kenny Kadji led the Hurricanes with 14 points, while Durand Scott added 12.  With the loss, Miami drops to 15-8.  Florida State was led by Bernard James, who scored 18 points and 6 rebounds.  With the win, Florida State improves to 17-7.

In Syracuse, 33,430 fans packed the Carrier Dome to watch #1 Syracuse improve to 25-1 by defeating Connecticut, 85-67.  The score is a big misleading as this game was 63-61 with approximately 6 minutes to go.  But Scoop Jardine hit a big three-pointer for Syracuse, and the Orange finished the game on a 22-6 run.  Jardine led the Orange with 21 points on 8 of 9 shooting.  CJ Fair and Dion Waiters were strong off the bench, as Fair scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Waiters scored 18 points.  Kris Joseph also scored 15 points for Syracuse.   UConn was led by Jeremy Lamb’s 18 points, but it was Ryan Boatwright and Andre Drummond that did most of the damage when the game was close.  Boatwright finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Despite missing time with an injury, Drummond finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds.  With the loss, UConn drops to 15-9 and may be playing its way onto the bubble.  Syracuse is now 12-1 in Big East conference play.

And there is plenty of late afternoon and evening action yet to come…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , ,

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