The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “Duke”

08 Apr 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 7, April 8, 2012

The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…

News/Rankings:

The big news this week was North Carolina defeating John Hopkins 13-9, allowing Virginia to return to #1.

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Virginia #1, again–receiving 11 of the 20 first place votes.  Duke is #8 and North Carolina is #9.  Maryland is #12 and Syracuse has dropped all the way to #17.

In the USILA Coaches Poll, Virginia is #1 with 4 of the 10 first place votes.  The rest is the same as the Inside Lacrosse Poll, except that North Carolina and Syracuse are tied in their rankings.

Recent Scores:

Saturday, March 31, 2012:

Virginia 12-Maryland 8.  Recap.

Sunday, April 1, 2012:

Duke 12-Syracuse 10.  Recap.

North Carolina 13-Johns Hopkins 9.  Recap.

Friday, April 6, 2012:

Maryland 13-Navy 6.  Recap.

Saturday, April 7, 2012:

Virginia 15-North Carolina 10.  Recap.

Duke 11-Marist 10.  Recap.

Syracuse 10-Princeton 9.  Recap.

Upcoming Games:

Tuesday, April 10, 2012:

Syracuse @ Cornell, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, April 13, 2012:

Duke @ Virginia, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 14, 2012:

Rutgers @ Syracuse, 11:00 a.m.

Hofstra @ North Carolina, 1;30 p.m.

Maryland @ Johns Hopkins, 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012:

Syracuse @ Hobart, 7:00 p.m.

Records:

Virginia 10-1 (2-0 in conference).

Duke 10-3 (1-1 in conference)

North Carolina 8-4 (1-2 in conference)

Maryland 6-3 (1-2 in conference)

Syracuse 5-4

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Virginia (10-1).  Rebounded nicely with wins over Maryland and North Carolina.

2.  Duke (10-3).  Duke just keeps on winning.  Took care of Syracuse and Marist.

3.  North Carolina (8-4).  With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.

4.  Maryland (6-3).  See above.

5.  Syracuse (5-4).  Syracuse has not looked good when winning and played poorly in losing.

If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,
04 Apr 2012

Here comes the 2012-2013 Preseason Polls

While most of the college basketball world has shifted from the 2011-2012 season into preparing for the Mayan End of the World in December 2012, a few brave souls have decided to issue early pre-season basketball polls.

CBS’s Dennis Dodd decided to go away out on a limb by projecting Kentucky #1.  Syracuse, at #7, is the highest ranking ACC team, while North Carolina is at #10.  North Carolina State at #15 edges out Duke at #18.  No other ACC team made Dodd’s list.

ESPN’s Andy Katz at least tries to do something different, projecting Indiana as #1.  Katz has North Carolina State at #6 and North Carolina at #11.  Syracuse and Duke are #14 and #15, respectfully.  He also has Florida State, Pitt, and Maryland “on the cusp.”

NBC’s Mike Miller also has Indiana as the projected #1.  So maybe Katz is right and Dodd is the one that is clueless.  Miller has North Carolina State #4, Duke #11, Syracuse #15, and North Carolina all the way down at #22.  Miller also “considered” Maryland, which is nice.

Combining these three polls, reveals the following results:

  • North Carolina State: #15, #6, and #4 = 25 pts
  • Syracuse: #7, #14, and #15 = 36 pts
  • North Carolina: #10, #11, and #22 = 43 pts
  • Duke #18, #15, and #11 = 44 pts

There it is, folks.  Looks like the North Carolina State Wolfpack are you early favorites to take home the ACC Championship in 2012-2013.  Assuming we make it that far, of course.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , ,
02 Apr 2012

Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium Recap

Sunday was a big day for college lacrosse as the Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium featured three games involving elite teams, including Duke, Syracuse, and North Carolina.

The big winner of the day was North Carolina, who knocked off previously #1 Johns Hopkins, 13-9.  R.G. Keenan won 18 face-offs, Jimmy Bitter scored three goals, and Marcus Holman added a two-goal, four-assist performance to lead the Tar Heels.  The game was 8-7 after three periods, but North Carolina outscored Hopkins 5-2 in the final period to win by a comfortable margin.  As Tarheelblue also noted:

R.G. Keenan was named the Konica Minolta Big City Classic MVP as he won 18 of 25 face-offs, the sixth time in his career and the third time this campaign he has won at least 18 draws in a game. He led both teams with nine ground balls. That was Keenan’s second highest ground ball total of the season, exceeded only by the 11 he had at Navy on February 25.

Congratulations to Keenan and the Tar Heels.

The other big winner of the day was Duke, who defeated Syracuse 12-10 to win its sixth straight game.  Duke senior Robert Rotanz tallied four goals to lead the team.  The teams were tied several times during the game, including at 9-9 and 10-10.  But each time Duke got a timely goal.  Syracuse has lost two straight games now–the first such streak since 2007.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , ,
31 Mar 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 6, March 31, 2012

The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…

News/Rankings:

The big news this week was former #1 Virginia losing to former #2 Johns Hopkins in overtime, 11-10.  Johns Hopkins used a 4-1 third quarter to pull ahead of Virginia.  And then John Ranagan scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in the overtime period.  It was Virginia’s first loss in 14 home games.

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Virginia #2, no longer receiving any first place votes.  Duke is #8 and Maryland is #9.  North Carolina is #12 and Syracuse has dropped all the way to #14.

In the USILA Coaches Poll Virginia dropped all the way to #3.  The rest is the same as the Inside Lacrosse Poll, except that North Carolina is #11.

Recent Scores:

Saturday, March 24, 2012:

Duke 13, Georgetown 11.  Recap.

North Carolina 11, Maryland 10.  Recap.

Johns Hopkins 11, Virginia 10 (OT).  Recap.

Sunday, March 25, 2012:

Villanova 11, Syracuse 10.  Recap.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012:

Duke 9, Brown 8.  Recap.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, March 31, 2012:

Virginia @ Maryland.  12:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 1, 2012:

Duke v Syracuse.  4:00 p.m.

North Carolina v Johns Hopkins.  6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 6, 2012:

Navy @ Maryland.  7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 7, 2012:

Virginia @ North Carolina.  1:00 p.m.

Marist @ Duke.  Time TBA.

Princeton @ Syracuse.  4:00 p.m.

Records:

Virginia 8-1 (0-0 in conference).

Maryland 5-2 (1-1 in conference)

Duke 8-3 (1-1 in conference)

North Carolina 7-3 (1-1 in conference)

Syracuse 6-3

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Virginia (8-1).  Losing to the #2 team in overtime is hardly worth dropping Virginia over.

2.  Duke (8-3).  Duke just keeps on winning.  They face a struggling Syracuse team on Sunday.

3.  North Carolina (7-3).  With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.

4.  Maryland (5-2).  With a win over North Carolina, Maryland would be #2.  Instead?  #4.

5.  Syracuse (6-3).  Syracuse has not looked good when winning and played poorly in losing.

If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,
27 Mar 2012

The ACC Elite Lose Players to NBA

With the 300+ Division I basketball school field now reduced to just four, the time has come for underclassmen to announce that they are going to either test the NBA waters or plunge right in.  Duke and Syracuse have already have underclassmen announce that they are leaving.  Duke freshman Austin Rivers has announced that he will be signing with an agent and ending his Duke career.  And yesterday Syracuse sophomore Dion Waiters announced that he, too, was planning to sign with an agent and end his Syracuse career.

In both cases, the players have the support of their coaches.  Coach K had this to say about Austin:

“Austin had a terrific year as a freshman and has put himself in a position to pursue his dream of being a great player in the NBA,” said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We are in total support of Austin, his family and his decision.”

Moreover, although Boeheim has not commented, Waiters sat down with his coach before making the decision.  Boeheim apparently gave Waiters his blessing.

These are not the only players that will be leaving the ACC early for the NBA.  The comprehensive NBA draft website, nbadraft.net, has an early entry page listing Syracuse’s Fab Melo as another player that will be heading to the NBA.  Other players likely to head to the NBA include Harrison Barnes (UNC), John Henson (UNC), Kendall Marshall (UNC), and Michael Snaer (FSU).

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , ,
23 Mar 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 5, March 23, 2012

The ACC Lacross season is now one month old!

News/Rankings:

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Virginia #1, receiving 19 of the 22 first place votes.  Maryland is #7, Syracuse is #8, Duke is #11, and North Carolina is #14.

The USILA Coaches Poll also has Virginia #1, with all 12 first place votes.  Maryland is #6, Syracuse is #9, Duke is #10, and North Carolina is #15.

Recent Scores:

Saturday, March 10, 2012:

North Carolina 9, Princeton 8.  Details.

Loyola 13, Duke 8.  Details.

Maryland 17, Marist 4.  Details.

Virginia 9, Cornell 8 (OT).  Details.

Syracuse 9, St. John’s 8.  Details.

Monday, March 12, 2012:

Duke 11, Harvard 8.  Details.

Friday, March 16, 2012:

Duke 13, North Carolina 11.  Details.

Saturday, March 17, 2012:

Maryland 11, Villanova 5.  Details.

Virginia 11, Ohio State 9.  Details.

Johns Hopkins 11, Syracuse 7.  Details.

Sunday, March 18, 2012:

Duke 20, Dartmouth 9.  Details.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012:

North Carolina 13, Dartmouth 11.  Details.

Syracuse 10, Providence 6.  Details.

 

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, March 24, 2012:

Duke @ Georgetown, 12:00 p.m.

Maryland @ North Carolina, 12:00 p.m.

Johns Hopkins @ Virginia, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 25, 2012:

Villanova @ Syracuse, 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012:

Brown @ Duke, 3:00 p.m.

 

Records:

Virginia 8-0 (0-0 in conference).

Maryland 5-1 (1-0 in conference)

Duke 6-3 (1-1 in conference)

North Carolina 6-3 (0-1 in conference)

Syracuse 4-2

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Virginia (8-0).  Virginia continues to dominate.

2.  Maryland (5-1).  Maryland still has the best conference record.  And second best overall record.

3.  Syracuse (4-2).  Syracuse’s two losses were to the #1 and #2 teams in the country, so they get a pass (for now).

4.  Duke (6-3).  Duke gets the edge with the head-to-head win.

5.  North Carolina (6-3).  See above.

 

If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,
17 Mar 2012

The ACC and the Post-Season: Update 3

Well, it is College Basketball Tournament season.  The Big Dance is already down to 32 teams.  As noted earlier, Duke is not among them.

But it was not all bad for the Atlantic Coast Conference on March 16, 2012.  Even without John Henson, #1 North Carolina had no trouble defeating #16 seed Vermont, 77-58.  Tyler Zeller had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels.  In Henson’s absence, James Michael McAdoo started and scored a season-high 17 points also.  With the win, North Carolina advances to play #8 Creighton, who defeated Alabama 58-57.

Perhaps the most impressive win of the day for the ACC was #11 seed North Carolina State upsetting #6 seed San Diego State, 79-65.  While not an extraordinary seed difference, nobody expected the Wolfpack to run away with the game.  After all, they were on the wrong side of the bubble for most of Championship week.  But North Carolina State shot an amazing 58.5% from the field en route to the victory.  Richard Howell led the team with 22 points, but State picked up big contributions from Lorenzo Brown (17 points), C.J. Leslie (15 points) and Scott Wood (10 points).  The Wolfpack moves on to play #3 seed Georgetown, who finally got over their first round issues by defeating #14 seed Belmont, 74-59.

The most disappointing performance of the day for the ACC was not Duke’s loss, but #10 Virginia’s utter collapse against #7 Florida, 71-45.  While the Gators have more talent than the average #7 seed, they have not played to potential very often at all.  But a 41-23 second-half made this an unexpected blowout, ending Virginia’s surprisingly good season.  As usual, it was Mike Scott leading the way for Virginia with 15 points.

The final game of the day involved #3 Florida State and #14 St. Bonaventure.  Give credit to the Bonnies for making this game close throughout, but the Seminoles ultimately prevailed 66-63.  While Michael Snaer has been the hero for most of the season, he was absent on Friday and held scoreless on 0 for 7 shooting.  Bernard James stepped up to lead the Seminoles with 19 points.  Ugly as it was, Florida State moves on to play #6 seed Cincinnati, who defeated Texas 65-59.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, March Madness and tagged , , , , , , ,
17 Mar 2012
1 Comment

Hide Dick Vitale’s Shoelaces–Duke Eliminated By Lehigh

The Big Dance came very close to a historic upset on Thursday with Syracuse’s decision to play terribly for 35 minutes against North Carolina Asheville, but Friday produced one of the bigger upsets in NCAA Tournament History as #2 seed Duke lost to Lehigh, 75-70.  It was only the sixth time that a 15 seed has beaten a #2 (the fifth time was earlier Friday when Norfolk State defeated Missouri).  The end result, however, is that Duke is out of the tournament.

Non-Duke ACC fans will savor this–but Lehigh actually had more free throw attempts than Duke.  Significantly more–37-23.  But the real reason for the Lehigh win was the play of C.J. McCollum.  The country’s fifth leading scorer contributed 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Duke had no answer for him.  Plus, Duke was 6 for 26 from three-point range.  In losing, Duke squandered 19 point games by Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers.  The upset should not come as a total surprise as this year’s edition of Duke simply lacked the magic of prior seasons.  Losing at home to Florida State and Miami is just not typical.  And, in atypical fashion, Duke was eliminated from the Big Dance in the opening round for only the second time in 16 years.

So with Duke gone, someone keep Dukie V Dick Vitale on suicide watch.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, March Madness and tagged , , ,
13 Mar 2012

ACC Basketball Rankings: March 13, 2012

Here is how the Confidential ranks the ACC basketball schools as of March 13, 2012:

1. Syracuse (31-2)  Notwithstanding the loss to Cincinnati, Syracuse has been the best ACC team from start to finish.

2. North Carolina (29-5)  Sure, the Tar Heels were swept by Florida State.  But Florida State had four more losses overall.

3. Duke (27-6)  Like North Carolina, Duke lost to Florida State twice.  Again, however, the upsets of Duke were far more reasonable.

4. Florida State (24-9)  Give the Seminoles credit for the head-to-head victories over the teams above them here.  But to win it all, you’ve got to win the winnable games too.

5. Virginia (22-9)  Virginia has been struggling for weeks now.  Good, but not great.

6. North Carolina State (22-12).  The Wolfpack rallied in the ACC tournament to get off the bubble and into the Big Dance.  Likely at Miami’s expense.

7. Miami (19-12)  A good first season for the new Miami coaching staff.  The NIT will be good for this team, as long as they take it seriously.

8. Clemson (16-15)  At 8-8 in conference play during the regular season, Clemson fell to Virginia Tech in the ACC tourney.  Season was a stepping stone though.

9. Maryland (17-15)  At 6-10 in conference play, Maryland actually made progress.  Consider that this team was 3-3 heading into December.

10. Pittsburgh (17-16)  After starting 13-2, the team finished 4-14.  12 of those 16 losses were to teams in the Big Dance field.

11.  Virginia Tech (16-17)  A disappointing record obviously.  At some point, you’ve got to win a lot more of the close, winnable games.

12. Wake Forest (13-18) Like all the teams down this far, the Demon Deacons were a significant disappointment all season long.

13. Georgia Tech (11-20).  The new coaching staff did not have much success.  Next year should be better.

14. Boston College (9-22)  The Eagles were so young this year that the future is actually quite bright.  These were freshmen struggling, not juniors.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , ,
12 Mar 2012

The Brackets Are Unveiled and the ACC is Well-Represented

Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the NCAA has revealed the 68 teams that will compete for the National Championship.  And the ACC is well-represented in this year’s Big Dance.

North Carolina was–as expected–given a #1 seed in the Midwest.  In fact, the Tar Heels received the #3 overall seed.  They will play the winner of a play-in game between Lamar and Vermont.  The looming 8-9 matchup for North Carolina is Creighton-Alabama.

In a move that was also expected, Duke was given a #2 seed.  The Blue Devils were assigned to the South region, where Kentucky is the #1 seed.  Duke will begin play against Lehigh.  The looming 7-10 matchup for Duke is a tough one–#7 Notre Dame vs. #10 Xavier.

On the strength of their run through the ACC tournament, Florida State was given a #3 seed in the East.  The #1 seed is Syracuse, while the #2 seed in the East is Ohio State.  The Seminoles will begin play against St. Bonaventure.  If they win that game, they will face the winner of the game between #6 Cincinnati and #11 Texas.

Virginia fell all the way to a #10 seed and was shipped out West.  They will play the #7 seed Florida, who may be a bit underseeded.  Even if Virginia wins, a very tough #2 seed in Missouri awaits.  Michigan State was the #1 seed in the West.

North Carolina State was given an 11 seed.  They will begin play against the #6 seed in the Midwest region, San Diego State.  If the Wolfpack wins, they will play the winner of #3 Georgetown and #14 Belmont.

As noted above, Syracuse was the #1 seed in the East.  They will begin play against #16 seed North Carolina-Ashville.  If they take care of business there, the #8-#9 matchup features Kansas State and Southern Mississippi.

Obviously, this means that Miami did not make the cut.  While the general consensus is that Iona was the only questionable addition to the field, the greater focus is on the exclusion of Drexel.  Like all bubble teams, Miami had its chances and fell short.  The NIT certainly awaits though.

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

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