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21 Jan 2012

This Day in ACC History: 24 Years Ago (Duke @ North Carolina)

Today, in another installment of This Day in ACC History, the Confidential takes a look at a regular season game between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels on January 21, 1988, 24 years ago.

Any match-up between these bitter rivals is always noteworthy.  Both teams had very good years, with North Carolina losing in the Elite Eights and Duke losing in the Final Four.  Duke actually swept North Carolina in three matchups in 1987-1988.

But the first one was the toughest, as Duke had to travel to North Carolina on January 21, 1988.  Duke was able to pull out the victory in exciting fashion, 70-69.  In fact, GoDuke.com considers this game one of its top 10 moments in Chapel Hill and provides this summary:

Duke’s chances didn’t look too good heading to the Smith Center for their 1988 meeting with No. 2 ranked North Carolina. The No. 9 Blue Devils were coming off a dispiriting homecourt loss to Maryland and appeared to have little offense beyond junior star Danny Ferry.

But what the ’88 Devils did have was defense – maybe the best overall defense in the Krzyzewski era. Although UNC star J.R. Reid abused the smaller Devils inside for 28 points, with UNC down a single point in the final minute, he couldn’t get the ball when it counted. Duke, which got 19 points from Ferry and a vital 22 points from Kevin Strickland, tenaciously held on to its 70-69 lead.

UNC missed three straight shots, failing to take the lead, but got the ball back for one last chance. A second before the buzzer sounded, sharpshooting guard Jeff Lebo launched a potential game-winner from the left baseline. His shot was blocked by 6-foot-5 jumping jack Robert Brickey as Duke claimed the first of three victories over the Tar Heels in 1988. 

So this game went right down to the wire before Duke was able to grab the victory.

The Tar Heels were led by a famous name.  Sophomore J.R. Reid scored 27 points, while another Sophomore, Scott Williams, added 14.  Both players had double-doubles as Reid grabbed 13 boards and Williams snared 10.  Junior Jeff Lebo had 10 assists for the Tar Heels.  Other than the final score, Reid was unstoppable, converting 11 of 13 field goals attempts.  Although Duke’s defense was impressive that year, North Carolina converted 65.9% of its shots in the game.

The Blue Devils were also led by some familiar names. Senior Kevin Strickland scored 22 points, while Junior Danny Ferry scored 19.  Ferry just missed a triple-double as he had 10 rebounds and 7 assists.  Ferry, of course, gained some recent notoriety by being the Cleveland Cavaliers general manager during most of the Lebron James era.  He is currently Vice President of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs.  See here.

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

After a lengthy NBA career, JR Reid is not an assistant coach at Chowan University. Image courtesy of Chowan University. http://gocuhawks.com/news/2011/9/22/GEN_0922112429.aspx

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 , , , , ,
20 Jan 2012

Weekend Preview: January 21-22

As is often the case this time of year, there are a number of ACC games this weekend in college basketball.

Saturday

In an unusual 11:00 a.m. start, Maryland will ride its relative hot streak into Temple for an out-of-conference game.  Both teams are 12-5.  As Maryland seeks to overcome its 3-3 start by getting itself onto the bubble, a road victory over a decent Temple team would do the trick.

At noon, Wake Forest will look to rebound from its loss to Duke when it travels to Boston College.  Wake Forest is 10-8 and Boston College is 7-11.  However, Wake has lost 4 of its last 5 games.  Boston College is a surprising 2-2 in ACC play after a 5-9 start to the season.

In the battle for 10th place in the conference standings, Georgia Tech heads to Clemson for a 2:30 pm matchup.  Clemson is looking to stay above .500 with a win, while Georgie Tech is looking to get within striking distance of .500.

In the premier matchup of the day, Florida State will try to work its Saturday magic for a second week in a row–this week at #4 Duke.  Last week, Florida State demolished North Carolina at home.  As impressive as last week was, if Florida State can upset Duke, this week will be even more impressive.  Tipoff is at 4:00 pm.

#1 Syracuse will take its 20-0 record into Notre Dame on Saturday at 6:00 pm.  Notre Dame always plays Syracuse tough at home, as they usually have the outside shooters to give the 2-3 zone fits.

At 9:00 pm, Pittsburgh tries to stop the bleeding when it hosts #23 Louisville.  After starting 11-1, the Panthers have lost seven in a row.  Louisville has its own bleeding problems.  After starting 12-0, Louisville has lost 5 of 7 games.  One of these teams will get back on track in a big way tomorrow.

 

Sunday

North Carolina State looks to make it three wins in a row as they take on Miami.  The host Hurricanes are a disappointing 10-6 so far, but they have the talent to beat the Wolfpack.  Both teams need momentum, as North Carolina State would like to crack the top 25 and Miami would like to make a run for the Big Dance.  Game time is noon.

At 6:00 pm, Virginia Tech heads to #15 Virginia in a matchup of bitter rivals.  Before the season, one would have thought that the Hokies would have been the ranked team, if any.  At this point, they are just looking for the first conference win.  The Cavs are 2-1 in conference so far.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , ,
20 Jan 2012

ACC Basketball Recap: January 19, 2012

There were several big games on Thursday, January 19, 2012, for the ACC.  Importantly for the ACC’s reputation, the favored team won all four games.

In the most anticipate game, #8 North Carolina rebounded from its debacle at Florida State by traveling to Virginia Tech to beat the reeling Hokies, 82-68.   It wasn’t easy for the Tar Heels, who trailed by four at halftime.  But a 19-0 second-half run turned made all the difference.  Harrison Barnes led North Carolina with 27 points, while Josh Henson contributed 16 points and 16 rebounds.  Erick Green was one of four Hokies in double-figures, leading the team with 17 points.  With the loss, Virginia Tech falls to 11-7 and 0-4 in conference.  With the win, North Carolina improves to 16-3.

In Durham, #4 Duke toppled Wake Forest 91-73 to maintain its perfect conference record.  Andre Dawkins led the Blue Devils with 21 points, but Ryan Kelly and Austin Rivers each added 20 points.  Kelly also added 10 rebounds.  Wake Forest was overmatched by Duke’s depth and size.  But four of its starters scored in double-figures, led by CJ Harris’s 20 points.  With the loss, the Demon Deacons drop to 10-8 and 1-3 in conference.  Duke improves to 16-2 overall, including 4-0 in conference play.

The other ranked ACC team, #15 Virginia, traveled to Georgia Tech and won big, 70-38.  The Cavs suffocating defense held Georgia Tech is under 30% shooting on the night.  They also out rebounded their hosts, 41-22.  As usual, Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points and 7 rebounds.  Georgia Tech falls to 1-3 in conference and a disappointing 8-10 overall.  Virginia improves to 15-2 overall, including a 2-1 conference record.

Finally, North Carolina State improved to 14-5 on the season by beating visiting Boston College, 76-62.  Although Boston College struggled in non-conference play, the Eagles had some momentum heading into the game with a 2-1 conference record.  But the Wolfpack and its home court advantage were too much.  Scott Wood led North Carolina State’s balanced attack (6 players with 8 or more points) with 16 points.  Richard Howell had 11 points and 16 rebounds–alone providing for North Carolina State’s 44-28 rebounding advantage.  Boston College drops to 2-2 in conference play and 7-11 on the season.  North Carolina State in now 3-1 in conference play.

 

Individual Leaders:

Scoring:

Harrison Barnes, UNC, 27 points

Andre Dawkins, Duke, 21 points

Ryan Kelly, Duke, 20 points & Austin Rivers, Duke, 20 points

 

Rebounds:

Josh Henson, UNC, 16 rebounds & Richard Howell, NCState, 16 rebounds

Ryan Kelly, Duke, 10 rebounds & Travis McKie, Wake, 10 rebounds

 

Assists:

Lorenzo Brown, NC State, 11 assists

Tyler Thornton, Duke, 8 assists & Kendall Marshall, UNC, 8 assists

Erick Green, Va Tech, 5 assists & Jontel Evans, UVA, 5 assists

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
20 Jan 2012

This Day in ACC History: 29 Years Ago (Wake Forest @ Duke)

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 Duke Blue Devils and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

On January 19,1983, exactly 29 years ago, Wake Forest traveled to Duke.  Admittedly, there is nothing particularly historical about this game.  It was a basketball matchup between two private, North Carolina schools that lurked in the shadows of the state flagship school, the North Carolina Tar Heels.  And 1982-1983 was no different, with North Carolina (led by Michael Jordan) and Virginia (led by Ralph Sampson) each finishing 14-2 in conference play.

Instead, what is notable is just how bad Duke was in 1982-1983.  The college basketball world is familiar with Duke and its successes in the past few decades.  In 1982-1983, however, Duke finished 3-11 in conference and 11-17 overall.  Mike  Krzyzewski was in his third season as coach, after five years of coaching at Army (73-59 record there).  By the end of the 1982-1983 season, Coach K would be 38-47 as a head coach of Duke, giving him an overall record of 111-106.  Today, he would likely have been fired.  But he was not.  Instead, 1982-1983 was the lowpoint, as he would win at least 23 games a year for the next 12 seasons, en route to breaking the all-time wins record.

Still, January 19, 1983, was not his night.  Instead, the night belonged to Wake Forest, who traveled to Duke and won 88-84.  The win was part of a 7-7 conference slate, resulting in an overall record of 20-12.  Wake Forest would head to the NIT, where it won three games, before losing to Fresno State in the semifinals.

The Demon Deacons were led by Junior Anthony Teachey’s 29 points and 11 rebounds.  The rebounds were not a surprise, as only stars Ralph Sampson and Sam Perkins averaged more rebounds per game than Teachey in the ACC that year.  From a scoring standpoint, Wake Forest had significant balance, with six different players averaging between 10.4 and 14.8 points per game in conference games, led by Junior John Toms.  With 10 points, Toms was one of four other Demon Deacons to score in double figures for Wake Forest against Duke , including Teachey (29), Senior Alvis Rogers (17), Junior Danny Young (11), and Freshman Kenny Green (10).  For more on Anthony Teachey, go here.

The Blue Devils were led by some familiar names.  Freshman Johnny Dawkins led Duke with 21 points, while Freshmen Jay Bilas and Mark Alarie added 16 and 10 points, respectively.  Sophomore Danny Meagher scored 14 points.  The youthful talent was on full display.  Bilas led the team with 8 rebounds, while Dawkins added 5 assists.  Bilas, of course, has had ample success in his work for ESPN as a basketball analyst.  After spending 9 seasons in the NBA, Dawkins has turned to coaching and he is now the head coach at Stanford.  The 1982-1983 season was just the beginning for that young Duke team and its “mediocre” head coach.

So, the next time you are watching a below average team being coached by a .500 coach and losing to an NIT bound team, bear in mind that you never know if you are watching a legend.  Nobody would have thought that on January 19, 1983.  And they all would have been wrong.

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

Wake Forest's Anthony Teachey, image courtesy of http://www.thedraftreview.com

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 , , , ,
18 Jan 2012

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for January 17, 2012

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for January 17, 2012:

  1. Syracuse (20-0).  The Orange set a school record by starting the season 20-0.  The Big East schedule gets much tougher though.  Next up: @ Notre Dame.
  2. Kentucky (18-1).  Kentucky struggled to beat Tennessee, but they got the win.  Waiting for that matchup with Florida.  Next up: Alabama.
  3. Baylor (17-1).  Sure, they lost at Kansas on Monday night.  But most teams lose at Kansas.  Next up: Missouri.
  4. Missouri (17-1).  Not many one loss teams right now, but Missouri is one of them.  A win over Baylor moves Missouri into the #3 slot.  Next up: @ Baylor.
  5. Duke (15-2).  Held serve against upstart Virginia.  Closer than expected at Clemson though.  Next up: Wake Forest.
  6. Ohio State (16-3).  Disappointing loss at Illinois, but followed it up with a convincing win over Indiana.  Next up: @ Nebraska.
  7. Kansas (15-3).  Convincing win over Baylor.  Starting to make a move in the Big 12 standings.  Next up: @ Texas.
  8. North Carolina (15-3).  Still amazed by that 33-point loss.  A lot of talent, but results are needed.  Next up: @ Virginia Tech.
  9. Indiana (15-3).  The losses at Michigan State and Ohio State are understandable.  Minnesota at home was a disappointing loss.  Next up: @ Nebraska
  10. San Diego State (15-2).  Only two losses were Creighton and Baylor.  A rare opportunity to disregard head-to-head play.  Next up: @ New Mexico.
  11. Creighton (16-2).  Although Creighton beat San Diego State, the overall resume is slightly behind them.  Oddly enough.  Next up: @ Missouri State.
  12. Michigan State (15-4).  Losses to Northwestern and Michigan drop the Spartans.  At least they were on the road against good teams.  Next up: Purdue.
  13. Virginia (14-2).  No shame in losing to Duke on the road.  Can’t be looking ahead to the Hokies.  Next up: @ Georgia Tech.
  14. UNLV (16-3).  Tough loss to San Diego State.  Still some good wins on the resume though.  Next up: TCU.
  15. Georgetown (15-3).  Hoyas rebounded nicely against St. Johns.  Figuratively.  Maybe literally too.  Next up: Rutgers.
  16. Kansas State (12-4).  Losing to Baylor was somewhat expected.  Losing to Oklahoma hurt though.  Next up: Texas.
  17. Murray State (18-0).  Wearing the target.  Need to keep winning to have a chance at a 4 or 5 seed.  Next up: @ Morehead State.
  18. Mississippi State (15-3).  Picked up wins over Tennessee and Alabama.  Time to hit the road now.  Next up: @ Mississippi.
  19. Illinois (15-3).  Decent losses for Illinois on the resume.  And now the win over Ohio State.  Next up: @ Penn State.
  20. Michigan (15-4).  Nice wins over Northwestern and Michigan State.  Losing by nearly 20 to Iowa?  Next up: @ Arkansas.
  21. Marquette (15-4).  Marquette has battled all year.  It is paying off as the schedule softens a bit.  Next up: @ Providence.
  22. UConn (14-3).  Huskies are starting to play better.  Look out nation.  Next up: Cincinnati.
  23. West Virginia (13-5).  Tough loss to UConn.  Nice job in handling upstart Rutgers in the follow-up.  Next up: Marshall.
  24. Wisconsin (14-5).  Won at Purdue, something Illinois could not do.  Beat Nebraska too.  Next up: Northwestern.
  25. Alabama (13-4).  Came down to Earth a bit by losing to Mississippi State.  But the win over LSU was nice.  Next up: Vanderbilt.
  26. Seton Hall (15-3).  Loss to USF hurts the resume.  That’s a winnable road game for a team in the top 25.  Next up: @ Villanova.
  27. Wichita State (15-3).  Best win remains UNLV.  Losses are all respectable though.  Next up: @ Northern Iowa.
  28. Stanford (15-3).  Atop the weak Pac-12 right now.  Going to be hard to impress this year.  Next up: @ Washington State.
  29. St. Mary’s (17-2).  Win over Gonzaga is nice.  That loss to Denver is still puzzling.  Next up:  @ St. Mary’s.
  30. Florida (14-4).  Losses to Tennessee and Rutgers still hurt.  But getting some momentum back.  Next up: Pepperdine.

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 , , , , ,
17 Jan 2012

Syracuse Improves to 20-0 With Win Over Pittsburgh

In a battle of future ACC members, #1 Syracuse improved to 20-0 on the season with a 71-63 win over Pittsburgh.  In a year where several current ACC members have been underwhelming, Syracuse has certainly provided a reason for ACC fans to be optimistic about the basketball future.

For Syracuse, this win was noteworthy for several reasons.  First, the 20-0 record sets the school record for a start.  Second, with the win, Jim Boeheim tied Adolph Rupp for #4 all-time on the career win total list with 876 wins.  Next up?  A coach that all ACC fans should be familiar with–Dean Smith.  Syracuse also ended a string of futility against Pittsburgh, including losing 5 straight at the Carrier Dome.  The last time Syracuse beat Pittsburgh at home was 2003.  And that year ended pretty nicely for the Orange.

The game itself was a typical bruising match-up between these two schools.  Syracuse jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead, but the margin varied between 4 and 14 throughout.  Despite being 0-6 in conference play, Pitt put up a very good fight.  In fact, the Panthers absolutely dominated Syracuse on the boards with a 38-24 edge, suggesting that rebounding may very well be a vulnerability for the Syracuse team.  Syracuse allowed Pitt to get 18 offensive rebounds.  Pitt also featured a balanced attack with 5 players scoring either 9 or 10 points.  This team is much better than its recent record would suggest.

As usual, Syracuse was well-balanced too, with 5 players in double-figures.  Dion Waiters led the Orange with 16 points.  Also, Syracuse had the rare double double-double.  Fab Melo had 10 points and 10 rebounds (as well as 6 blocked shots).  Senior guard Scoopy Jardine has 12 points and 10 assists.

Another big edge for Syracuse was at the free throw line, where the Orange were 20-23 for an 87.0% clip.  Pitt struggled by making only 12 of their 23 free-throws.  The margin of victory?  8 points–the exact amount reflected in the free throw shooting.

Kris Joseph for the easy two. Photo courtesy of the Syraucse Post-Standard at Syracuse.com

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , ,
16 Jan 2012
3 Comments

ACC Basketball Rankings: January 16, 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 January 16, 2012:

1.  Syracuse (19-0)  The Orange just keep on rolling.  Things get a bit tougher schedule-wise with Pittsburgh on Monday and then a trip to Notre Dame.

2. Duke (15-2)  Neither win was dominating this week, but the Blue Devils won.  That is something that North Carolina cannot say.

3. North Carolina (15-3)  It’s one thing to lose, but to get blown out by Florida State was unfathomable.  Too much talent to be this erratic.

4. Virginia (14-2)  Hard to penalize the Cavs for losing on the road to Duke.  Had they won, they might be #2.

5. North Carolina State (13-5)  Close call between Maryland and NC State after the Georgia Tech loss.  But the Wolfpack and Terps played head-to-head and NC State won.  Slight edge for now.

6. Maryland (12-4) Recovered nicely from the loss to NC State.  But not enough to leapfrog them, obviously

7. Florida State (11-6)  Beating Virginia Tech on the road was impressive.  Destroying North Carolina was even more impressive.  That is worthy of a 5 spot jump.

8.Virginia Tech (11-6)  Losses to Florida State and Boston College make this a tough week.  If anyone else below had shown signs of life, the Hokies would be lower.  May be playing their way right off the bubble–and in the wrong direction.

9. Wake Forest (10-7) Absolutely destroyed by North Carolina State.  Just not a very consistent team.

10. Miami (9-6)  No conference wins yet.  The opportunity comes this week when they host Clemson.

11. Pittsburgh (11-7)  0-5 in Big East play against a weak schedule so far.  Things get tougher with a trip to Syracuse, although Pitt always gives the Orange fits.

12. Clemson (9-8)  Looked very good against Florida State, but then lost to Boston College.  Loss to Duke was close though.

13. Georgia Tech (8-9)  Nice upset win over NC State, but loss to Maryland made it a split for the week.  There is the potential to slide upwards here.

14. Boston College (7-10)  With wins over Clemson and Virginia Tech, Boston College is now 2-1 in conference.  The way the bottom several teams are playing, the Eagles could end up with a .500 record in conference, which would be a nice recovery.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
15 Jan 2012

ACC Basketball Recap: January 14, 2012

The Confidential has already analyzed the North Carolina debacle.  But there were several other games on Saturday, January 14, 2012.

Next to Florida State’s big game, the Confidential was most impressed by North Carolina State going on the road and destroying Wake Forest, 76-40.  It is tough enough to win conference games on the road–but to jump out to a 16-point halftime lead and then do even better in the second half is very impressive.  North Carolina State did it with defense, holding the Demon Deacons to less than 30% shooting.  Four of North Carolina State’s starters finished with double-digit points, led by Lorenzo Brown’s 20 points.  The Wolfpack also got 28 rebounds out of their front line starters.  With the loss, Wake Forest drops to 10-7.  North Carolina State improved to 13-5, including a 2-1 conference record.

That’s two in a row now for Boston College, as the Eagles defeated Virginia Tech at home, 61-59.  Virginia Tech was forced to play without leading scorer Erick Green, who was sidelined with a sprained left knee.  But a win is a win for the struggling Eagles.  About the only good news for the Hokies is that the NCAA Tournament Committee can take the injury into consideration.  Even so, this is exactly the type of loss that lands the Hokies on the tournament bubble every year.  You have to be able to beat a team–even on the road–that is struggling as badly as Boston College.  For the Eagles, after defeating Clemson, perhaps they are not as bad as their record otherwise indicates.  Dennis Clifford and Matt Humphrey led Boston College with 15 and 14 points, respectively.  Victor Davila led the Hokies with 14 points.  Virginia Tech remains unbeaten in conference play at 0-3, with their overall record dropping to 11-6.  Boston College improved to 7-10, including a surprising 2-1 in conference play.

Up north, Pittsburgh showed some signs of life by traveling to #25 Marquette and playing tough, albeit still losing by a score of 62-57.  For a Panthers team that was blown out at home by Rutgers, they will have to settle for the proverbial “baby steps.”  With the loss, Pitt amazingly drops to 0-5 in conference play, with an overall record of 11-7.  Ashton Gibbs scored more than half of Pitt’s points with a 29-point effort.  Darius Johnson-Odom scored 18 points for Marquette, while Jae Crowder added 15.  Pittsburgh has a quick turnaround, having to travel to Syracuse on Monday night.

Speaking of Syracuse, the #1 team in the nation defeated Providence 78-55 to improve to 19-0.  The game was even more lopsided than the final score, as Syracuse led by 30 points with several minutes to go.  While much has been said about Syracuse’s bench–little used 11th man Mookie Jones scored 10 points for the Orange.  Of the 10 players in Syracuse’s normal rotation, only two players, Kris Joseph (13) and Dion Waiters (12), scored more than Mookie.  Syracuse is now 6-0 in conference play and will be playing Pitt on Monday for its best-ever start to a season.

Today, there are two games on the ACC slate, as Georgia Tech travels to red-hot Maryland and Clemson hosts Duke.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
14 Jan 2012
3 Comments

NORTH CAROLINA DEMOLISHED BY FLORIDA STATE

It’s rare that the Confidential will break out the capital letters in a title, but Florida State absolutely destroyed #3 North Carolina today, 90-57.  This game was so lopsided that North Carolina had 5 walk-ons on the floor and left the arena with fourteen seconds to go.  Not surprisingly, the Seminoles’ fans rushed the court to celebrate not just a win over the Tar Heels, but a thorough domination.

How much of a beat-down was this?   Florida State, who lost by 20 to an unimpressive Clemson Tigers’ team, never trailed.  They outscored North Carolina 54-29 at the half, beginning with a 30-8 run.  Compare the 54 second-half points by Florida State to the last several games of points allowed for North Carolina: 56, 60, 65, 62, 63, and 49.

North Carolina shot 37.3% from the field and 19.0% from three-point range.  This pales in comparison to Florida State, who shot 48.4% and 44.4%, respectively.  The Seminoles even out-rebounded the Tar Heels, 41-33.

Senior Deividas Dulkys led the Seminoles with a career-high 32 points.  Junior Michael Snaer also scored 17 points for Florida State.  Okaro White added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Seminoles.  Harrison Barnes scored 15 points and Tyler Zeller chipped in with 14 for North Carolina.

With the loss, North Carolina drops to 15-3.  They will travel to Virginia Tech on January 19th.  With the win, Florida State improves to 11-6.  They will host Maryland on Tuesday.

Florida State fans celebrate the rout of #3 North Carolina. Photo by ROBERT WILLETT - rwillett@newsobserver.com

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , ,
13 Jan 2012

Duke Survives The Virginia Test

The big game in ACC hoops this week was last night’s matchup between #8 Duke and #16 Virginia.  Although Duke was at home, Virginia came into the game winners of 12 consecutive games.  The game delivered everything that was expected, with Duke only narrowly defeating Virginia, 61-58.

One of the key aspects of this game was going to be whether Duke could establish a fast-paced tempo or whether Virginia’s defense-first philosophy would win out.  Ultimately, while Virginia was able to establish the tempo, Duke still won the the low-scoring affair.

Virginia actually started hot, taking a quick 5-0 lead.  But Duke recovered quickly to take an 8-7 lead around the first TV timeout.  The two teams battled back and forth in the first half, with the lead changing hands several times.  Virginia held the lead at halftime 32-28.  But 38-38 would be the last point at which Duke would not have the lead.  Over the next several minutes, Duke went on a 17-6 run.  Virginia chipped away at that lead to make it 61-58 in the final seconds, even missing a few attempts to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Duke was led by a balanced attack with five players scoring between 9 and 12 points, led by Mason Plumlee’s 12 points.  Virginia’s offensive output was dominated by Mike Scott’s 23 points.  Scott also added 9 rebounds.  Unfortunately, Virginia was hampered by an off night by Sammy Zeglinski, who was 0 for 8 from the field, with five of those attempts being three-pointers.

Both teams are now 14-2.  Virginia will get a full week off before traveling to Georgia Tech.  Duke travels to Clemson on Sunday.

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

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