The Confidential

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21 Dec 2011

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for December 21, 2011

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for December 13, 2011:

  1. Syracuse (12-0).  Survived North Carolina State and held off tourney perennial Bucknell.
  2. Ohio State (11-1).  Cruising along, even without Sullinger.  Conference play is here now though.  Indiana on Saturday.
  3. Kentucky (10-1).  So much talent.  Huge game versus Louisville in two Saturdays.
  4. North Carolina (10-2).  Really not too impressive to start the season.  If they lose to Texas tonight, going to have to drop them down to 10th place or so.  The benefit of the doubt is getting weaker.
  5. Duke (10-1).  A real tough schedule to begin the season, but December finishes without much of a test.  If Louisville beats Georgetown and Kentucky, they will be leapfrogged.
  6. Louisville (11-0).  The win over Memphis was nice, but not enough to jump over UNC or Duke.  Georgetown in 7 days though.  And then Kentucky.
  7. Missouri (11-0).  The Tigers are undefeated and have better wins than Baylor and Florida.
  8. Florida (9-2).  Big game against Florida State on Thursday.  Both teams need that win.
  9. Baylor (10-0).  Baylor needs a signature win to start leapfrogging teams ahead of it in the standings.  Not sure West Virginia is it.
  10. UConn (9-1).  That mystery loss to UCF remains perplexing.  The Big East schedule will sort things out.
  11. Georgetown (9-1).  The Hoyas need to take care of business against disappointing Memphis.
  12. Pittsburgh (11-1).  Conference play starts next week against Notre Dame.
  13. Kansas (7-3).  Brutal schedule and lots of good wins.  But need to beat Davidson to stay in the top 10.
  14. Xavier (8-1).  The suspensions hurt, but scoring 42 points against Oral Roberts?
  15. Marquette (10-1). Win over Wisconsin is nice, but losing to LSU is a red flag.
  16. Wisconsin (10-2).  Losses to UNC and Marquette hurt, but Wisconsin has rebounded with a win over UNLV.  And we now know that UNLV is very tough.
  17. Indiana (11-0).  Wins over Kentucky and Notre Dame now.  This team may be for real.
  18. Michigan State (10-2).  MSU may not be top 5, but they have only lost to the top 5.  10 in a row since then.
  19. UNLV (12-2).  Wins over North Carolina and at Illinois are very good signs.  Might be looking at the #3 or #4 seed in the West.
  20. Murray State (12-0).  May run the table.  Who is going to beat them?
  21. Harvard (9-1).  Like Murray State, hard to see where the next loss comes from.
  22. Illinois (11-1).  Once the Big 10 season kicks off, the real Illinois will reveal itself.  For better or for worse.
  23. Mississippi State (11-1).  The loss to Akron remains the only blip.  Some decent wins.
  24. Virginia (9-1).  Hard to tell on the Cavs, but the ACC schedule starting in January will tell the story.
  25. Michigan (9-2).  No shame in losing to Duke.  Still needs more good wins.
  26. Creighton (9-1).  Big game against Northwestern this week.
  27. Northwestern (10-1).  Big game against Creighton this week.
  28. San Diego State (10-2).  Only losses are to undefeated Baylor and 1-loss Creighton.
  29. Stanford (10-1).  Looking like the best of a down Pac-12.
  30. Minnesota (11-1).  Eleven wins is eleven wins.  We’ll see.

If the season ended today, all of these teams could be in the Big Dance.  Time will tell as to how it plays out though…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , ,
20 Dec 2011

ACC Basketball Rankings: December 20, 2011

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 December 20, 2011:

1.  Syracuse (11-0)  The win over North Carolina State gives Syracuse that coveted win in a true road game.  Up this week?  Bucknell and surprising Tulane.

2. North Carolina (10-2) Win over Appalachian State does not move the dial.  Coasted in the second half too.

3. Duke (10-1) No games last week.  No reason to move them up or down.

4. Virginia (9-1) Other than Syracuse, Virginia had the best win of the week by taking down Oregon at Oregon.  Enough to crack the top 25.

5. Pittsburgh (10-1)  Not really tested this past week.  Only a game against South Carolina State.

6. Virginia Tech (9-3)  Two wins over overmatched foes is not nearly enough to break into the top 5.

7. Florida State (8-3)  As with most ACC teams, the Seminoles had an easy week with two rather easy opponents.

8.  North Carolina State (6-4) The Wolfpack held their own against Syracuse for most of the game.  Syracuse was just too much in the end.

9. Georgia Tech (7-4) No wins of significance in the past week.

10. Maryland (6-3) Maryland is starting to string some wins together.  As the difficulty level increases, so to will Maryland’s rank here.

11. Wake Forest (7-4)  The Demon Deacons climb a spot after beating George Washington.  This was one of the more impressive wins of the week.

12. Miami (6-4) But it took overtime for Miami to hold off Florida Atlantic.  Not a good sign.

13. Clemson (6-4)  Beat up a few creampuffs to get to 6-4.  Could be worse. 

14. Boston College (4-7)  Things are getting better for the Eagles.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 Dec 2011

Weekend ACC Basketball Recap: December 19, 2011

While the big news of the weekend was Syracuse defending its #1 ranking on the road against North Carolina State, there were plenty of other noteworthy results.

On Saturday, Miami survived a double-overtime thriller against Florida Atlantic, 93-90.  The big news for Miami was the return of Center Reggie Johnson, who made his season debut after undergoing right knee surgery in June, and filled up the box score: 15 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and five assists.  Three other players chipped in 15 points or more for the Hurricanes, led by Kenny Kadji’s 21 points.  With the win, Miami nudges up to 6-4.

Surprisingly, the next closest game of the day on Saturday was #5 North Carolina’s 97-82 victory over Appalachian State.  To be fair, the Tar Heels jumped out to a 16-point lead at halftime and coasted to the win.  Tyler Zeller scored 31 points and added 10 rebounds.  North Carolina is now 9-2.

In other Saturday games, Clemson improved to 5-4 by defeating Winthrop 60-40.  Virginia Tech defeated Campbell 85-60 to get to 8-3 overall.  It should also be noted that future ACC member, #15 Pittsburgh, defeated South Carolina State 69-55.  The Panthers are now 10-1.

On Sunday, the ACC went 4 for 4.  The big game was Virginia’s 67-54 road victory over Oregon.  The Ducks went into the game with a 6-2 record, with losses to only BYU and Vanderbilt.  But the Cavaliers continued their good early season performance by holding Oregon to 42.6% shooting.  Virginia also dominated the boards, capturing a 39-24 edge.  Mike Scott led Virginia with 17 points and 13 rebounds.  Virginia is now 9-1 on the season and poised to move into the top 25.

Florida State improved to 8-3 with a 77-61 victory over Loyola Marymount.  Once again, the ACC team dominated the boards as the Seminoles crashed the boards for a ridiculous 49 to 32 edge.  The teams helped those numbers by shooting below average, 49 for 123 between the two teams.  Bernard James led the Seminoles with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

In other Sunday action, Wake Forest defeated Gardner-Webb 67-59 to get to 7-4.  And how about those Boston College Eagles, who got their fourth win on the season with a 20-point romp over Bryant, 75-55.  That’s two wins in a row.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
15 Dec 2011

ACC Hoops to Go to 18 Games in 2012-2013

The ACC has decided to switch from 16-game model to an 18-game model.  According to the ACC’s official website:

“Our member institutions have been talking about this increase for awhile and knowing our league will be expanding to 14 in the future, we’ve decided to move to an 18-game conference schedule next year, regardless of our membership number,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The additional conference games create a more equitable schedule and we’ve received significant feedback from our fans for more conference games.”

This will apply to both men’s and women’s basketball.

The questions are already being raised as to whether this is a good move or not.  Some are concerned that this will lead to Duke scaling back its ordinarily challenging out-of-conference slate.  Naturally, there must be a quantity reduction with this move.  So the only real question is whether and how it impacts the quality of the out-of-conference scheduling.

Again, this change will apply without regard to whether Syracuse and Pittsburgh are part of the ACC.

Notably, the Pac-12 has already implemented the 18-game schedule for its 12 teams.  Of course, when it had 10 teams, the 18-game slate allowed for a true round-robin.  The Pac-12 did not have to add games when it expanded by two teams.

In the end, until the league can get up to 16 teams (we’re looking at you Notre Dame), 18 games will be a bit cumbersome.  But, with 16 teams and two 8-team divisions, playing each team in your division twice and 1/2 of the teams in the other divisions works out to a very nice…. 18 games.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , ,
14 Dec 2011

Jim Boeheim and Syracuse Sued–Ironically

Is the lawsuit against Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University about the money or is it about justice?  Unfortunately, it may not matter because the lawsuit could very well be a setback for victims’ rights.

To be sure, the two victims/Plaintiffs have told us that the lawsuit is not about the money.  But, admit it, whenever you hear the words “it is not about the money,” the first thing that comes to mind is that “it must be about the money.”  When it is a free agent taking 5% more to move across the country, it is always accompanied by a statement that it is not about the money.  Instead, it is often portrayed as a “respect” issue.  Of course, the disrespect arose out of a lack of offered money or the timing of the offer.  If you have to say it is not about the money, people hearing that tend to think it is because it absolutely is about the money.

The Bernie Fine matter is not about free agency.  Instead, this lawsuit is based on Boeheim calling the accusers “liars” and stating that they were doing this for the money.  Surely, the irony in someone filing a civil lawsuit for monetary damages was lost on nobody, including the Confidential.  But if that irony is not enough, note that the two accusers/Plaintiffs claim that this lawsuit is about justice for other victims.  Mike Lang’s statement was as follows:

“Coming forward was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life, and I hope by doing this, I can help other victims have the courage to also come forward — not just in this case, but in any case in which they have been abused,” Lang said.

Stop and think about that for a moment.  It’s not about the money, it is about justice and encouraging other victims to come forward.

The problem is that, from a justice standpoint, Bernie Fine has already been fired.  Jim Boeheim was taken to task by the media for his non-sympathetic comments and ultimately had to apologize.  In apologizing, Boeheim actually cleared the way for other victims to come forward in this and all cases.  Boeheim and his wife are even going to focus on supporting victims.  By all accounts–short of Bernie Fine being convicted–these two accusers/Plaintiffs have already been quite vindicated.  Quite a step forward for both of them and other victims’ rights.

Until yesterday.  In filing the lawsuit, the two accusers/Plaintiffs demonstrated that justice will not be served unless they get more publicity and cash damages in their pocket.  Again, like everyone else who professes that it is not about the money, the knee-jerk reaction is skepticism.  If Fine was still suspended, it would be understandable that they would need to press forward.  If Boeheim had not been criticized in the media or had not provided the sincere apologies, it would be understandable that they would need to press forward.  But Fine was fired.  Boeheim apologized.  The Onondaga County District Attorney called the two accusers/Plaintiffs credible just a few days earlier.  If there was ever a point for these two accusers/Plaintiffs to feel that Syracuse and the nation supported them, it was the point of time that existed on Monday, December 12, 2011.

Despite all of that, Tuesday, December 13, 2011, brought a lawsuit.  Not a lawsuit against Fine–the perpetrator of the crimes.  This is not the Goldmans suing OJ Simpson because the criminal proceedings failed to establish his guilt.  This is not even the situation with third accuser Zach Tomaselli, who is suing Fine and only Fine.  Instead, the two plaintiffs/accusers went after Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University.  The deeper pockets.

Most importantly–let’s go back to the purported basis for the lawsuits–protecting other victims.  What happens if another victim comes forward on Friday?  Now that the two accusers have become Plaintiffs, will the consensus be that this new victim is merely hopping on the litigation bandwagon?  After all, this victim did not come forward until after the lawsuit was filed.  If there is a new round of abuse in some other area of the country–those communities will have to grapple with the question of whether it is real or just a fabricated money grab. Will future alleged victims be criticized for not filing a lawsuit?  Will the failure to hire a Gloria Allred be seen as “proof” that these victims are not willing to have their theories tested in a court of law?  Will the rest of the nation determine that it is a minor scandal because the court system is not involved?  Will future victims reach a determination that coming forward only leads to litigation one way or another–a risk that ends up leading to more victims choosing to silently suffer?  The answers to these questions may very well end up being adverse to victims.

If the accusers/Plaintiffs REALLY wanted to help victims, they had every opportunity to do so without pursuing litigation.  A combined effort by Lang, Davis, the Boeheims, Syracuse law enforcement, and Syracuse University could have made a real difference in changing the culture.  A coalition like that would have changed the community and could have helped change things nationally.  However, that utopia was no match for the allure of publicity and cash.  So, instead of taking three steps forward, this issue will have taken two steps forward and then one step backward.  The two accusers/Plaintiffs have decided to leave it to other victims to victims to take it to the next level.  So much for helping other victims.  That is not merely irony, but disappointing.

What do you think?  Is this lawsuit really going to help other victims everywhere?

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
14 Dec 2011

Slow Week for ACC Hoops

In case you have not noticed, this is a very slow week for college basketball.  This includes the ACC.  Presumably, the players are concentrating on final exams as the semester comes to a close at most colleges and universities.

There will be a brief respite from the respite tonight as Maryland (5-3) hosts Florida International (3-6).  For Maryland, the season started out rough with a 3-3 start.  The low point was certainly a 26-point loss to Iona.  Yes, THAT Iona.

However, Maryland has rebounded with a decent stretch of performances.  Maryland stayed with unbeaten Illinois, only losing by 9 points.  The Terrapins used that gutsy performance to proper them to a victory over Notre Dame in their next outing.  And, soon enough, the Terrapins will get Sophomore Pe’Shon Howard back from his broken foot.  As a Freshman, Howard averaged about 20 minutes a game.  Although he only averaged 5.4 points per game, his assist to turnover ratio was nearly 2:1.  Maryland could use his ability to distribute the ball.

Coach Mark Turgeon’s debut season has been a bit rocky, but all is not lost.  The middle-of-the-pack in the ACC is wide-open.  Other than Boston College, just about any team could end up finishing in 5th or 6th place.  While that probably will not be Maryland, time will tell.  A win tonight would keep the positive momentum going.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , ,
13 Dec 2011
5 Comments

Boeheim Was Right: It’s ALWAYS About the Money

When does Jim Boeheim get HIS apology?  Well, he gets at least one of them today.

Jim Boeheim was criticized by some members of the media, and certainly taken to task on this forum, for his pointed statements regarding Bernie Fine accusers Bobby Davis and Mike Lang.  Recall that Boeheim was forced to apologize for saying that it was all about the money. When Boeheim finally apologized for those statements, the sentiment was that Boeheim should not have interfered with the alleged victims’ pursuit of justice.  After all, saying it was about the money disregarded the possibility that these time-barred claims were being advanced solely to prevent future harm.  The heartfelt apologies by Boeheim certainly did the trick in removing the focus away from Boeheim.

But we were all wrong.  Or at least those who criticized Boeheim were wrong.  It turns out that the accusers were always after the money all along.  ESPN is now reporting as follows:

Two men who say they were sexually abused by a former assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University are announcing that they are suing the school.

Bobby Davis and Mike Lang say they were molested by former assistant coach Bernie Fine when they were children. He has denied the allegations. A third man also has accused Fine. The U.S. attorney’s office is investigating.

The two men have hired Gloria Allred to handle their case.

So, there it is.  Despite having an amazingly unique opportunity to advance the interests of those abused in all of society, and despite Syracuse University firing Bernie Fine, that is not enough for the accusers.  Instead, it is time to “cash in.”

As it turns out, Boeheim was right.  So the Confidential apologizes.  You were right.  You probably still should not have said it.

But you were right.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
13 Dec 2011

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for December 13, 2011

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for December 13, 2011:

  1. Syracuse (10-0).  Although Syracuse has not faced the same level of difficult opponents as some of the other elite programs, they have beaten Florida, Stanford, and Va Tech.  Big test at North Carolina State on Saturday
  2. Ohio State (8-1).  Losing to Kansas is nothing to be embarrassed about.  Doing it without your best player (perhaps the best player in the nation) makes it all the more reasonable.  Wins over Duke and Florida.
  3. Kentucky (8-1).  Again, losing to undefeated Indiana is not the end of the world here, especially for a team that has beaten North Carolina and Kansas.
  4. North Carolina (8-2).  There is no reason for a two-loss team to be this high in the standings.  But the rest of the undefeated teams have played far weaker schedules.  Wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State already.
  5. Duke (9-1).  Not many teams can lose by 20 and still be ranked in the top 5.  But Duke has beaten Kansas, Michigan, and Michigan State.
  6. Louisville (9-0).  Undefeated, but not the best grouping of wins.  Vanderbilt is decent though.  They get Memphis this weekend.
  7. Marquette (9-0). Like North Carolina, they have a win over Wisconsin.  Unlike North Carolina, no notable wins anywhere else.  Mississippi is probably the best.
  8. Kansas (7-2).  Losses to Kentucky and Duke hurt, but the Jayhawks already have wins over Georgetown, UCLA, and now Ohio State.
  9. Missouri (9-0).  The Tigers are undefeated and have wins over Villanova, Notre Dame, and California.  Not too shabby.
  10. Florida (7-2).  Like Baylor, Florida has 7 mediocre wins.  Unlike Baylor, they tested themselves in road losses to Syracuse and Ohio State.  Why punish the team that tries?
  11. Baylor (7-0).  Not going to reward Baylor for slotting them ahead of a team that schedules harder and has the same resume of wins.
  12. Xavier (8-0).  They have wins over Vanderbilt, Purdue, Butler, and now Cincinnati.  Unfortunately, having to play short-handed the next few games is not going to help.
  13. Georgetown (8-1).  Wins over Alabama and Memphis give Georgetown the edge over Big East foes.  Only loss is to Kansas.
  14. UConn (8-1).  Loss to UCF remains a head scratcher, but the Huskies now have wins over Harvard, Arkansas, and Florida State.
  15. Pittsburgh (8-1).  Loss to Long Beach State is even more curious, but Pitt is rebounding nicely.  Wins over Tennessee and Oklahoma State are good starts.
  16. Wisconsin (8-2).  Losses to UNC and Marquette hurt, but Wisconsin has rebounded with a win over UNLV.  We’ll learn more when Big 10 play starts.
  17. Indiana (9-0).  Win over Kentucky, last-second or otherwise, is that chip to merit a ranking.  Next up?  Notre Dame.
  18. Michigan State (8-2).  Rebounded nicely from the losses to UNC and Duke.  Wins over Florida State and now Gonzaga.
  19. Illinois (10-0).  Only test so far is Gonzaga.  Maryland is not the usual Maryland.
  20. Murray State (10-0).  Win at Memphis is nice.  They also have a win over Dayton.
  21. Mississippi State (9-1).  Nice wins over West Virginia, Arizona, and Texas A&M.  The loss to Akron is hard to explain though.
  22. Vanderbilt (6-3).  Losses to Louisville and Xavier are excusable.  Cleveland State???  What is going on in Ohio?
  23. Harvard (9-1).  Handled pretty easily by UConn.  The win over Florida State is the big one.
  24. Michigan (7-2).  No shame in losing to Duke.  Virginia was winnable, but ultimately a loss.  Best win is over Memphis.
  25. UNLV (7-2).  The win over North Carolina was huge.  The loss to Wisconsin on the road is understandable.  Looking forward to game against Illinois.
  26. Stanford (8-1).  Wins over North Carolina State and Oklahoma State.  Only loss was after giving Syracuse a run for its money in New York City.
  27. Alabama (8-2).  Losses to Georgetown and Dayton.  Wins over Wichita State and Purdue though.
  28. Northwestern (7-1).  Drubbed by Baylor, but nice wins over Seton Hall and Georgia Tech.
  29. Virginia (8-1).  Only decent win is over Michigan.  Time will tell on the Cavs.
  30. Mississippi (8-1).  Very bad loss to Marquette.  Decent wins over Miami and Drake.

If the season ended today, all of these teams could be in the Big Dance.  We will see how it plays out though…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
11 Dec 2011

Hoops Recap: Sunday Improvement for the ACC

Yesterday, the ACC struggled to a 3-3 record among current conference teams.  Sunday got much better as the league went 4-0.

Florida State improved to 7-3 with a 75-60 over North Carolina-Greensboro.  The Seminoles’ defense did the job, allowing only a 35% shooting percentage.  However, the offense struggled to the tune of 26 turnovers.  Overall, Florida State has a balanced attack, with none of the 9 players to get action to exceed 30 minutes.  Michael Snaer led the way with 14 points.

Virginia Tech also improved to 7-3 with its 73-60 win over Norfolk State.  The score was a bit misleading, as CBS noted:

The Spartans (6-4), who have quality victories over Drexel and Texas Christian and lost to Marquette by just two points, kept the game close throughout and cut the lead to 65-59 on Chris McEachin’s 3-pointer with 2:58 left in the game. But Virginia Tech’s Dorenzo Hudson hit a free throw with 2:05 left to make it 66-59. After McEachin missed a 3-pointer for Norfolk State with 1:40 to go, Eddie put the game away, draining his final 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining to push the Hokies’ lead back to 10.

But the Hokies were able to fend off this surprisingly tough foe, led by Jarell Eddie’s 24 points.

In its final tune-up before hosting Syracuse on Saturday, North Carolina State defeated North Carolina Central, 65-60.  The Wolfpack held a 10-point lead at halftime, but were never able to put away the Eagles.  C.J. Williams led the way for North Carolina State with 21 points.  Credit the team board work too; although no individual put up gaudy rebounding totals, North Carolina State held a 41-30 advantage in that category.

Finally, the ACC’s day was so good that even Boston College nabbed a rare win.  The Eagles were able to defeat Stony Brook soundly, 66-51.   Patrick Heckmann came off the bench to lead Boston College with 18 points.  With the win, Boston College improves to 3-7.  A win is a win is a win.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
11 Dec 2011
1 Comment

Hoops Recap: Saturday Not Kind to the ACC

Although future ACC member Syracuse was able to win and likely grab onto to #1 in the next polls, the current ACC did not fare as well–splitting its 6 games on Saturday.

Actually, another future ACC member, #15 Pittsburgh, did its job with 74-68 win over 6-3 Oklahoma State.  As is typical, the Panthers were outstanding defensively and on the boards.  The Cowboys were held to 40.9% shooting and were outrebounded 37-23.  Ashton Gibbs led Pitt with 17 points, while Lamar Patterson was a box score stuffer with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.  With the win, Pitt moves to 9-1.

And #7 Duke certainly did its part, defeating a surprisingly tough Washington Huskies squad, 86-80.  Although the Blue Devils opened strong with a 14-point halftime lead, Washington made it interesting late.  This was particularly impressive as the Huskies had been in New York all week, starting with a Jimmy V Classic loss to Marquette.  But credit Duke for starting strong and doing enough at the free throw stripe down the stretch to win.  Duke had 7 players play 20 minutes, and 6 of them contributed at least 8 points.  Austin Rivers led Duke with 18 points, allowing Duke to get to 9-1.

Similarly, #4 North Carolina was able to fend off upstart Long Beach State, 84-78.  This one was the opposite of the Duke game, with Long Beach State controlling the first half before succumbing to the Tar Heels talent advantage in the second half.  While the knee-jerk reaction is to wonder how North Carolina was not able to destroy a 4-5 team from California, recall that Long Beach State upset Pitt on the road and only narrowly lost to Kansas too.  The North Carolina quartet of Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Reggie Bullock, and Tyler Zeller scored 78 of North Carolina’s 84 points.  But credit Kendall Marshall too–he dished out 16 assists, the fourth time this year he has had 14 assists or more.  North Carolina is now 8-2 on the season.

In a test game for Wake Forest, they lost to Seton Hall on the road, 68-54.  The Demon Deacons were unable to stop Herb Pope, who scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the host Pirates.  While nobody was expecting a win over 9-1 Seton Hall, this game  certainly was not one where Wake Forest was going to be overmatched from a talent standpoints.  Overall, Seton Hall figures to little more than a middle-of-the-pack Big East team.  But that was still too much for Wake, which falls to 6-4.  Wake Forest was led by Travis McKie’s 17 points.

In another ACC-Big East matchup, West Virginia handled Miami, 77-66.  Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers were coming off a win over Kansas State on Thursday, but had enough in the tank to defeat the visiting Hurricanes.  Truck Bryant led West Virginia with 27 points, including 5 three-pointers.  Miami was led by Malcolm Grant’s 17 points.  Although the early season started with great promise, the Hurricanes have now lost 4 of 5 in this very tough stretch of non-conference games.  Fortunately for Jim Larranaga, the difficulty eases up a bit before conference games start.

Clemson provided the third loss for the ACC on Saturday, falling to 7-3 Arizona, 63-47 in Tucson.  For the 4-4 Tigers, a trip to 7-3 Arizona was always going to be quite a test.  Unfortunately, only Andre Young was able to score effectively, as he led the Tigers with 17 points.  The team as a whole shot 31.7% from the field–which will never get it done.

Finally, Georgia Tech defeated Savannah State, 65-45.  While the Yellow Jackets deserve credit for being willing to travel to an in-state opponent of this caliber, this was never going to be much of a contest.  Brandon Reed and Daniel Miller combined to go 12 for 13 from the field, as Savannah State was simply overmatched.  With the win, Georgia Tech gets to 6-4.

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

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