What do Sean Singletary and Tyrese Rice have in common? They both scored over 40 points on Saturday and walked off the court with a loss. Their games, as well as two eye-catching performances by Clemson, highlight this week’s Around the ACC.
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Current ACC Standings |
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| School | Conf. | Overall | RPI | Remaining Games |
| North Carolina | 12-2 | 27-2 | 3 | FSU, @Duke |
| Duke | 12-2 | 25-3 | 4 | @UVa, UNC |
| Clemson | 9-5 | 21-7 | 19 | @GT, VT |
| Virginia Tech | 8-6 | 17-11 | 62 | Wake, @Clemson |
| Maryland | 8-7 | 18-12 | 64 | @UVa |
| Miami | 7-7 | 20-8 | 26 | BC, @FSU |
| Wake Forest | 6-8 | 16-11 | 84 | @VT, NC State |
| Florida State | 6-8 | 17-12 | 70 | @UNC, Miami |
| Georgia Tech | 5-8 | 12-15 | 78 | UVa, Clemson, @BC |
| Boston College | 4-10 | 13-14 | 115 | @Miami, GT |
| NC State | 4-11 | 15-14 | 83 | @Wake |
| Virginia | 3-10 | 13-13 | 125 | @GT, Duke, MD |
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Recent Games (click score for recap) |
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Date |
Matchup |
Location |
| 02/24/08 | Virginia 78, NC State 60 | Charlottesville, Va. |
| North Carolina 89, Wake Forest 73 |
Chapel Hill, N.C. | |
| 02/26/08 | Virginia Tech 67, Boston College 48 |
Blacksburg, Va. |
| 02/27/08 | Florida State 72, NC State 62 |
Raleigh, N.C. |
| Clemson 79, Miami 69 | Clemson, S.C. | |
| Duke 71, Georgia Tech 58 | Durham, N.C. | |
| 02/28/08 | Maryland 74, Wake Forest 70 | Winston-Salem, N.C. |
| 03/01/08 | Duke 87, NC State 86 | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Georgia Tech 87, Wake Forest 79 |
Atlanta, Ga. | |
| Miami 95, Virginia 93 | Coral Gables, Fla. | |
| North Carolina 90, Boston College 80 |
Chestnut Hill, Mass. | |
| 03/02/08 | Clemson 73, Maryland 70 | College Park, Md. |
| Upcoming Games | ||||
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Date |
Matchup |
Location |
Broadcast Info |
Time/Stats |
| Monday, 03/03/08 |
Virginia @ Georgia Tech |
Atlanta, Ga. | FSN (XM 190) | 7:00 p.m. Gametracker |
| Tuesday, 03/04/08 |
Wake Forest @ Virginia Tech |
Blacksburg, Va. |
RSN (XM 190) | 7:00 p.m. Livestats |
| Florida State @ North Carolina |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
RAYCOM (XM 191) |
8:00 p.m. Gametracker |
|
| Wednesday, 03/05/08 |
Boston College @ Miami |
Coral Gables, Fla. |
ESPNU (XM 190) |
7:00 p.m. Gametracker |
| Duke @ Virginia |
Charlottesville, Va. |
ESPN (XM 191) |
7:00 p.m. Livestats |
|
| Thursday, 03/06/08 |
Clemson @ Georgia Tech |
Atlanta, Ga. | ESPN2 (XM 190) |
7:00 p.m. Gametracker |
| Saturday, 03/08/08 |
Miami @ Florida State |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
RAYCOM (XM 190) |
12:00 p.m. Gametracker |
| NC State @ Wake Forest |
Winston-Salem, N.C. |
RAYCOM (XM 191) |
12:00 p.m. Gametracker |
|
| Georgia Tech @ Boston College |
Chestnut Hill, Mass. |
ABC (XM 190) | 3:30 p.m. Gametracker |
|
| North Carolina @ Duke |
Durham, N.C. | ESPN (XM 190/191/192) |
9:00 p.m. Livestats |
|
| Sunday, 03/09/08 |
Virginia Tech @ Clemson |
Clemson, S.C. |
RAYCOM (XM 190) |
1:30 p.m. Gametracker |
| Maryland @ Virginia |
Charlottesville, Va. |
FSN (XM 191) | 7:30 p.m. Livestats |
|
A Look Around the League…
North Carolina (27-2, 12-2)
North Carolina took most of the week off, then defeated Boston College on the
road 90-80 on Saturday. The game was dicey for awhile, as the Eagles led 54-40
at halftime, but the Tar Heels asserted themselves in the second half. UNC looks
like the best team in the ACC right now.
The Tar Heels also regained the services of point guard Ty Lawson, who played
21 minutes against BC, dishing out five assists. His return is huge for a team
that was playing very well, even without him.
UNC hosts Florida State on Tuesday, and then travels to Duke for their final
regular season game on Saturday.
Postseason: NCAA tournament lock
Duke (25-3, 12-2)
Duke is a lock for one of the top two seeds in the ACC tournament, but they
have not been playing nearly as well lately. After losing two in a row to Wake
Forest and Miami , they rebounded with wins over St. John’s and Georgia Tech. On
Saturday, they narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of NC State, pulling one
out 87-86 in Raleigh .
The Blue Devils have two tough games remaining. They play on the road against
an improving Virginia team on Wednesday, and then host North Carolina on
Saturday. The UNC game will be played for the #1 seed in the ACC tournament.
Duke also has a shot for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, though those
chances aren’t as strong right now as they were two weeks ago.
Postseason: NCAA tournament lock
Clemson (21-7, 9-5)
The Tigers had two huge wins this week. They beat Miami 79-69 at home on
Tuesday, and then rallied from 20 points down to defeat Maryland 73-70 on the
road on Sunday night. A home win over a Top 30 RPI team and a road win against
Maryland is a good week for any team.
Clemson is clearly the #3 team in the ACC right now. They have an excellent
mix of inside play and outside play. They are very athletic running the court,
and they’ve got some three-point shooters.
The Tigers play at Georgia Tech on Thursday night, and then host Virginia
Tech on Sunday. When you consider how weak the bubble field is this year, the
Tigers are one win away from being considered a stone cold NCAA tournament lock.
In fact, they are probably a lock already.
Postseason: NCAA tournament
Virginia Tech (17-11, 8-6)
Virginia Tech whipped Boston College 67-48 on Tuesday night in a game that
wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Hokies then took the rest of
the week off, and because of Maryland ‘s loss to Clemson, now stand in fourth
place in the ACC all by themselves.
The Hokies get Wake Forest at home on Tuesday night in a game that is
critical to their NCAA tournament chances. Here’s a key stat heading into that
game: Virginia Tech is 11-2 at home this year, with their only losses to Top 10
Duke and Top 30 Miami (barely). Wake Forest is just 2-9 on the road, with their
only wins coming against a bad Iowa team and an average Florida State team.
If the season ended today, Virginia Tech would probably be in the NCAA
tournament because there is such a weak bubble this year. Emphasis on weak
bubble. If you think the Hokies are an extreme longshot, you are probably
forgetting that the bubble field this year is just terrible. With a win against
Wake Forest , Tech has a solid shot. They might be the very last team selected,
but I think they would probably be in. I never thought I’d be typing this before
2009, but for now I’ve got to say…
Postseason: NCAA tournament
Maryland (18-12, 8-7)
Maryland had an up and down week. They went into Winston-Salem and defeated
Wake Forest 74-70 on Thursday night. It was a huge win for the Terps. They
followed that up by blowing a 20-point second half lead at home against Clemson,
falling 73-70 on a Terrence Oglesby three-pointer with just a few seconds remaining.
The Terps are the basketball equivalent of the football Clemson Tigers,
although they don’t have as much depth as Clemson. They come up with some huge
wins that make you say “wow”, and then they blow 20-point leads at
home. You can never quite figure them out.
That said, Maryland can still make the NCAA tournament, and if the season
ended today, they would probably be included. They would be included for two
reasons: 1) The bubble field is very week, as we’ve covered already, and 2) They
beat UNC.
If the Terps win at Virginia on Saturday, I think they’ll be in.
Postseason: NCAA tournament
Miami (20-8, 7-7)
Miami lost at Clemson 79-69 on Wednesday, then knocked off Virginia 95-93 on
Saturday afternoon. The loss to UVA would have hurt their NCAA tournament
chances quite a bit, but they managed to pull it out late.
The ‘Canes have a very high RPI (Top 30, the exact ranking varies depending
on what site you look at) and 20 overall wins. A .500 ACC record will get them
into the NCAA tournament, especially against this year’s bubble field.
Miami hosts Boston College , probably the worst team in the ACC, on Wednesday
night. On Saturday they travel to Florida State for another winnable game. Two
wins this week would give them a shot to earn a bye in the ACC tournament, but
only if they win both.
Postseason: NCAA tournament
Wake Forest (16-11, 6-8)
Wake Forest still has a shot at the NCAA tournament, but they were greatly
damaged by a home loss to Maryland on Thursday, as well as an 87-79 overtime
setback at Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Demon Deacons have now lost three games
in a row and five of their last eight.
That being said, as Tech fans all know, streaks don’t mean much in ACC
basketball. The Demon Deacons have a solid shot of beating the Hokies in Cassell
Coliseum on Tuesday night. If they don’t, their NCAA tournament hopes will be
completely done.
Wake Forest will more than likely have to finish .500 in ACC play and win a
game in the ACC tournament to get at-large consideration. That means they’ll
have to win their next three games.
Postseason: NIT or CBI
Florida State (17-12, 6-8)
Florida State has been playing good basketball as of late. They’ve pretty
much locked up postseason play of some sort. The ‘Noles have won three games in
a row, with their latest win coming at NC State 72-62. Before that, FSU defeated
Clemson and Boston College .
Even if they lose out in the regular season, and lose in their first ACC
tournament game, the ‘Noles should still be a lock for postseason play. If they
can somehow upset North Carolina and Miami this week, they’ll finish .500 in the
ACC and they’ll have a shot at the NCAA tournament.
FSU will play at UNC on Tuesday and host Miami on Saturday.
Postseason: NIT or CBI
Georgia Tech (12-15, 5-8)
Georgia Tech split their games this past week, first falling to Duke 71-58 on
the road and then defeating Wake Forest 87-79 in overtime. The win over Wake
ended the Yellow Jackets’ five game losing streak.
At three games under .500 this late in the season, it will take a minor
miracle for the Yellow Jackets to qualify for postseason play.
Georgia Tech hosts Virginia on Monday night in a make-up game, then host
Clemson on Thursday, and then play at Boston College on Saturday.
Postseason: None
Boston College (13-14, 4-10)
Boston College got a career-high 46 points from Tyrese Rice against North
Carolina , but no one else on the team scored more than eight points as the Tar
Heels came back and won 90-80 on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the Eagles got
blown out at Virginia Tech 67-48.
The Eagles are looking like the worst team in the ACC right now. Don’t be
shocked if they don’t win another game.
BC plays at Miami on Wednesday, and then hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.
Postseason: None
NC State (15-14, 4-11)
NC State lost at home to Florida State 72-62 early in the week, and then
dropped a heartbreaker at home to Duke 87-86. The Wolfpack led almost the entire
game against the Blue Devils, but came up short at the end.
NC State still has a chance at a berth in the NIT or CBI, but an NCAA
tournament berth is out of the question unless they win the ACC
tournament.
The Wolfpack will take the week off, and then play at Wake Forest on
Saturday.
Postseason: None
Virginia (13-13, 3-10)
Last season UVA finished in a first place tie in the ACC standings. This
season they are fighting to not finish last. They have been playing better
lately. The Hoos had just one game this past week, falling 95-93 at Miami ,
despite a career-high 41 points from Sean Singletary.
Thanks to a postponed game against Georgia Tech, UVA gets to play three games
this week. They’ll make up the GT game tonight in Atlanta, and then host Duke
on Wednesday night. They’ll end their season by playing Maryland in
Charlottesville on Saturday.
UVA has a chance to finish with a winning record, but it’s an outside chance.
Postseason: None
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