The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “game review”

21 Apr 2012

2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Game Set

The Championship Game for the 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship is now set.  Following Friday’s two semifinal games, Duke will be playing North Carolina for the Championship.

In the 2-3 game between North Carolina and Virginia, the Cavaliers continued their late season swoon by falling to the Tar Heels, 11-9.  The game was a see-saw affair for the first three quarters, as neither team was able to mount a lead of more than 1 goal.  However, once North Carolina got to a 7-6 lead, it never trailed again.    Attackman Marcus Holman was the leading goal scorer for North Carolina with three goals, while Joey Sankey added five points with two goals and three assists.  Steele Stanwick of Virginia scored 7 points to lead the Cavaliers.  For North Carolina, it was its first win over Virginia since 2004.

In the other semifinal game, red-hot Duke defeated suddenly surging Maryland 6-5.  The low scoring affair was close throughout.  Duke did have a 6-4 lead, before allowing Maryland to get within one goal.  And then Maryland had a few opportunities in the final minutes to tie, before ultimately falling short.  Duke’s Josh Dionne was a star for the Blue Devils with a hat trick.  In the end, Duke protects its number 1 seed and will move on to Sunday’s Championship game against rival North Carolina.

Championship Game details:  Duke v North Carolina.  3 p.m.  The game will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3.  Good luck to both teams.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , ,
20 Apr 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 8, April 20, 2012

The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…

News/Rankings:

The big news this week was Duke defeating Virginia 13-5.  Duke has been on a roll, so a win over Virginia would not have been entirely shocking.  But to win by 8 goals?  NOBODY saw that coming.

With all the losses, Loyola of Maryland and Massachusetts are atop the standings right now.  Both teams are undefeated.

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Duke at #5, with no first place votes.  Virginia is #6, Maryland is #8, North Carolina is #9, and Syracuse is #14.

In the USILA Coaches Poll, Virginia is #4 with 4 of the 0 first place votes.  Duke is #7, Maryland is #8, North Carolina is #9, and Syracuse is #15.

Recent Scores:

Tuesday, April 10, 2012:

Cornell 12-Syracuse 6, Recap

Friday, April 13, 2012:

Duke 13-Virginia 5, Recap

Saturday, April 14, 2012:

Syracuse 19-Rutgers 6, Recap

North Carolina 12-Hofstra 9, Recap

Maryland 9-Johns Hopkins 6, Recap

Tuesday, April 17, 2012:

Syracuse 13-Hobart 12, Recap

Upcoming Games:

The 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament:

Friday, April 20, 2012 (semifinals)

#4 Maryland v #1 Duke, 5:00 p.m.

#3 North Carolina v #2 Virginia, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Championship, 3:00 p.m.

Other Games:

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Georgetown @ Syracuse, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Maryland @ Mount Saint Mary’s, 7:00 p.m.

 

Records:

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

Duke 11-3 (2-1 in conference)

North Carolina 9-4 (1-2 in conference)

Maryland 7-3 (1-2 in conference)

Syracuse 7-5

 

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Duke (11-3).  After a tough start, Duke has rebounded and dominated Virginia.

2.  Virginia (10-2).  After a great start, Virginia is fading a bit.  Collapsed against Duke.

3.  North Carolina (9-4).  With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.

4.  Maryland (7-3).  Maryland has an extra few games to show it deserves an upgrade.

5.  Syracuse (7-5).  Too many losses.  And not enough impressive wins.

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 , , , , , , , ,
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 , , , , , , , ,
03 Apr 2012

Kentucky Wins National Title

If, by chance, you were living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you might not have noticed that Kentucky defeated Kansas to win the National Championship last night, 67-59.  For John Calipari, his recruitment of one-and-done players has finally panned out with a national title.  For the rest of college basketball, it is a bit disappointing that such a non-traditional roster was able to achieve what it did.  Still, there is no question that Kentucky was the best team in college basketball in 2011-2012.  The team deserves the title.

For most ACC fans, there is little to really complain about.  Other than North Carolina and Syracuse, nobody was going to beat Kentucky.  Not Duke.  Kentucky was that good.

For North Carolina and Syracuse, there is disappointment.  A healthy Tar Heels squad would have competed with Kentucky.  After all, Kentucky only beat North Carolina 73-72 when both teams were at full strength.  Of course, the Tar Heels were not healthy for most of the last several weeks of the season.  Ultimately, no rematch happened for the 32-6 Tar Heels.

Syracuse did not suffer injuries, but was plagued by the academic (allegedly) woes of Fab Melo.  The Orange battled valiantly without the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.  At the same time, the Kentucky front line would have given the 34-3 Syracuse Orange all it could handle.  Plus, Kentucky’s outside shooting last night suggested that the zone might not have posed much of a problem–especially without Melo.

In the end, it was Kentucky’s year.  Although bittersweet, it is what it is.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review 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 , , , , , , , ,
30 Mar 2012

Pittsburgh Defeats Washington State, Wins CBI

The 2011-2012 edition of the Pittsburgh Panthers basketball team will not go down in history as a good one.  At one point, the team was 11-1 and looking like a fairly normal edition–except for a stunning home loss to Long Beach State.  And then Pitt lost to Wagner. And then Pitt lost its first 7 conference games.  By the end of the regular season, Pittsburgh was a pedestrian 16-15.  But, while this team will not go down in history as a great team, it will go down as the champions of the 2012 College Basketball Invitational after defeating Washington State 71-65.

The hero for Pittsburgh was Lamar Patterson, who scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished five assists en route to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.  Pittsburgh was able to win even without star Ashton Gibbs, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.  Of course, Washington State was playing without its leading scorer, Brock Motum, who injured his ankle against Oregon State.  Motum was the Pac 12’s leading scorer.

Even without the leading scorers, both teams played a competitive Best of 3 series.  The total margin of victory in all three games 11 points.  Tonight’s game was the most “lopsided,” if it can be called that.

All in all, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has to be pleased with the ability to get his young team all these additional games.  The Panthers end the season with a 21-17 record.

And a trophy.  Nobody else in the ACC can say that.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , ,
26 Mar 2012

North Carolina’s Great Season Comes to An End

The 2011-2012 edition of the North Carolina Tar Heels was a “National Championship or Bust” edition.  With that much future NBA talent, there was simply no result other than a championship that would have been enough.  Along the way, Dexter Strickland was lost to injury.  Then John Henson went down.  And just as Henson returned, Kendall Marshall suffered an injury and never returned.  Without a key component of the offense, it is not surprising that Kansas defeated North Carolina on Sunday, 80-67.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the game was that Kansas out-rebounded North Carolina 39-30.  With a frontcourt of Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and John Henson, the Tar Heels were used to putting up gaudy rebound totals.  The trio combined for only 14 against Kansas.  The Jayhawks had the size up front to hold their own and it helped take away a North Carolina strength.

James Michael McAdoo came off the bench to lead the Tar Heels with 15 points. Barnes added 13, while Zeller scored 12.  Henson only scored 10 points.  Ultimately, the big trip produced a disappointing total of 35 points and 14 rebounds–well off their season average of 48 and 25.

Notwithstanding the preseason hype, North Carolina still finished a respectable 32-6.  While the fans and team hoped for more, it is hard to lose a key player in March.  That North Carolina could not overcome that is not surprising.  Disappointing, but not surprising.

With Syracuse and North Carolina losing, the Final Four of Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, and Kansas will not feature any ACC teams.  For diehard ACC fans, Pittsburgh will play Washington State today in the CBI tournament.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review, March Madness and tagged , , , , , , ,
25 Mar 2012

Syracuse’s Great Season Comes to an End

The 2011-2012 edition of Syracuse Basketball will undoubtedly go down as one of the best ever.   The team finished 34-3 overall, including 17-1 in Big East play.  But that season ended last night with a 77-70 loss to Ohio State.

As good as the Syracuse-Wisconsin game was, last night’s game was a harder game to watch.  The referees decided to impact the outcome.  Ohio State star center Jared Sullinger was whistled for his second foul with 13 minutes remaining in the first half on a play where he, at most, breathed on Syracuse’s Dion Waiters.  Conversely, Syracuse had 12 fouls in the first half compared to Ohio State’s six.  And with 12 minutes to go in the second half, Syracuse had 3 players with 4 fouls.  The referees just did not let these two great teams play.

Still, Syracuse had its chances to win.  It squandered the first half–when Sullinger was on the bench.  It settled to contested jump shots, rather than driving to the void at the basket left by Sullinger’s absence.  Syracuse also missed several layups.  And then down the stretch, Seniors Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine had three consecutive turnovers to destroy any momentum.  A great season coming to a difficult end.

2012-2013 promises to be interesting for Syracuse.  There will be lots of questions.  Will Fab Melo come back?  Will Dion Waiters come back?  Who will replace Kris Joseph?  Who will replace Scoop Jardine?  Will Rakeem Christmas–who played better as a freshman than Fab Melo–make a similar leap in the off season?  The one thing that is likely is that a Jim Boeheim-coached team will find a way to keep Syracuse in the spotlight.

I guess one more question–will Syracuse officially be an ACC team for 2012-2013 or will it still be in the Big East?  These are interesting times.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, March Madness 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 , , , , , , , ,
20 Mar 2012

Other Post-Season Games

While everyone awaits the Sweet 16 matchups on Thursday and Friday, there are two other ACC teams in post-season action: Miami and Pittsburgh.  Unfortunately, one of those two teams had its season end last night.

Miami’s season came to an end with a 78-60 loss to Minnesota in the NIT.  As Miami was the #2 seed and playing at home, while Minnesota was a #6 seed, this was an upset.  A convincing upset.  Minnesota jumped out quickly, taking a 12-point advantage over Miami into halftime.  The Hurricanes never recovered.  The team shot 34.4% from the field for the game, including 16.6% from three-point range.  Minnesota finished the game with a 37-19 rebounding edge.  Dion Brown led Miami with 16 points.  The Hurricanes finish the season 20-13.

In the College Basketball Invitational, Pittsburgh defended its home court by defeating Princeton, 82-61.  Pitt jumped out to a 49-25 halftime lead.  For the game, Pitt held Princeton to just 41.1% shooting.  Several Panthers finished in double-figures in scoring:

  • Lamar Patterson, 19 points
  • Tray Woodall, 15 points
  • Nasir Robinson, 12 points
  • Talib Zanna, 11 points
  • Ashton Gibbs, 10 points

With an offensive performance like that, Princeton was no match for Pitt.  Princeton was also outrebounded 37-26.  All in all it was a vintage Pittsburgh performance.  With the win, the Panthers improve to 19-16 on the season.  They will face Butler in the semifinals on Wednesday.

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

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →