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20 Feb 2012

ACC Reprimands Official Karl Hess

One of the minor news stories making the rounds was ACC referee Karl Hess’s ejection of Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta from their  seats behind the scorer’s table during North Carolina State’s loss to Florida State on Saturday.  Apparently,  Corchiani and Gugliotta were never given an explanation as to why they had been given the boot.  Today, the ACC reprimanded Hess.

The ACC specifically stated as follows:

In a statement Monday night, the league said it had conducted a “thorough review” of the events leading up to Hess’ ejections of former Wolfpack stars Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta from seats behind the scorer’s table during the second half of Saturday’s loss to Florida State.

The ACC said after the game that officials have the authority to ask the home team’s management to remove fans when, in the official’s judgment, their behavior is extreme or excessive. After Hess gestured to have Gugliotta and Corchiani removed, they were approached by an officer from the Raleigh Police Department.

“Karl Hess is one of the best on-court officials in college basketball, but the ACC has established a game management protocol, which allows the opportunity to potentially diffuse any situations before they reach the level of ejection,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in the statement. “His reprimand is a result of a failure to follow that protocol.

“We have to depend on our officials and their judgments; and the explanation from Karl Hess regarding this matter has been shared with the ACC and N.C. State University.”

Thus, in this battle between uber-fans of the Wolfpack and the ACC powers-that-be, the Wolfpack won.

ACC fans, of course, recall that Gugliotta and Corchiani are top players in North Carolina State history.  Both spent time in the NBA, with Gugliotta having a 13-year career.  It is great that the players remain passionate about their alma mater.  Hopefully, they can avoid being tossed in the future. More importantly, how about the rabbit-eared referees concentrate on doing their typical mediocre job instead of worrying about the fans?

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Conference News and tagged , , ,
20 Feb 2012

ACC Basketball Rankings: February 20, 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 20, 2012:

1.  Syracuse (27-1)  With road wins at Louisville and Rutgers (a difficult place to win), Syracuse continues their all-time best season start.  Upstart South Florida visits on Wednesday.

2. Duke (23-4) A very good win for the Blue Devils over North Carolina State.  Boston College, however, did not put up much of a fight at all.

3. North Carolina (23-4)  Challenging week ahead for the Tar Heels, with road trips to North Carolina State and Virginia.

4. Florida State (19-7)  Florida State got back to its winning ways against North Carolina State.  Duke visits on Thursday.

5. Virginia (20-7)  Virginia embarrassed Maryland on Saturday.  The Terps are used to embarrassment, having fired Ralph Friedgen and replaced him Randy Edsall.

6. North Carolina State (18-9).  Very tough week with losses to Duke and Florida State.  And next up is North Carolina.

7.  Miami (16-9)  Miami did the expected–losing to North Carolina and defeating Wake Forest.

8. Maryland (15-11)  Really outplayed by Virginia on Saturday.  Looking squarely at the NIT, barring a stretch run.

9.  Virginia Tech (15-12)  Two wins on the week for Virginia Tech, sandwiched around a loss by 1 point at Florida State.  A good week overall.

10.  Clemson (13-13)  A great win over Virginia moves Clemson up to 10.

11. Pittsburgh (15-12)  Pitt is back to losing often.

12. Boston College (8-19)  Boston College can keep its edge over Wake Forest by beating the Demon Deacons on Saturday.

13. Wake Forest (12-15) Wake Forest got another conference win–but it was against cellar-dweller Georgia Tech.

14. Georgia Tech (9-17).  Georgia Tech continues to lose.  The less said the better.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

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

Weekend Recap: February 18-19

Here is a recap of the ACC basketball games this weekend (February 18 & 19, 2012).

Saturday

In the big game of the day–the battle for 19 wins–#20 Florida State notched a key win over host North Carolina State, 76-62.   Ian Miller’s 17 points led the four Seminoles who scored in double-figures.  Florida State led by 11 at the half and by as many as 20 points in the second half.  The Wolfpack, who dropped to 18-9 with the loss, were led by CJ Leslie’s 21 points.  Florida State is now 19-7.

#8 North Carolina dropped Clemson back to .500 overall (13-13) with a 74-52 win over the Tigers.  North Carolina is now an unreal 56-0 against Clemson in Chapel Hill.  Harrison Barnes led the Tar Heels with 24 points, but Kendall Marshall was a master distributor with 13 assists.  Clemson was led in scoring by Andre Young’s thirteen points.  With the win, North Carolina is now 23-4.

#22 Virginia handily defeated Maryland, 71-44.  The amazing thing about this game is that it was tied at halftime.  The Cavs outscored the Terps 40-13 in the second half.  Maryland, which dropped to 15-11, was led by Terrell Stoglin’s 14 points.  Virginia, as usual, was led by Mike Scott’s 25 points and 7 rebounds.  Virginia also improved to 20-6 on the season.

In other Saturday action, Miami improved to 16-9 with a 74-56 win over Wake Forest.  And Virginia Tech held off Georgia Tech in overtime, 74-73.

Sunday

#2 Syracuse escaped Rutgers with a 74-64 win.  The margin of victory does not reveal how well Rutgers played in defeat–this game was close from start to finish.  CJ Fair came off the bench to lead the Orange with 21 point and 8 rebounds.  With the win, Syracuse improves to an impressive 27-1 on the season.

#5 Duke had no trouble with Boston College, defeating the hosts 75-50.  As usual, Duke dominated the boards–outrebounding the Eagles 40-21.  Seth Curry led the Blue Devils with 18 points, while Austin Rivers added 16.  Boston College was led by Ryan Anderson’s 21 points.  With the win, Duke keeps pace with North Carolina by improving to 23-4.

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