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ACC Basketball Recap: Third Round ACC Tournament Action

The third round of the ACC Conference Championship has concluded.  The Championship games is now set, with North Carolina facing Florida State.

Of the two semifinal games, the only one with NCAA tournament implications was the North Carolina-North Carolina State matchup.  After losing to North Carolina, 69-67, the Wolfpack are going to have to sweat it out today when the field of 68 is announced.  This was a golden opportunity for a win because the Tar Heels were forced to play without John Henson, who has a sprained wrist.  But North Carolina still had Tyler Zeller, who contributed 23 points and 9 rebounds.  Meanwhile, Harrison Barnes added 16 points and Kendall Marshall had 10 assists.  The Wolfpack were led by CJ Leslie’s 22 points and 7 rebounds, all the more impressive since he fouled out with 8 minutes to go.  The Wolfpack bench lost track of the foul totals.  North Carolina improved to 29-4, while North Carolina State fell to 22-12.

In the other semifinal matchup, Florida State defeated Duke, 62-59.  Florida State led by as many as 10 points in the second-half, but Duke had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds.  Michael Snaer led the Seminoles with 16 points.  Austin Rivers led the Blue Devils with 19 points.  With the loss, Duke drops to 27-6.  With the win, Florida State improves to 23-9.

The results of these games mean that Florida State with play North Carolina for the ACC Championship.  In their prior meeting, Florida State embarrassed North Carolina 90-57.  Naturally, the Tar Heels will be looking for revenge.

 

 

 

 

ACC Basketball Recap: Second Round ACC Tournament Action

The second round of the ACC Conference Championship has concluded.  Four teams advanced on March 9, 2012: North Carolina State, Duke, North Carolina, and Florida State.

As noted yesterday, North Carolina State is a team that many consider to be on the wrong side of the bubble.  So it was huge for the Wolfpack to come up with a victory over Virginia in the ACC Tournament, 67-64.  The big hero for North Carolina State was CJ Leslie, who scored 19 points and added 14 rebounds.  With the win, North Carolina State will move on to play North Carolina.  Mike Scott led Virginia with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The news was not as good for Miami.  Florida State defeated the Hurricanes, 82-71.  The Seminoles were led by Michael Snaer’s 20 points.   Shane Larkin led Miami with 16 points.  Joe Lunardi has Miami as the second team in the “Last Four Out.”  For more analysis on Miami’s chances, see here.

In the other quarterfinal games, Duke defeated Virginia Tech, 60-56.  North Carolina defeated Maryland, 85-69.  In New York City, Syracuse suffered only its second loss of the season, losing to Cincinnati, 71-68.  The biggest news of these three games, however, was the wrist injury suffered by John Henson.  Right now, it is being called a sprain.

Saturday’s games:

  • #1 North Carolina v #5 North Carolina State 1:00 pm
  • #2 Duke v #3 Florida State, 3:00 pm

The Championship game will, of course, be Sunday afternoon.

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 4, March 8, 2012

Amazingly, the ACC lacrosse season is already a few weeks old.

News:

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Virginia #1, receiving 19 of the 20 first place votes.  Maryland is #4, Syracuse is #6, North Carolina is #8, and Duke is #9.  The USILA Coaches Poll is the same, except that Virginia has all 9 first place votes and Duke is ranked #11.

Recap of Last Week:

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Maryland 10, Duke 7.  “Senior Drew Snider had a hat trick to lead the No. 5 Maryland men’s lacrosse team to at 10-7 victory over No. 8 Duke in front of 4,137 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium Saturday afternoon.”

Lehigh 9, North Carolina 8.  “Lehigh outscored North Carolina 5-0 over a span of 25:11 from the second through fourth quarters and went on to beat the fourth-ranked Tar Heels 9-8 at Fetzer Field Saturday night. The loss was the first for the Tar Heels against an unranked team at Fetzer Field since March 5, 2004 when Navy downed Carolina 9-8 in overtime.”

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Virginia 14, Syracuse 10.  “Colin Briggs scored three goals and assisted another to help the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (5-0) top the No. 3 Syracuse Orange (2-1) on Sunday evening, 14-10, in front of 5,855 fans inside Klöckner Stadium.”

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

UMBC 8, Maryland 7.

Penn 10, North Carolina 6.

Virginia 16, Vermont 10.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, March 10, 2012:

North Carolina v Princeton.

Duke @ Loyala.

Marist @ Maryland.

Virginia v Cornell

Syracuse @ St. John’s.

Monday, March 12, 2012:

Harvard @ Duke.

Records:

Virginia 6-0 (0-0 in conference).

Maryland 3-1 (1-0 in conference)

North Carolina 4-2 (0-0 in conference)

Duke 3-2 (0-1 in conference)

Syracuse 2-1

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Virginia (6-0).  Virginia has been simply dominant this year.

2.  Syracuse (2-1).  Syracuse tested Virginia for a significant time, before ultimately falling.

3.  Maryland (3-1).  Despite the loss to UMBC, Maryland did beat Duke in a conference matchup.

4.  North Carolina (4-2).  North Carolina’s losses to Lehigh and Penn were disappointments.

5.  Duke (3-2).  No shame in losing to Maryland.  But that’s two losses now for Duke. 

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

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for March 7, 2012

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for March 7, 2012:

  1. Syracuse (30-1).  Syracuse looked very good in its home finale against Louisville, a team that has historically solved the 2-3 zone.
  2. Kentucky (30-1).  Kentucky is a team on a mission.  Is this the year for Coach Calipari?
  3. North Carolina (27-4).  The preseason favorites are rounding into form at the right time.  Nobody will want to play the Tar Heels.
  4. Kansas (26-5).  There has been a lot of rotation between the teams ranked 3rd through 8th… this week Kansas moves up to #4.
  5. Missouri (27-4).  Missouri looked very good defeating Iowa State and Texas Tech.  Recovered from a tough week the week before.
  6. Duke (26-5).  Lost big to North Carolina, leaving the Blue Devils with 2nd place in the ACC.  Tiebreaker in the ACC tournament perhaps?
  7. Ohio State (25-6).  Wins over motivated teams like Northwestern and Michigan State suggest that Ohio State is also peaking at the right time.
  8. Marquette (25-6).  Loss at Cincinnati was disappointing, but Marquette handled a very good Georgetown team to end the regular season.
  9. Michigan State (24-7).  No real shame in losing to Indiana and Ohio State.  Being handled by Indiana, even on the road, was surprising.
  10. Georgetown (22-7).  The Hoyas split a tough week–beating Notre Dame and losing to Marquette.  The slight edge over Baylor due to foe quality.
  11. Baylor (25-6).  Iowa State really needed to beat Baylor.  And did.  The Bears are still primed to make some noise in March Madness.
  12. Michigan (23-8).  Michigan got important wins to keep its hopes for a #3 seed alive, even if Illinois and Penn State are not great teams.
  13. Wisconsin (23-8).  The Badgers got two more wins, over Minnesota and Illinois, keep pace with the Big 10 leaders.
  14. Indiana (24-7).  Wins over Michigan State and Purdue–a great way to end the surprise turnaround season.  Especially in a deep year for the Big 10.
  15. Murray State (30-1).  Murray State struggled in the conference tournament championship game, but pulled out the victory late.  Teams on the bubble everywhere exhaled.
  16. Florida State (21-9).  The Seminoles finished strong, beating Virginia and suddenly challenging Clemson during the final week.  A lot of good wins for this Seminole team.
  17. Creighton (28-5).  With so many teams ahead of them losing, Creighton takes advantage with its three-win sweep of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
  18. San Diego State (24-6).  Like Creighton, San Diego State was able to avoid losing this past week.  Even if the wins were not overly impressive, they did not lose.
  19. UNLV (25-7).  UNLV lost to Colorado State, but rallied to defeat a good Wyoming team to end the regular season.  Up next?  Wyoming again.
  20. Wichita State (27-5).  The Shockers were shocked in the MWC tournament by Illinois State.  Still, this team is looking solid for an at-large bid.
  21. Notre Dame (21-10).  Notre Dame got back in the winning way with a victory over Providence.  Now it is on to the Big Apple to make some noise in the Big East tournament.
  22. Virginia (22-8).  Virginia lost to Florida State at home, which hurt.  But they got a key overtime win over Maryland to stop the losing streak.
  23. Louisville (22-9).  The Cardinals are really struggling offensively right now.  Also playing and losing to very good teams.
  24. Florida (22-9).  No shame in losing at Vanderbilt and to Kentucky.  But the Gators are really tacking on the losses right now.
  25. Temple (24-6).  A couple of nice wins over Massachusetts and Fordham to end the season on a high note.  A very good profile for the Owls.
  26. Virginia Commonwealth (28-6).  Three more wins for Virginia Commonwealth.  Big win to qualify for the Big Dance.
  27. Iowa State (22-9).  In a week with games against Missouri and Baylor, winning the home game and losing the road game is a fine result.  A tourney lock at this point.
  28. St. Mary’s (27-5).  St. Mary’s gets the edge over Gonzaga by defeating them in the West Coast Conference tournament championship game.
  29. Gonzaga (25-6).  See above.
  30. Vanderbilt (21-10).  Vandy responded to the nice win against Florida by losing to in-state rival Tennessee to conclude the season.

Tell us what you think.  Is anyone unfairly missing?  Anyone too high or too low?

ACC Basketball Rankings: March 6, 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 March 6, 2012:

1. Syracuse (30-1)  What more can you say?  30-1 with a Big East schedule, plus victories over Florida, North Carolina State, Stanford, and Virginia Tech.

2. North Carolina (27-4)  North Carolina appears to be peaking at the right point of the season.  After getting demolished by Florida State, the Tar Heels won 12 of 13 down the stretch.

3. Duke (26-5)  Duke has had a great season.  Had the Blue Devils beat North Carolina they would have been a #1 seed in the Big Dance.

4. Florida State (21-9The Seminoles were an impressive 12-4 in conference play.  Plus, they beat Virginia last week.

5. Virginia (22-8)  One of three 9-7 teams, Virginia has had the best season start-to-finish.  The best overall record too.

6Miami (18-11)  Miami and North Carolina State are squarely on the bubble.  Need some ACC tournament wins to feel safe.

7. North Carolina State (20-11).  Missed some opportunities down the stretch.  Probably need to win two in the ACC tournament to get off the bubble.

8. Clemson (16-14)  Clemson is now 7-7 in conference play.  They followed up the win over Virginia by beating Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.

9. Maryland (16-12)  After beating Miami, Maryland was primed to move up a few spots.  But then they lost to Georgia Tech.

10.  Virginia Tech (15-14)  This team has had more closes losses.  This past week was a 2-point loss to Virginia and an OT loss to Duke.

11. Pittsburgh (15-14)  Pittsburgh’s small momentum is over.  Hard to believe this team was once 13-2.

12. Wake Forest (13-15) They did beat Boston College by nearly 30.  Not a bad way to end the week.

13. Georgia Tech (10-18).  The losing streak is over.  And Georgia Tech beat a good Maryland team to accomplish that task.

14. Boston College (8-20)  Boston College had been showing some signs of life.  Losing by 29 to a sub .500 Wake Forest team is not such a sign.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

North Carolina Wraps Up ACC Regular Season Title

The game of the day in the ACC on March 3, 2012, was the matchup between #4 Duke and #6 North Carolina.  Both teams were tied for #1 overall in the ACC with their identical 13-2 conference records and 26-4 overall records.  But North Carolina dominated Duke on Saturday, winning 88-70.

Not only was it an 18-point victory, but North Carolina led by 24 at the half.  The Tar Heels out-rebounded Due–normally a good rebounding team–42 to 22.  North Carolina shot 54.5% from the field and limited Duke to a mere 41.3%.  As is the case whenever Duke is at home, the Blue Devils had more free throw attempts than the visitor.  But Duke only made 57.1% of their attempts, compared to North Carolina’s 80%.  Simply domination.

The numbers jump off the page.  All five North Carolina starters finished in double-figures:

  • Kendall Marshall: 20 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds
  • Tyler Zeller: 19 points, 10 rebounds
  • Harrison Barnes: 16 points, 4 rebounds
  • John Henson: 13 points, 10 rebounds
  • Reggie Bullock: 12 points, 6 rebounds

While North Carolina’s depth is questionable, no team has five starters that can do that kind of damage.  With a nice showing in the ACC tournament, the Tar Heels may yet end up with a #1 seed.

For Duke, it is a disappointing effort ending an otherwise decent regular season.  There have to be concerns about the defense.  But this is a Duke team that lost to Florida State and Miami at home.  Mason Plumlee had 17 points, while Miles Plumlee added 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Austin Rivers also had 15 points.  All told, losing to North Carolina in this fashion is not as disturbing as North Carolina’s undressing by Florida State.  This is not a vintage Duke team, but it can do some damage in March.

The Confidential will have a weekend recap Monday morning…

ACC Basketball: Final Weekend of Regular Season Games

Unfortunately, the ACC basketball season–at least the regular season–is about to come to an end.  This weekend will be the second-to-last games for several teams.  However, there is still much to be decided.

The current standings:

ACC
Team Conf. W-L Tot. W-L
Duke 13-2 26-4
North Carolina 13-2 26-4
Florida St. 11-4 20-9
Virginia 8-7 21-8
N.C. State 8-7 19-11
Miami (Fla.) 8-7 17-11
Clemson 8-7 16-13
Maryland 6-9 16-13
Virginia Tech 4-11 15-15
Wake Forest 4-11 13-16
Boston College 4-11 9-20
Georgia Tech 3-12 10-19

The games themselves will sort out a lot today.

The key game, of course, is the matchup between #4 Duke and #6 North Carolina.  It always is.  The intensity is even greater when the two teams enter the game with identical records at 26-4 overall and 13-2 in conference.  And today’s game just happens to be for the regular season title and the #1 seed in the ACC tournament.  So there’s that.

While #22 Florida State has third place all locked up, there is a 4-way tie for 4th place between Virginia, North Carolina State, Miami, and Clemson.  Miami has the easiest path, playing 9-20 Boston College.  Clemson has the toughest opponent, traveling to #22 Florida State on Sunday.  On Sunday, #24 Virginia will travel to Maryland for its finale, while North Carolina State travels to Virginia Tech.  The only other game features Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.

Meanwhile, #2 Syracuse will conclude its regular season on Saturday by hosting #17 Louisville.  Pittsburgh will travel to Connecticut in a battle between two disappointing teams.

 

Bracketology Update: ACC Style

There are now several individuals that offer predictions as to who is going to be part of the 68-team field for the Big Dance.  Here is where the major ones currently stand with respect to ACC teams:

As of February 29, 2012, ESPN “bracketologist” Joe Lunardi has Syracuse and five current ACC teams making the field.  In addition to the obvious Duke and North Carolina, Lunardi has Florida State, Virginia, and Miami.  The respective seeds are Syracuse (#1), Duke (#1), North Carolina (#2), Florida State (#4), Virginia (#8), and Miami (#12).  Hard to disagree with that. Florida State’s narrow victory over Virginia last night, 63-60, is not likely to change his analysis.

ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan has the same basic structure for teams either in the field or close to it.  Surprisingly, he has completely eliminated North Carolina State from consideration.  With a 19-11 record, this seems a bit hasty.  Especially after North Carolina State just beat Miami.

CBS’s Jerry Palm is not quite as positive.  Palm does not have Miami in his field currently.  So that leaves only Syracuse (#1), Duke (#1), North Carolina (#2), Florida State (#6), and Virginia (#9).  Palm is definitely “cool” on ACC teams as everyone beyond a #2 seed is at least one round lower than Lunardi.

Mike Huguenin of Rivals/Yahoo has a blend of Lunardi and Palm.  He has the teams just like Palm does in terms of seeding.  But unlike Palm, and like Lunardi, he also has Miami in the field as a #12 seed.

Finally, the interesting site the Bracket Project pulls from 50+ bracket projections.  After combining the various brackets, this is the national consensus:

  • Syracuse is a #1 seed and second overall
  • Duke is a #1 seed and third overall
  • North Carolina is a #2 seed and sixth overall
  • Florida State is a #5 seed
  • Virginia is a #8 seed
  • Miami is a #12 seed
  • North Carolina State is 7 spots out of the final at-large position.

So there it is.  Barring a run by North Carolina State, only Miami really seems on the fence for the Big Dance right now.  Hard to believe that brackets will be announced in just 9 days.

Lacrosse is Back: Weekly Report 3, February 29, 2012

ACC lacrosse is off and running.

News:

The Virginia Cavaliers remain ranked #1 in the latest Nike Top 20.  North Carolina is #4, Maryland is #5, Syracuse is #6, and Duke is #8.   In the coaches poll, Virginia is also #1.  However, Syracuse leapfrogs up to #3, ahead of North Carolina at #4 and Maryland at #5.  Duke is #10 in that poll.

Recap of Last Week:

Friday, February 24, 2012

Maryland 16-Georgetown 11.  Senior Joe Cummings set a career-high with six points to lead Maryland

Duke 12-Penn 8.  Duke University sophomore attackman Josh Dionne led Duke with four goals and Jordan Wolf added his first hat trick of the season.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

North Carolina 9-Navy 8.  Thomas Wood and Marcus Holman led the way for UNC with nine combined points

Virginia 12-Stony Brook 5.  Colin Briggs scored a career-high seven points to lead the #1 Virginia Cavaliers to victory.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Duke 16-Jacksonville 7.  Sophomore Jordan Wolf led the 10th-ranked Blue Devils with a career-high five goals and two assists for seven points.

Syracuse 10-Army 9.    Army midfielder Alex Van Krevel’s shot with three seconds to play bounced off the helmet of Syracuse goalie, Dominick Lamolinara.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Virginia 17-Mount St. Mary’s 5.  Virginia Chris Bocklet tied a career high with six goals to pace the No. 1 Cavaliers.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Duke @ Maryland

Lehigh @ North Carolina

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Syracuse @ Virginia

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Maryland @ UMBC

North Carolina @ Penn

Vermont @ Virginia

Records:

Virginia & North Carolina  4-0

Maryland & Syracuse 2-0

Syracuse and Maryland 1-0

Duke  3-1

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  North Carolina (4-0).  North Carolina has beaten Navy and Penn State.  Slightly better than Virginia’s opponents.

2.  Virginia (4-0).  Virginia has played a lot of games, but has not been tested.  Syracuse will change that.

3.  Maryland (2-0).  Maryland looked good in defeating Georgetown.  Gets the slight edge over Syracuse for now.

4. Syracuse (2-0).  Syracuse eked out a victory over perennial thorn-in-its-side Army.  Still adjusting to new faces.

5.  Duke (1-1).  Still at the bottom due to the defeat.  Eventually Duke will move up.

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

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for February 28, 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 28, 2012:

  1. Syracuse (29-1).  Another road win for Syracuse as it continues its best season ever, this time over Connecticut.   One regular season game left.  Next up: Louisville.
  2. Kentucky (28-1).  What more can be said about Anthony Davis?  This team is rolling.  Next up: Georgia.
  3. Michigan State (24-5).  Two more wins, albeit over less than daunting competition.  It gets tougher.  Next up: @ Indiana.
  4. Duke (25-4).  Big win over Florida State, followed up by narrow win at home over Va Tech.  Next up: @ Wake Forest.
  5. Kansas (25-5).  Big win over Missouri.  Avoided the let down against Oklahoma State too.  Next up: Texas.
  6. North Carolina (25-4).  Two big wins over North Carolina State and Virginia.  Matchup with Duke looms.  Next up: Maryland.
  7. Missouri (25-4).  Tough week, with losses to both Kansas State and Kansas.  Is the lack of depth catching up to the Tigers?  Next up: Iowa State.
  8. Marquette (24-5).  Suspended four players for the first half and still beat a good West Virginia team.  Marquette is dangerous.  Next up: @ Cincinnati.
  9. Baylor (25-5).  Struggled with the upper echelon of the Big XII, but beating up on the middle of the pack.  Next up: @ Iowa State.
  10. Ohio State (23-6).  Home loss to Wisconsin hurts a little, but this is still a very good team.  Will be a challenge in March.  Next up: @ Northwestern.
  11. Georgetown (22-6).  The Hoyas have now won two in a row, after losing to Seton Hall.  The Notre Dame win was particularly impressive.  Next up: @ Marquette.
  12. Michigan (21-8).  Despite losing to Purdue, it is difficult to move anyone ahead of the Wolverines.  Next up: @ Illinois.
  13. Wisconsin (21-8).  The Badgers are alternating wins and losses.  This past week, a loss to Iowa followed by a win over Ohio State.  Next up: Minnesota.
  14. Murray State (28-1).  The one minor conference team that has punched its ticket to the Big Dance.  They need to keep winning though.  Next up: Conference Tourney.
  15. Wichita State (26-4).  The Shockers will be the #1 seed in the always tough MWC tournament.  A very nice season, indeed.  Next up: Conference Tourney.
  16. Indiana (22-7).  That’s give Big 10 teams in the top 16.  The wins were not impressive, but certainly better than losses.  Next up: Michigan State.
  17. Louisville (22-7).  Loss to Cincinnati hurts a bit, but the Cardinals rebounded against disappointing Pittsburgh.  They cannot overlook South Florida. Next up: South Florida.
  18. Florida (22-7).  If Florida was in a deeper conference, this might be a 10-loss team.  The loss to Georgia is inexplicable.  Next up: @ Vanderbilt.
  19. Virginia (21-7).  There are worse crimes than losing to North Carolina.  Even at home.  Next up: Florida State.
  20. Florida State (19-9).  The Seminoles have hit a rough patch.  A great chance to right the ship against Virginia.  Next up: @ Virginia.
  21. UNLV (24-6).  UNLV is starting to get some momentum back.  Two decent wins, with a tough road game coming up.  Next up: @ Colorado State.
  22. San Diego State (22-6).  San Diego State got two good wins last week.  This team will make some noise in March.  Next up: @ Boise State.
  23. Notre Dame (20-10).  After winning 8 in a row, Notre Dame has now lost two in a row.  They are in the Big Dance with all the good wins though.  Next up: Providence.
  24. Vanderbilt (20-9).  There is no shame in losing to Kentucky.  This is an improved Vanderbilt team.  Next up: Florida.
  25. Temple (22-6).  Lost to St. Josephs was bad, but not awful.  Temple still has plenty of good wins.  Next up: Massachusetts.
  26. Iowa State (21-8).  Jumps into the top 30 with two more wins.  Hard to ignore an 11-5 conference record in the Big XII.  Next up: @ Missouri.
  27. South Florida (18-11).  This team has a lot of losses, but most were early in the season when not at full strength.  11-5 in the Big East is good.  Next up: @ Louisville.
  28. St. Mary’s (25-5).  With a 14-2 conference record, St. Mary’s is the #1 seed in the conference.  Is it enough for an at-large?  Next up: Conference Tourney.
  29. Virginia Commonwealth (25-6).  Two more wins for the Rams.  And it is on to the conference tourney.  Next up: Conference Tourney.
  30. Creighton (25-5).  Two more wins for Creighton.  On to the conference tourney.  Next up: Conference Tourney.

Tell us what you think.  Is anyone unfairly missing?  Anyone too high or too low?

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