The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “game review”

14 Feb 2012

Lacrosse is Back: Weekly Report 1, February 13, 2012

It’s hard to believe, but ACC lacrosse is already back.  There were three games played over the weekend.

Recap of Last Week:

Saturday, February 11, 2012

North Carolina got the season off to a winning start by defeating Penn State, 14-10.  Junior Davey Emala led the Tar Heels with five points, including four goals.

Duke also got the season off on a winning note by defeating Rutgers, 16-8.  Senior Robert Rotanz led the Blue Devils with four goals

Sunday, February 12, 2012

North Carolina defeated Mercer 20-7.  Freshmen Joey Sankey and Chad Tutton each scored three goals in the win over, Mercer, while Sankey led the team with 6 points.

Also, Syracuse and Maryland played a scrimmage on Sunday, which Syracuse won: 11-9.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Detroit @ North Carolina, 12:00 pm

Duke @ Notre Dame, 1:00 pm

Hartford @ Maryland, 1:00 pm

Virginia @ Drexel, 2:00 pm

 

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Albany @ Syracuse, 2:00 pm

 

Records:

North Carolina  2-0

Duke  1-0

Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland  0-0

 

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Standings:

1.  North Carolina (2-0).  The season is young, but having the most wins has to count for something.  The Tar Heels get the nod.

2.  Duke (1-0).  Similarly, one win is better than zero wins.  Even if it is against Rutgers.

3.  Syracuse (0-0).  Well, they did beat Maryland in that scrimmage.

4.  Virginia (0-0).  Nothing to go on here to move them ahead of Syracuse or behind Maryland.

5.  Maryland (0-0).  Well, they did lose to Syracuse in that scrimmage.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse 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 , , , ,
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 , , , , , ,
05 Feb 2012

ACC Basketball Recap: February 4, 2012

A few teams got ready for their big rivalry games this week by winning tough games on the road.  Here is the recap for the ACC basketball action on February 4, 2012.

#5 North Carolina traveled to Maryland in a Saturday tune-up for its midweek rivalry game against Duke and came away with a hard-fought victory.  Maryland led at the half and stayed within striking distance throughout the second-half.  However, North Carolina was just too much in the end, winning 83-74.  With the loss, Maryland falls to 13-9.  Terrell Stoglin led the Terps with 20 points, while Alex Len had 9 rebounds.  North Carolina got big games out of its big three, with Tyler Zeller scoring 22 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, while Harrison Barnes added 18 points and 8 rebounds and John Henson added 17 points and 12 rebounds.  North Carolina improved to 20-3 on the season.

#2 Syracuse had an easier time in the tuneup before its midweek rivalry game against Georgetown, handling St. Johns 95-70.  The big news for the Orange was the return of Sophomore center Fab Melo, who led the Orange with 14 points.  Syracuse actually had five players with either 13 or 14 points, including Melo, CJ Fair (14), Dion Waiters (14), Kris Joseph (13), and Michael Carter-Williams (13).  Carter-Williams, a freshman, got Syracuse rolling with two first-half three pointers on consecutive possessions.  With the win Syracuse improves to 23-1, while Jim Boeheim tied Dean Smith for 3rd in career coaching wins with 879.

#21 Florida State kept the momentum going, defeating #16 Virginia 58-55.  The win was the Seminoles’ 7th straight–a first for the team since joining the ACC.  With the exception of a portion of the second half, the game was close throughout.  And Virginia had opportunities to tie in the final minute.  With the loss, Virginia drops to a still-impressive 18-4.  But with the win, Florida State maintains its tie for first place in the ACC with a 7-1 record.  The Seminoles are 16-6 overall.  The Cavs were led by Mike Scott’s 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Joe Harris also scored 16 points.  In victory, Florida State was led by reserve Okaro White’s 13 points.  Xavier Gibson was the only other Seminole in double-digits with 10 points.

North Carolina State improved to 17-7 with an 87-76 win over Wake Forest. With the loss, Wake Forest dropped to 2-7 in conference play.  CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 21 points.  All five NC State starters finished in double-figures in points: Scott Wood (23), CJ Leslie (18), CJ Williams (18), Lorenzo Brown (15), and Ty Walker (12).  Howell added 11 rebounds, while Brown added 8 assists.  And, yes, that’s three players named CJ in one game.

In other action:

  • Virginia Tech got back on the winning track with a 67-65 home win over Clemson.  Andre Young and K.J. McDaniels led the Tigers, who dropped to 11-11 on the season, with 14 points each.  The Hokies were led by Jarell Eddie’s 15 points.  Virginia Tech is now 13-10 overall, including 2-6 in ACC play.
  • Georgia Tech defeated Boston College 51-47 to force a three-way tie for last place in the ACC at 2-7 (both schools and Wake Forest).  The Eagles were led by Matt Humphrey’s 15 points.  Glen Rice, Jr., led Georgia Tech with 11 points.

 

 

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

#7 Duke Defeats Virginia Tech

At 12-9 when it hosted #7 Duke last night, the Virginia Tech Hokies had a chance to get a crucial victory.  Instead, the Blue Devils rolled to a 75-60 victory, dropping Virginia Tech to 12-10.

Although the game was tied at 21, Duke led handily for most of the game.  In fact, Duke led at the half 38-28, and that score required a three-pointer by Erick Green at the buzzer to make it that close.  Duke went on a 24-12 run to open the second-half and make the game a no-doubter.

Erick Green led Virginia Tech with 17 points and 7 rebounds.  Victory Davila added 16 points and 7 rebounds.  With the loss, Virginia Tech is now 1-6 in conference play.  Only Georgia Tech at 1-7 has a worse record in conference play.  Virginia Tech hosts Clemson on Saturday.

Duke was led by Austin Rivers with 18 points. But three other players scored in double-figures: Ryan Kelly (15), Seth Curry (11), and Mason Plumlee (10).  Plumlee added 6 rebounds.  Duke hosts Miami on Sunday,

With the win, Duke moves to 6-1 in conference play and 19-3 overall.  This puts Duke in a three-way tie with North Carolina and Florida State at 6-1.  North Carolina is 19-3 overall, while Florida State is 15-6.  However, the Seminoles have beaten both Duke and North Carolina on the season.  Duke will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday evening for the first game of the season between the two rivals.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Game Review, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , ,
01 Feb 2012

North Carolina and Virginia Keep Winning

North Carolina and Virginia each did their part in maintaining their placement in the polls last night, as both were able to win.  The #16 Cavaliers defended their home court in a 65-61 victory of Clemson.  The #5 Tar Heels handled Wake Forest on the road, 68-53.

The ugly game of the night across the nation was Illinois’ victory over Michigan State by a score of 42-41.  That is a score reminiscent of the 1940’s.  As usual, however, the abysmal shooting in that game will be rationalized as a product of “good defense.”

Well, their must have been some good defense in the North Carolina-Wake Forest game too, as the two teams shot 31.0% and 29.6% from the field.  Nevertheless, both teams were able to avoid scores in the low 40’s, in part because both teams were competent at the free throw line.  The rebounding numbers were pretty impressive too–with North Carolina edging Wake 50-36.  That’s a lot of boards.  In fact, Tyler Zeller had 18 of them, while Josh Henson added 12.  Terrell McKie led the Demon Deacons with 13 rebounds.  From a scoring standpoint, the Tar Heels only had 6 players score, but 4 of them were in double-figures, led by Zeller’s 18.  CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points.  With the loss, Wake Forest drops to 11-11.  North Carolina improves to 19-3.

Up in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers narrowly defeated Clemson in a typically slow tempo game.  In comparison to the rebound-fest described above, Virginia and Clemson combined for only 48 rebounds–with Virginia having an impressive 31-17 edge in that regard.  But the game was a nail biter for Virginia as Clemson maintained a lead into the early part of the second-half before Virginia pulled away.  The Tigers made it close down the stretch, forcing Virginia to win it at the free throw line.  Devin Booker led the Tigers, who dropped to 11-10, with 14 points.  As usual, Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Virginia improves to 18-3 and maintains its 4th place position in the conference standings.

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

ACC Basketball Recap: January 28, 2012

Here is the recap for the ACC basketball action on January 28, 2012.  It was a big day for impressive individual performances, as a few players got into the high teens in rebounds.

The big win of the day goes to… Pittsburgh, who defeated #9 Georgetown by a score of 72-60.  Bear in mind that the Panthers had lost eight straight before winning their last game.  To get that second conference win, and to do it over a very good Georgetown team, is going to rejuvenate this team.  Nasir Robinson went 9 for 9 from the field en route to a 23 point-game to lead Pitt.  Robinson added 8 rebounds too.   Lamar Patterson was another star for Pitt, with 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds.  At this juncture, every win is a big one for Pittsburgh.  But Saturday’s win was huge.  For Georgetown, this would ordinarily be chalked up as a “good” road loss.  With the Panthers’ struggles this year, that may not be the case.  Still, Georgetown is 16-4 and looking at a top seed in the Big Dance.  Otto Porter led the Hoyas with 14 points.

As a close second, how about #19 Virginia landing a road win over the streaking North Carolina State Wolfpack?  The Cavaliers won 61-60,  as Lorenzo Brown missed a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the game that would have won it for NC State.  Not surprisingly, Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points and 5 rebounds.  However, despite winning, the Cavaliers were outrebounded 40-20.  In  fact, North Carolina State’s Richard Howell almost single-handedly outrebounded Virginia by grabbing 18 boards.  With the loss, the Wolfpack dropped to 15-7 on the season.  Virginia improved to 17-3.

#3 Syracuse also overcame a poor rebounding effort, narrowly defeating visiting West Virginia, 63-61.  The Mountaineers dominated Syracuse–who was again playing without Center Fab Melo–on the glass, 36-20.  But this game was notable for its poor officiating, as the referees failed to call a rather obvious goaltending against Syracuse with less than 10 seconds to go.  However, before feeling too sorry for West Virginia, they retained possession and missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.  Had the basket counted, Syracuse would have had 9 seconds to get off a shot.  Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 20 points and 8 rebounds, but missed the three-pointer as time expired.  Brandon Triche led Syracuse with 18 points.

Visiting St. Johns rallied in the second half, but ultimately lost to #8 Duke in Durham, 83-76.  Duke had a 16-point lead at the half, which grew to 22 points during the second half.  However, the Red Storm were able to narrow the margin to only four points with 21 seconds remaining.  They would never get any closer.  St. Johns looks like it has a budding star in Moe Harkness, who scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.  The big star for Duke was Mason Plumlee, who scored 15 points and grabbed an impressive 17 rebounds.  With the win, Duke improved to 18-3 on the season and looks poised to rise a few places in the rankings this week.

Maryland got back to its winning ways with a 73-69 victory over Virginia Tech.  Credit the Hokies for making a game of it, as they trailed by 13 at the half and by as many as 16 in the second-half.  But they just dug too big a hole to get out of.  Erick Green led the Hokies with 18 points.  At 12-9, Virginia Tech is running out of time to get back on the right side of the bubble.  Terrell Stoglin was the hero for Maryland, leading the Terps with 28 points.  Maryland is now 13-7 and controls its own post-season destiny.

Finally, Clemson handed Wake Forest its 10th loss of the season, defending its home court in a 71-60 victory.  CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points, while Andre Young led the four Clemson players that scored in double-figures with 19 points of his own.  With the win, Clemson improves to 11-9.

 

 

 

 

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

This Day in ACC History: 11 Years Ago (Virginia @ Clemson)

Today, in another installment of This Day in ACC History, the Confidential takes a look at a regular season game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Clemson Tigers on January 27, 2001, a mere 11 years ago.

On January 27, 2001, Virginia took a 2-4 conference record into Clemson expecting to right the ship against the last-place Tigers.  The game was notable because it was the 100th game between the two teams.  And Virginia won in style, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in a game at Clemson, 104-76.

The Wahoos were able to win notwithstanding the efforts of Clemson Freshman Chris Hobbs.  Hobbs, a forward, led Clemson with 28 points and 9 rebounds.  He converted 10 of his 13 shots from the floor, while making 8 of 9 free throws.  Another Freshman, guard Tony Stockman, led Clemson with 5 assists.  Stockman added 13 points.  The leading scorer on the season, Junior Will Solomon, was held to 10 points, well below his season average of approximately 18 points per game.  Instead, it was Hobbs’ night, as he provided his best performance of the season.

Virginia jumped up to a 19 point halftime lead and largely coasted in the second half.  But four different players scored 17 or more points.  Junior Chris Williams led Virginia with 22 points, with the other three scoring leaders being Senior Donald Hand (20), Sophomore Travis Watson (18), and Junior Adam Hall (17).  Hall contributed 12 rebounds, while Hand added 9 assists.  Williams was the team’s leading scorer on the season in conference play, averaging 15.4 points per game.  However, on the season as a whole, Virginia was led by Sophomore Roger Mason and his 15.7 points per game.

Clemson would end the season with a disappointing 12-19 record.  Virginia went 20-9, with the season ending in a first-round loss to Gonzaga in the Big Dance.

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

Virginia's Chris Williams led a quartet of high scorers as Virginia dominated Clemson, 104-76. Image courtesy of http://www.euroleague.net/

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 , , , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →