The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “North Carolina”

21 May 2013
6 Comments

ACC Baseball Tourney

The pools and games have been set for this years ACC Baseball Tournament.  With North Carolina being the top ranked team in the country almost the entire year and the ACC #1 conference RPI, this should be a very exciting tourney.

Pool A                                           Pool B
#1 North Carolina                     #2 Florida St
#4 NC State                                #3 Virginia
#5 Clemson                                #6 Virginia Tech
#8 Miami                                    #7 Georgia

Each team will play each other in their pool Here’s a look at the tournament schedule:

Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in Baseball, Louisville Correspondent, Predictions, Schedule, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , ,
20 May 2013
7 Comments

Revenue Sports Decade in Review

Last week, we analyzed the last decade of ACC performances in football and basketball.  There were some surprises.  For example, Boston College in football and Florida State in basketball.  But what does it mean overall?  How about a ranking of the performances of all schools in both sports?  Here you go.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
18 May 2013
5 Comments

ACC Basketball: A Decade in Review and Prediction for the New ACC

The ACC records for the last decade of football was posted by acaffrey earlier this week so I thought it would be fun to see the numbers for the basketball side of the conference.  I believe the biggest surprise over the last decade of ACC basketball has been the emergence of Florida State as the third winningest program in the conference behind Duke and North Carolina, a period that includes an ACC tournament championship for the Noles.

1. Duke 123-39 76%:  Arguable one of the most successful decades in conference history.  Duke has won at least 10 conference games in 9 of the last 10 years.  During the last decade Duke has won one NCAA title, 3 ACC Regular Season titles, and 6 ACC Tournament titles.

2. North Carolina 117-45 72%:  The baby blue (UNC) and navy blue (Duke) have dominated the conference in hoops.  Although Duke has a better conference record, North Carolina won 2 NCAA titles during the Roy Williams era (which started in 2003-04).  The Heels have also won 6 ACC Regular Season titles and 2 ACC Tournament titles during that time.

3.  Florida State 85-77 52%:  How in the world did the biggest name in ACC college football climb so high in the basketball centric ACC?  Leonard Hamilton.  Hamilton’s teams consistently play above their talent level through hard work and relentless defense.  However, FSU could be hit the hardest from the most recent conference expansion as the competition for 3rd place in the conference gets considerably tougher.

Read more…

Posted by wtnoleacc in Basketball, March Madness, Opinion, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 May 2013
2 Comments

State recruits Jr QB

Just scanning the Charlotte Observer website and came across this tidbit:  Charlotte West Mecklenburg Junior QB Jalan McClendon has commited to the Wolfpack.  Here’s the link:

http://prepinsiders.blogspot.com/2013/05/west-meck-qb-jalen-mcclendon-commits-to.html

Two things here interest me greatly; Jalan’s coach states that the Pack intends “to build a program around him”, and the fact that he was recruited by both Miami and UNC, two conference rivals including the in-state one that usually snaps up everybody locally.

Of course it will be some time before McClendon actually puts on red and white, so there is plenty of time for him to change his mind.  But for now this looks like at least a minor recruiting coup for Dave Doeren and his staff.

If any readers went to West Meck, please let me know more about this kid.  It would be interesting to hear from someone who has seen him first-hand.

Posted by mikemab2000 in ACC only, NC State Correspondent, Recruiting and tagged , , , ,
17 May 2013
16 Comments

ACC Should Add Johns Hopkins for Lacrosse

The Blue Ribbon panel appointed by Johns Hopkins University to evaluate the pros and cons of joining a conference for lacrosse as an associate member has issued its report.  The report recommends pursuing a conference affiliation.  The Confidential believes that the ACC should add Johns Hopkins as an associate member for lacrosse only.

First, the ACC needs a sixth team.  Duke, Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, and it was going to be Maryland.  The loss of Maryland means the loss of the 6th program.

Second, in Johns Hopkins, the ACC gets a huge name in lacrosse, as well as solidifying the Maryland region.  The rivalries are there.

Third, this would be the premier conference in the history of… ever.  Imagine if Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Georgia left the SEC and joined a conference with Florida State and Miami.  Regional and dominant!   Or a basketball conference with Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Michigan State.  You get the picture.  If you are going six, go all the way.

Fourth, Johns Hopkins has a TV deal with ESPNU that it wants to keep.  The ACC’s rights are owned by–wait for it–ESPN.  This part of it works.  How would Johns Hopkins mesh with the Big Ten Network?  Not as easily.

Fifth, Notre Dame set the precedent here with a partial membership.  Not really breaking any new ground.  And other conferences have allowed members for just one sport under similar arrangements.

Finally, the Big 10 wants them too.  Perhaps.  Maybe.  Why be in a conference with Rutgers lacrosse, when you can be in a conference with 5 of the biggest names in, well, ever.  Johns Hopkins looks a lot more like Duke and Syracuse and Notre Dame, than it does a boring flagship state university with 50,000 members.

So there it is.  Everything works for this.  We just need the ACC to beat the Big 10 to the punch.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Lacrosse, Recruiting and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
15 May 2013
14 Comments

ACC Football: Decade in Review

Most sports fans are willing to make fun of a school based on its perceived on-field or on-court performance.  Sometimes it is accurate; other times it is not.  So, what we set out to do was look at the records of ACC schools in football over the past decade.  Who do YOU think had the best record in conference games between 2003 and 2012?   Worst?  Courtesy of stassen.com, we were able to easily make the calculations.

  1. Virginia Tech had the best record in ACC conference games this past decade, going 64-20.
  2. Florida State was #2, albeit significantly behind the Hokies in win total, going 54-29.
  3. Clemson narrowly edged Georgia Tech for the #3 spot, with a 51-31 record.
  4. Georgia Tech misses out because of that ACC-CG appearance last year to finish #4 at 51-32.
  5. Miami comes in at #5 with a 44-35 overall record.
  6. Boston College has to be a surprise at #6, making it 3 out of the top 6 as former Big East schools, with a 41-38 record.
  7. North Carolina & Virginia tie at 35-45.
  8. see above.
  9. Wake Forest went 35-46.
  10. North Carolina State went 34-46.
  11. Maryland went 33-47.
  12. Duke was 12-68.

So, Big 10 fans, you are getting a Maryland team that was 11th in conference wins the past decade.  While Maryland has had financial troubles, they were operating under the same system as the rest of its ACC peers.  So, good luck with that.

What do you think the rankings would be for hoops?  Would it be Duke, North Carolina, or someone else at the top?  Who would be at the bottom?

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 May 2013
3 Comments

Lacrosse: Syracuse & Duke win, “Traitorpins” Lose

A great day for ACC lacrosse yesterday, as Syracuse and Duke both won… while the traitorous Maryland Terrapins Traitorpins were upset by Cornell.  As you can see from the official NCAA bracket, this means that four teams with ACC ties are still alive in the NCAA elite-eight: Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.

It was not easy for Syracuse, who trailed Bryant, 4-0, before rallying to a 12-7 win.  Syracuse also had to overcome losing 22 of 23 faceoffs to Bryant’s Kevin Massa.  As Syracuse’s official press release noted, “Sophomore attackman Kevin Rice led the Orange with four points (two goals, two assists) and redshirt freshman Dylan Donahue scored a team-high three goals.”  Picking up the win in the crease was Dominic Lamolinara.  Syracuse will play Yale in Maryland next weekend.

Duke had it even tougher, as the #7 seeded Blue Devils needed two overtimes to dispatch reigning national champion, Loyola Maryland, 12-11.  The hero was freshman attackman Case Matheis, who scored with only 1:40 remaining in the second overtime.  But there were many heroes:

Brendan Fowler spearheaded the Blue Devil effort by winning 19 of 26 faceoffs and securing nine ground balls. Josh Dionne and Wolf added two goals apiece, while David Lawson chipped in one goal and three assists as the Blue Devils took 61 shots compared to Loyola’s total of 37. Kyle Turri posted 13 saves between the pipes.

Duke will move on to play Notre Dame in Indianapolis next weekend.

And let’s tall take a moment to laugh at the loss suffered by #6 seeded Maryland.  The traitors were not only upset by unseeded Cornell, they were thoroughly demolished–16-8.  At home.  Given Maryland’s inability to manage an athletic department, it is probably a good thing that they do not need to play any more games.  It costs a lot to keep the lights on, etc.  Oh well.  Those Big 10 partial revenue sharing checks will be coming soon enough.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,
12 May 2013

Lacrosse: North Carolina Defeats Lehigh, Advances

The 2013 NCAA championship tournament is underway in mens lacrosse and the ACC Champion North Carolina Tar Heels are advancing.  The #5 seeded Tar Heels defeated Lehigh impressively at home by a score of 16-7.  With the win, North Carolina will move on to face the #4 seeded Denver Pioneers in Indianapolis.  Denver defeated Albany in a 19-14 shootout on Saturday.

Although Lehigh jumped out to a 2-1 advantage, it was all North Carolina the rest of the way.  The NCAA update included the following summary:

Marcus Holman led Carolina with a goal and four assists while Jimmy Bitter and Chad Tutton each had three goals and an assist. Steve Pontrello added a pair of goals as Carolina piled on the goals against a Lehigh defense which came into the match allowing only 7.44 goals per game, tied for second in the nation. Other goal scorers for UNC were Greg McBride, Walker Chafee, R.G. Keenan, Davey Emala, Ryan Creighton, Spencer Parks and Patrick Kelly.  Joey Sankey had a trio of assists for Carolina while Jake Matthai and Greg McBride also had helpers.

A very impressive win for North Carolina.

And there was more for ACC fans to rejoice in, as the #2 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Detroit, 9-7.  In the other matchup from Saturday, Yale upset #8 seeded Penn State, 10-7.  Keep track of the NCAA tournament here.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , ,
11 May 2013

ACC Baseball

As we near the end of the regular season in baseball, lets check in on the ACC. Which conference is having the best year? Looking at this weeks top 20 the standouts are the ACC and the SEC. The SEC has 5 teams in the top 20 with 2 in the top 5 while the ACC has 6, counting Louisville, and 4 in the top 10. As in other sports, there are multiple polls to watch and all have different rankings. College Baseball Insider has a composite poll that combines the 5 primary national polls; Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

CBI Composite Poll (5/6/13)
1 North Carolina (42-4)
2 Vanderbilt (41-6)
3 LSU (43-6)
4 Cal State Fullerton (39-7)
5 Oregon State (37-8)
6 NC State (37-11)
7 Virginia (39-8)
8 Oregon (37-11)
9 Florida State (38-9)
10 UCLA (31-13)
11 Louisville (37-10)
12 Arkansas (32-16)
13 South Carolina (33-14)
14 Arizona State (30-14-1)
15 Oklahoma (34-14)
16 Indiana (35-9)
17 Mississippi State (36-13)
18 Rice (31-15)
19 Clemson (30-15)
20 Stanford (26-16)

North Carolina has spent 12 consecutive weeks at #1 in the CBI poll. They have faired well in NCAA team stats this season which include 7th in batting avg., 13th in HR, 1st in runs per game at 8.8, 4th in slugging %, and 18th in KO per 9 innings. N. Carolina and Florida St. lead their divisions. The ACC tourney will be held May 22-26 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC.

Louisville has been ranked as high as 8th this season. Struggling in the power game, they have relied on their pitching and speed. They are 3rd in the NCAA in stolen bases with 126 and 1st in KO per game with 478 total KO for an incredible 9.7 KO per 9 innings. Louisville is hoping to host a regional when the post season begins. The Big East tourney will be held May 22-26 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.

Early projections for baseballs round of 64 has 9 ACC teams making the field led by top ranked North Carolina 44-5 (19-4). Virginia 39-8 (17-7), Florida St 40-9 (16-8) & NC State 38-11 (15-8) are probable national seeds as well. Joining them could be Virginia Tech 31-19 (13-14), Clemson 35-15 (17-10), Miami 33-18 (12-13), Georgia Tech 31-19 (13-12) and Maryland 28-24 (9-18). If you include Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, who are the Big East projections, then the ACC dominates the field with 12 current and future members. The SEC has 9 teams projected to make the field while the B1G has 2, Big 12 has 4 and the Pac 12 has 5. The ACC also leads in the conference RPI and are followed in order by the SEC, Pac 12, Big 12, Sun Belt, B1G and the Big East at #8. The ACC continues its domination and only looks to get stronger in the future.

(As Of May 10)
ATLANTIC DIVISION
School     Conference Pct. Overall Pct.
Florida State    16-8 .667 40-9-0 .816
NC State            15-8 .652 38-11-0 .776
Clemson            17-10 .630 35-15-0 .700
Maryland          9-18 .333 28-24-0 .538
Wake Forest     7-18 .280 26-24-0 .520
Boston College 3-23 .115 11-37-0 .229
COASTAL DIVISION
School     Conference Pct. Overall Pct.
North Carolina 19-4 .826 44-5-0 .898
Virginia              18-7 .720 40-8-0 .833
Georgia Tech    13-12 .520 31-19-0 .620
Virginia Tech    13-14 .481 31-19-0 .620
Miami                12-13 .480 33-18-0 .647
Duke                   9-16 .360 25-24-0 .510

http://www.collegebaseballinsider.com/

Posted by lenvillecards in Baseball, Louisville Correspondent and tagged , , , , , , ,
10 May 2013
4 Comments

Ranking the ACC-B1G Challenge Games

The ACC-B1G Challenge games were announced a few days ago.  After looking to see who your school played, the next thought was probably to check out whether any other games were intriguing.  And there are several.  So let’s just go ahead and rank them for interest.

Gold Medal Games:

1.  North Carolina @ Michigan State.  Tom Izzo v Roy Williams. That’s a lot of Final Four appearances.  MSU always reloads, and North Carolina never stays quiet for long.  This one should be a battle in Breslin.

2.  Michigan @ Duke.  Both teams had good seasons in 2012-2013, with Michigan exceeding expectations by making a run to the title game.  Both have a lot of production to replace.  Will be a great game though.

3.  Indiana @ Syracuse.  A rematch of a March Madness game that went for the Orange.  A lot of new faces in 2013-2014, but a lot of star power will be back and new to both campuses.

4.  Wisconsin @ Virginia.  The first one to 40 wins?  Don’t expect a lot of points in this one.  But this is still a darn good matchup.

Silver Medal Games:

5.  Notre Dame @ Iowa.  Any time ANY Fighting Irish team comes to town, it is a big deal.  A nice regional battle too.

6.  Penn State @ Pittsburgh.  A battle for Pennsylvania.  This one should be close too–Penn State has experience coming back.

7.  Miami @ Nebraska.  The Hurricanes invested in their program by hiring a dynamic coach.  Nebraska is investing in its facilities.  A better game on the gridiron, but one to keep an eye on anyway.

8.  Florida State @ Minnesota.  Both teams fell short of expectations last year.  A lot of new faces.

Bronze Medal Games:

9.  Northwestern @ North Carolina State.  This game might be underrated at #9.  But until the Wildcats make a Big Dance, it is hard to take them seriously on the hardcourt.

10. Illinois @ Georgia Tech.  Still waiting for that Georgia Tech team to turn the corner.  Illinois fans may feel the same way.

11.  Boston College @ Purdue.  Not exactly the old Patriots-Colts battles featuring Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.  It is what it is.

12. Maryland @ Ohio State.  Big 10 fans will be rooting for Ohio State.  ACC fans will be rooting for Ohio State.  Not much of a “challenge.”

Participation Ribbons:

Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are left out of the challenge.  We’ll give them participation ribbons even though they are not, obviously, participating.

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

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