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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 , , , , , , ,
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 , , , , , ,
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 , , , , , ,
10 Feb 2012

This Day in ACC History: 50 Years Ago (Wake Forest @ North Carolina)

In a new feature, the Confidential will attempt to bridge the gap between yesterday and today by providing some publicity for ACC events from the past.  Today, the Confidential takes a look at a regular season game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.  The game took place on February 10, 1962–exactly 50 years ago today.

At the time, these were two of the true blue-bloods of ACC basketball.  North Carolina had already established itself as a great basketball school, most recently under the coaching of Frank McGuire.  Wake Forest would finish #1 in the ACC during the 1961-1962 season.    On February 10, 1962, Wake Forest traveled to North Carolina and won, 87-80.

One of the notable facts of this game is that North Carolina was coached by a young man named Dean Smith.  The Wake Forest game was only his 11th game ever.  As we know, he would go on to win many more games before retiring in 1997 with a then-record 879 wins.  While that record has since fallen to Coach K, Bob Knight, and most recently Jim Boeheim, Dean Smith was a legend in the game.

But the 1961-1962 North Carolina team would struggle.  First, due to a point-shaving scandal, the team drastically cut back its regular season schedule.  Second, the team would finish 8-9 on the year, including 7-7 in conference play.

Against Wake Forest, the Tar Heels were led by Senior Larry Brown’s 21 points.  Yes, that Larry Brown.  Brown led the team in scoring that year with 16.5 points per game.  Senior Jim Hudock also scored 21 points.

Wake Forest jumped out to a 47-37 lead at the half, before holding on to win the game.  The leading scorer was Senior Forward Len Chappell, who scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.  On the season, Chappell would average a remarkable 30.1 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.  Senior Guard Billy Packer also contributed 14 points in the win over North Carolina.  Yes, that Billy Packer.

The Demon Deacons would finish the ACC slate 12-2.  They then defeated Clemson to win the ACC conference tournament.  And then in the Big Dance (although not quite as big back then), Wake Forest advanced to the Final Four with wins over Yale, St. Joseph’s, and Villanova.  Wake would lose to Ohio State before beating UCLA in the consolation game.

That was a lot of star power on one court–only nobody could have possibly realized it yet.  Fifty years later–two coaching icons and a broadcasting icon.

Do you remember this game?  Please feel free to share any details…

Billy Packer. Image courtesty of CBS @ http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/team/bpacker

Billy Packer. Image courtesy of CBS @ http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/team/bpacker

This Day in History is a feature that relies heavily on information obtained from Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Games, Michael O’ Hara, McFarland & Company, Inc. (2008).  Special thanks to that fine publication.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, This Day in ACC and tagged , , , ,
09 Feb 2012

Rivalry Week Recap

Yesterday, the Confidential noted that February 8, 2012, featured two of the best rivalries in college basketball–Duke/North Carolina & Syracuse/Georgetown.  The games certainly ended up living up to the hype.

In the premier ACC match up of the day, Duke’s Austin Rivers hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Duke an 85-84 win at North Carolina.  North Carolina led by as many as 13 points in the second-half.  They also led by 10 points with less than 3 minutes remaining. But Duke was able to gradually chip away at the margin down the stretch. For North Carolina, this will certainly be a painful loss.  There was the blown lead.  The errant tip-in.  The missed free throws.   And ANY loss to Duke already hurts.

Rivers was not just the hero at the end, but scored 29 points to lead all scorers.  Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller scored 25 and 23, respectively, for North Carolina.  Josh Henson had an impressive 17 rebounds, while Zeller added 11.  Mason Plumlee led Duke with 14 rebounds.  Both teams are now 7-2 in conference play and 20-4 overall.

Up in Syracuse, it took an overtime period, but the Orange defeated the Georgetown Hoyas, 64-61.  In the process, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim won his 880th career game, moving him out of a tie with North Carolina’s legendary coach Dean Smith for third place all-time.

Much like Rivers, Syracuse’s Kris Joseph was the hero–scoring 29 points and hitting a three-pointer with 29 seconds left that provided the final margin of victory.  This game was incredibly close throughout as neither team led by more than 6 points, while there more than a dozen lead changes and ties.  Both teams also played stifling defense–neither team shot more than 35% from the field.

Georgetown was led by Otto Porter’s 14 points and 13 rebounds.  In addition to Joseph, Fab Melo scored 11 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and blocked 6 shots.  With the win, Syracuse moves to 24-1 overall, including an 11-1 record in conference games.

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

Boston College Stuns Florida State

The Seminoles can blame it on the Confidential.  For weeks, Florida State has been surging.  The Confidential finally took notice and put Florida State at #3 in the ACC and #13 overall–and the next game result was a loss to lowly (sorry) Boston College, 64-60.

If you are keeping score at home, this means that Florida State has beaten Duke on the road and demolished North Carolina, but also lost to Clemson by 20 and now Boston College.  Needless to say, this is a very disappointing loss.

For Boston College, however, it is a bright spot in a season that has had very few of them.  Jordan Daniels led the Eagles with 19 points.  Matt Humphrey added 15 points and Ryan Anderson contributed 14 points and six rebounds.  With the win, Boston College improves to 3-7 in conference play and 8-16 overall.

Michael Snaer scored 16 points for Florida State, but struggled mightily from the field going 6 for 18. With the loss, Florida State drops to 7-2 in conference play and 16-7 overall.

In the other non-rivalry games involving ACC teams:

  • #20 Virginia handily defeated Wake Forest, 68-44.  Mike Scott led the five-players that scored in double-figures for the Cavs with 19 points on 9 of 9 shooting from the field.  Virginia’s stifling defense held Wake Forest to 34.1% shooting.  Travis McKie led Wake Forest with 16 points.  With the loss, Wake Forest drops to 11-13.  Virginia improves to 19-4.
  • Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak was snapped as South Florida continued its surprising season with a 63-51 win over the visiting Panthers.  The Bulls were led by Hugh Robertson’s 18 points.  The fact that South Florida shot 60.5% from the field certainly helped.  In contrast, Pitt was held to 34.6% shooting, led by Tray Woodall’s 11 points.  Pittsburgh is now 15-10 on the season and 4-8 in conference play.  South Florida is 14-10, including 7-4 in conference games.

Ryan Anderson, image courtesty of US Pressire and CBS Sports. Image can be found at http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/recap/NCAAB_20120208_FLST@BC

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , ,
08 Feb 2012
3 Comments

Rivalry Day Preview: February 8, 2012

February 8, 2012, is a big day for ACC hoops.

First, all five teams that are currently ranked play games tonight:

  • #2 Syracuse hosts #12 Georgetown
  • #5 North Carolina hosts #10 Duke
  • #15 Florida State travels to unranked Boston College
  • #19 Virginia hosts unranked Wake Forest

Second, this is rivalry week for ESPN purposes, as the Syracuse-Georgetown and North Carolina-Duke games will be on ESPN at 7pm and 9pm, respectively.  Actually, the full name of the evening is this mouthful: Wednesday Night Hoops presented by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as Part of Rivalry Week.

Third, these are not just rivalry games, but perhaps two of the best rivalries in all of college basketball.  USA Today has both of these has top 25 rivalries, although that list is far too slanted towards college football to be meaningful.  SB Nation’s list focuses on college basketball and gives a better appraisal.  Still, for long-time ACC fans, it is probably easy to look down on the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry, as it just started in earnest with the formation of the Big East in 1979-1980.  In contrast, the Carolina schools have been hated rivals for much longer than that.  Plus, Syracuse is not quite in the ACC fold yet, and Georgetown is certainly not part of the ACC.  In contrast, Duke-North Carolina is a matchup of two ACC schools.

Fourth, Syracuse is expected to draw more than 30,000 fans to the game tonight.  North Carolina is certain to draw its capacity of 21,000+.  These are simply huge games.

Fifth, and finally, these two games feature 4 of the top 12 teams in college basketball.  And Georgetown is playing like a top 10 team of late.  All four teams still need statement games to show the tournament committee that they are deserving of the #1 overall seed, a #1 seed, or merely a top 3 seed.  And then there is conference tournament seeding.  So there is much more to play for than merely pride.

If you love college basketball and the ACC, tonight will be a great night.

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

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