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07 Dec 2011

North Carolina and Virginia Win, Miami Loses

The ACC had a decent night in men’s basketball, as North Carolina returned to its winning ways, Virginia held serve, and future members Pittsburgh and Syracuse won.  Indeed, the only blemish on the night was Miami losing to Memphis.

For #4 North Carolina, the Tar Heels rebounded from its Kentucky loss by doubling up visiting Evansville, 97-48.  In fact, UNC raced out to a 52-22 lead at the half, before coasting to the win.  Given the margin of victory, Coach Roy Williams was able to limit the starters to no more than 25 minutes.  Amazingly, the rebounding advantage was 59 for UNC and 26 for Evansville.  With the win, North Carolina is now 7-2.

Unranked, but hoping to change that, the Virginia Cavaliers improved to 8-1 with a 68-48 win over George Mason.  The Cavaliers shot an impressive 60.5% from the field in the win.   Sammy Zeglinski led the Cavs with 18 points, while three others chipped in 11.

Miami did not fare as well.  Credit the Hurricanes for a decent OOC schedule, but visiting Memphis, ranked #18, spanked Miami 71-54.  The game was actually close at the half, with Memphis leading 27-26.  But the Tigers’ offense took over in the second half.  Will Barton scored 27 points for Memphis, showing that he is not shy by launching 20 shots.  Miami’s scoring output was the lowest of the season.  The Hurricanes will take their 5-3 record into West Virginia on Saturday.

Future member Pittsburgh improved to 8-1 with a 97-70 win over VMI.  The 15th ranked Panthers had 5 players in double figures, led by Ashton Gibbs with 20 points.  They also outrebounded VMI 55 to 27, and held VMI to just 36.8% shooting.  That is Jamie Dixon basketball at its finest.

Finally, #3 Syracuse got to 9-0 by holding off Marshall, 62-56.  For the Orange, 10 players played more than 10 minutes.  Although Marshall outrebounded Syracuse (which was not a surprise), the Thundering Herd shot only 33.8% from the field and 20.8% from behind the arc.  Syracuse also forced 19 turnovers and had 10 blocks.  They won it with defense tonight.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , ,
04 Dec 2011

Clemson Wins ACC Championship, BCS Bound

Although they struggled down the stretch, the Clemson Tigers were able to wallop the Virginia Tech Hokies in the ACC Conference Championship Game, 38-10, to win the league’s BCS spot.  With the win, Clemson improves to 10-3 and will likely play West Virginia (9-3) in the Orange Bowl.

The amazing thing about this game is that there was no reason to think that Clemson would win.  Virginia Tech came into the game rolling, while Clemson was reeling.  After 30 minutes, the game was tied at 10.  That was the tempo that favored Virginia Tech. But Clemson exploded in the second-half, outscoring Virginia Tech 28-0.

On the one hand, this result is disappointing for the ACC because its BCS representative could have been a 12-1, top 5, Virginia Tech.  On the other hand, it is decent for the ACC to get some new blood into the championship mix.  Clemson will be well-supported in Miami for the Orange Bowl.  Clemson and West Virginia should be similarly ranked going into the game.  These are two football programs that support their team well and deserve a chance at some January attention.  It should be a great game too.

For Virginia Tech, they were 11-0 when not playing Clemson and 0-2 when playing the Tigers.  They had two chances to beat them–once at home and once at a neutral location–and failed to do so.  Clemson played a much tougher schedule.  While the overall records suggest otherwise, Clemson appears to be the better team.

The future is certainly bright for the Hokies.  Quarterback Logan Thomas is only a sophomore.  While the Hokies may lose Junior RB David Wilson, the ACC Player of the Year, he was certainly bottled up by Clemson in what was easily his worst game of the season.   He was held to 32 yards rushing and a mere 2.9 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, the Clemson offensive trio of Tajh Boyd, Andre Ellington, and Sammy Watkins rose to the occasion.  Each scored a touchdown in the second-half.  Overall, Boyd passed for three touchdowns and ran for one.  Ellington and Watkins rushed for 180 yards, providing Clemson the offensive balance.  And Clemson’s defense was outstanding all game long.

If only Clemson had taken care of business against NC State.  The ACC’s best teams need to improve on “holding serve.”  LSU and Alabama will likely play for the National Championship because they did not lose to teams that they were not supposed to lose to.  The ACC needs a team to step up to the plate in like fashion.  Ideally, the ACC would have a top 10 team representing itself in a BCS bowl.

But, for 2011-2012, credit Clemson for doing what it needed to do to earn the ACC’s BCS spot.  There is no question that they deserve to be there.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Game Review and tagged , , , , ,
03 Dec 2011

#1 Kentucky Defeats #5 North Carolina, 72-73

In what many consider to be a possible National Championship game matchup, the #1 Kentucky Wildcats defended their home court with a 73-72 victory over #5 North Carolina.  For North Carolina, the loss leave them with a split in a difficult week featuring games against two top 10 teams.  Earlier in the week, the Tar Heels defeated Wisconsin.

With the preseason #1 and the current #1 facing off, it is not surprising that many scouts were on hand to watch North Carolina’s trio of returning stars and Kentucky’s annual one-and-done class of super-freshmen:

Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 17 points and 11 rebounds as a spark Kentucky (8-0) needed early before Doron Lamb took control in the second half with 12 of his 14 points as more than two dozen NBA scouts and front office personnel watching one of the most heavily hyped matchups of the season.

After Ohio State’s thumping of Duke, Kentucky needed this win to hold onto its #1 ranking.

For North Carolina, it is somewhat surprising to see this veteran team sitting at only 6-2 right now.  The nation is on notice that the Tar Heels are beatable.

For the ACC, this is yet another tough hit to the reputation.  After starting out so well, the Big 10 proved to be a much superior conference in the ACC-Big 10 Matchup, winning 8 of 12 games.  And now North Carolina has lost 2 of its last 3 games, including what was essentially a road loss to UNLV last weekend.

Compounding today’s misery was Wake Forest being upset by Richmond and Boston College losing to Boston University. However, the good news is that Miami was able to soundly defeat a good UMass team, while Virginia continued to roll with an 86-53 win over Longwood to get to 7-1.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , ,
01 Dec 2011

De Ja Vu: ACC Fairs Poorly in Day Two of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge

The ACC started slow in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge and finished slow, allowing the Big 10 to win 8 out of the 12 games.  This is shaping up as one of those years where the Big 10 is quite strong and the ACC is subpar.

Of course, the ACC does get to claim a victory in the biggest matchup of the night–#9 Wisconsin at #5 North Carolina.  In a 60-57 score more befitting of a MAC football game than an ACC basketball game, Wisconsin was able to control the tempo but not the final scoreboard.  But even this win was not overly impressive for the ACC, given the large margin by which Ohio State beat Duke.  At least North Carolina was able to rebound from its loss to UNLV over the weekend and improve to 6-1.

The other ACC win came from Wake Forest, who improved to 5-2 by beating Nebraska.  The 55-53 slugfest gives Wake Forest a nice road win.

The rest of the ACC lost.  In a bit of a surprise, Indiana showed that it is a legitimate 7-0 team by beating NC State on the road, 86-75.  Tom Crean may finally be turning things around in Hoosier-land.  The Wolfpack fell to 5-2 with the loss.

Virginia Tech also fell to 5-2, losing a road game to Minnesota, 58-55.  Minnesota is another team off to a great start at 7-1.  It seems like the entire Big Ten is off to a really good start.

Michigan State is one team that did not get off to a good start this year, losing to North Carolina and Duke.  However, the Spartans have responded with 5 straight wins, including a 65-49 victory against overmatched Florida State.  With the loss, the Seminoles drop to 5-3.

And, in a result that should surprise absolutely no one, hapless Boston College lost to Penn State, at home, 62-54.  Even the Nittany Lions are 6-2.  Boston College dropped to 2-5.

With all precincts reporting, the results are in.  The Big 10 walloped the ACC, 8-4.  Not to beat a dead horse, but the Big 10 is starting out much like the Big East did last year.  They have four undefeated teams (Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, and Northwestern).  In addition, they have two 7-1 teams in Minnesota and Purdue.  Meanwhile, three teams that expect to be in the Big Dance lag behind those schools, with Wisconsin at 6-1 and Michigan/Michigan State both at 6-2.  Only Iowa, at 4-3, is not 2 games above .500 in the Big 10.

In contrast, the ACC has no undefeated schools.  Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia have one loss apiece.  The ACC does have 6 more schools that are at least two games above .500.  Unfortunately, the head-to-head matchups with the major conferences are suggesting that this is going to be a down year for the ACC overall.  The good news is that Duke will likely rebound and North Carolina will be making news all season long.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
30 Nov 2011

ACC Fairs Poorly in Day One of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge

Six games into the 2011-2012 ACC/Big 10 Challenge, the ACC has gotten off to a very poor start.  In fact, only two of the six games were won by ACC teams.

The most important game of the night was between #2 Ohio State and #3 Duke.  Ohio State jumped out to a 9-0 lead, and widened the score to 47-28 at the half.  The final result was a romp over the visiting Blue Devils, 85-63.  Four Ohio State players combined for 76 of those points, led by Jared Sullinger’s 21 points.  For Duke, this loss takes away the momentum from the great run in Maui.  In its first true road game of the year, Duke was utterly outplayed.

Virginia did salvage some respect for the ACC by defeating #14 Michigan at home, 70-58.  This legitimizes Virginia’s 6-1 start by adding that first quality win to the resume.  Things are looking up in Charlottesville.

Miami hoped to add a similar notch in its belt by traveling to Purdue.  However, the Boilermakers were just too much for the Hurricanes, winning 76-65. Miami fell to 4-2 on the season.

But not all home teams fared well.  Northwestern improved to 6-0 by defeating host Georgia Tech.  In fact, Northwestern dominated to the tune of a 76-60 score.  This may be the year for Northwestern to finally make it to the Big Dance.  For Georgia Tech, they drop to 4-3.

Illinois also notched a win over Maryland in College Park.  The Illini improved to 7-0 in the 71-62 victory.  Maryland is now a disappointing 3-3 as the post-Gary Williams era is off to a slow start.

Thankfully, Clemson was able to topple Iowa in the ACC’s sole road victory.  In fact, Clemson jumped to a 34-20 halftime lead and then coasted to a 71-55 record.  With the win, Clemson is now 4-2.  This was a much-needed win to help offset the two disappointing losses to College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina.

The day belonged to the Big 10 though.  Tomorrow’s big matchup, of course, is #9 Wisconsin at #5 North Carolina.  The Tar Heels look to rebound from their upset loss to UNLV.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin is one of five Big 10 teams that is still unbeaten.  Florida State and Michigan State is another matchup to keep an eye on, even though both teams have started a bit slow due to tough schedules.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
26 Nov 2011

ACC Basketball Review: Harvard Upsets #20 Florida State

Friday was a good day for Massachusetts schools playing ACC schools from Florida.  Boston College traveled to Miami and upset the Hurricanes in football, 24-17.  But, in an even bigger upset, Harvard beat #20 Florida State in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, 46-41.

No, that score is not a misprint.  Harvard held Florida State to 41 points.  In fact, the halftime score was 14-14, which is far more befitting of a college football score.  In fact, according to CBS, the 28 points scored by both teams was historically inept:

The halftime score was 14-14, matching the lowest total for a half in a Division I game since 1986. Ole Miss (15) and South Carolina (13) also combined for 28 points in the first half of their game on Jan. 8, 2003. The Seminoles were 5 for 24 from the field in the first half, and Harvard went 3 for 23.

Those figures are just abysmal.  Between the two teams, they were 8 for 47 in the first half!  That is less than 20% shooting. In fact, while both teams improved in the second-half, Harvard won despite shooting 27.3% from the field for the game.  Interestingly, the teams were 8 for 27 from 3-point land: 29.6%.  Overall, they were 29 for 91 from the field: 31.9%.  Florida State actually shot better from behind the arc than overall!

With the win, Harvard advances to play Central Florida for the tournament championship.  UCF upset #4 Connecticut, who blew a 17 point lead in the second half.  Raise your hand if you guessed a Harvard-UCF title game!  Florida State gets to rebound from its awful performance by playing a motivated UConn team.

In other games:

  • In a result that surprised nobody, #1 North Carolina improved to 5-0 by defeating South Carolina 87-62.
  • Future ACC member Syracuse, currently ranked #5, rallied to defeat a tough Stanford team, 69-63, to win the NIT Preseason Tipoff Classic.  Syracuse improved to 6-0 in defeating the 5-1 Cardinal.
  • Wake Forest was obliterated by Arizona State, 84-56.  The Sun Devils were 1-3 heading into the game.  This does not bode well for the Demon Deacons.
  • Boston College showed some signs of life, fending off California Riverside, albeit in overtime.  A win is a win.
  • Clemson got to 3-2 by defeating Furman, 59-49.
  • Maryland also got to 3-2 by defeating Florida Gulf Coast, 73-67.
  • Future ACC member Pittsburgh justified its #17 ranking by taking care of business against Pennsylvania, 78-58, to improve to 5-1.
  • North Carolina State improved to 5-1 by defeating Elon, 82-67.
  • Virginia also improved to 5-1, defeating Wisconsin-Green Bay, 68-42.
  • Miami fell to Mississippi in overtime, 64-61.  With the loss, Miami falls to 4-1, while Mississippi improves to 5-1.  This loss may not look as bad in March if Mississippi ends up being on the right side of the bubble.

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
26 Nov 2011
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Boston College Stuns Miami!

The Boston College Eagles have been a punching bag for most of the football season.  To be sure, they were on a bit of a hot streak heading into their finale against Miami–having beaten Maryland and NC State to get to 3-8.  Meanwhile, Miami was 6-5, but coming off a (correct) decision to forego a bowl appearance this year as a self-imposed punishment for possible NCAA violations.  With Miami hosting Boston College, the collective wisdom was that Miami would take out its frustrations on Boston College.  Instead, Boston College turned the tables on Miami, defeating them 24-17.

The story of the game for Miami was turnovers.  Although the Hurricanes were able to move the ball as competently as Boston College, they committed 4 turnovers.  In fact, Boston College’s Luke Kuechly was able to return an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, which provided the final margin for defeat.  In fact, during the game, Kuechly set Boston College record in a career.  He also broke his own ACC record for tackles in a season.  Quite a game for him.

For Miami, a difficult season comes to a disappointing end.  The season started with suspensions due to possible NCAA violations in the Nevin Shapiro scandal.  With a limited roster, Miami lost to Maryland in what would turn out to be the highlight of the Terrapins even worse season.  Although bowl eligible, the Hurricanes will miss a bowl game for the first time since 2007.  Nevertheless, credit Al Golden for keeping this team competitive all year despite the distractions.  Miami did–extending his contract through 2020.

For Boston College, the difficult season ends on a positive note.  The Eagles will not play in a bowl for the first time since 1998.  The Eagles began the season by losing to Northwestern, Central Florida, and Duke.  Those teams are 14-20 overall, with only Northwestern headed to a bowl game.  After beating FCS Massachusetts, the Eagles then lost their first three ACC games to stand at 1-6.  But  credit the Eagles for finish strong–beating Maryland, NC State, and Miami to finish with a conference record of 3-5.  One has to think that the strong finish will improve the chances of Boston College retaining head coach Frank Spaziani.  The team did not quit on him.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Game Review and tagged , , , ,
19 Nov 2011
1 Comment

Clemson Wastes Opportunity, Falls to North Carolina State

Earlier today, The Confidential noted that the Oklahoma State loss could be a boon for the ACC, including the potential–however slim–in playing LSU for the national title.  Sure, several things would have to go the ACC’s way, but that all became moot when Clemson decided not to show up at North Carolina State, losing 37-13.  Well, so much for that.

I suppose it is possible for Virginia Tech to once again carry the banner for the ACC.  If Virginia Tech can beat Virginia and then win its rematch against Clemson, then it would represent the ACC in a BCS bowl with a 12-1 record.  In fact, Va Tech would probably be ranked in the top 5 in the BCS standings at that point.  But Virginia Tech just doesn’t have the same opportunity as Clemson to put together an elite body of work.  Clemson was the ACC’s best hope for a national title opportunity.  Very disappointing.

Of course, the way Clemson played today, there is little reason to suspect that Clemson would have acquitted itself well against LSU.  It is one thing to lose on a missed field goal (Boise State, Oklahoma State) or in overtime (Alabama, Oklahoma State).  It is another to get drubbed by 24 against a team that just lost to Boston College.  The Georgia Tech loss was bad enough.

The question that begs is when–nay, whether–the ACC is going to start being merely “better than the Big East” in football.  The Confidential remains persuaded that only Florida State and Miami have the program dynamics to allow an ACC team to compete with the big boys, such as Alabama and LSU.  Of course, the big boys just a few years ago were Ohio State and Texas.  They have fallen on hard times recently.  And before that, Tennessee, Michigan and USC were big boys.  It appears that college football has become a sport of mini-dynasties with cycles.  Perhaps an ACC team break through and rise to that level.

For now, it remains more of the same.  The ACC rarely embarrasses itself on the football field.  However, it just isn’t doing enough to get anyone to notice, much less care.  Clemson could have changed that this year.  That chance ended today.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
17 Nov 2011

Maryland Loses–ACC No Longer Undefeated!

After playing 6 nights of games without a loss, the Atlantic Coast Conference suffered its first defeat of the season today–as Maryland was shredded by Alabama, 62-42.  For Maryland, losing to Alabama is not altogether surprising because the Crimson Tide are ranked at #16.  However, the margin of victory was certainly disappointing.

This is particularly true given that neither team was particularly impressive offensively.  As a team, Alabama only made 42.9% of its shots from the field.  Amazingly, they were actually 43.8% on three-point shots.  Just one of those inexplicable statistics that you see in a game.  It defies logic that a team would shoot better from 20 feet than from 0-19 feet. And that is the winning team.

In order to lose to Alabama, Maryland had to shoot a woeful 26.5% from the field and 16.7% from three-point land.  Even the charity stripe was not so charitable, as Maryland converted only 56% of its 25 free throws.  All in all, it is plainly apparent why they only managed 42 points.

At least some credit goes to Alabama though.  After three games, he Crimson Tide have held their opponents to a mere 143 points (46 PPG).

The upshot of this result is that the ACC had finally suffered its first loss of the season.  It can take pride in lasting as long as it did.  And the conference still has a ways to go to catch up to the rest of the major conferences.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , ,
17 Nov 2011

ACC Basketball Recap: Games of November 16, 2011

The ACC was undefeated on the season heading into the games of November 16, 2011.  The Confidential analyzed same at length.  Now it is debatable whether the ACC remains undefeated.

To be sure, the 12 teams currently in the ACC are undefeated at 26-0.  However, we have waffled as to whether to include the future teams, Syracuse and Pittsburgh.  With all the conference realignment, schools and conferences should be looking out for long-term interests, not the present.

And then Pitt had to go and lose to Long Beach State last night, 86-76.  In fact, CBS reports as follows regarding Pitt’s dominance at home in recent years:

Casper Ware scored a career-high 28 points, James Ennis added 19, and Larry Anderson had 12 points and seven assists for the 49ers (2-0), who emphatically ended Pitt’s 58-game nonconference home winning streak.

* * *

Pitt drew within six points on a few occasions but each time the 49ers answered to become the first non-Big East team to beat the Panthers at home since Bucknell in 2005.

* * *

Pitt came in unbeaten in 80 home nonconference games in November and December at “the Pete.”

In fact, the article did not even bother to analyze just how dominant Pitt has been at the Petersen Events Center in conference games.  Few Big East schools have been successful in that venue.  All in all, a very impressive win for Long Beach State.  Conversely, Pitt’s top 10 ranking is now seriously in jeopardy.

As noted above, the current ACC teams “held serve” though:

  • North Carolina State moved to 3-0 by holding off always-pesky Princeton, 60-58.  NC State held Princeton to under 40% from the field and outrebounded the Tigers 40-24.  And yet they trailed at the half and won by 2 points.  Still, a win is a win.
  • Florida State also moved to 3-0, defeating visiting Stetson, 79-66.  The Confidential predicted good things from Florida State this year.  Taking care of business in November is a great way to start.
  • In other games, Wake Forest moved to 2-0 by beating Georgia Southern, 81-72.  And Clemson defeated The Citadel by a comfortable 73-50 margin.

With these four wins, the ACC remains the only conference whose current teams are undefeated.  With Pitt’s loss, the Big East drops to 33-3.  The Big XII and the Big 10 still have only two conference losses.

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

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