Atlantic Coast Conference Notebook
What better way to ring in 2005 than with a possible preview of the NCAA championship game and a rematch of last year’s Elite Eight game between Georgia Tech and Kansas?
The Yellow Jackets and Jayhawks appear to have the tools and attitude to make a run deep into the tournament again this season. The game Saturday proved that neither team is going to lose without a fight.
Georgia Tech jumped all over Kansas in the first half, leading by as much as 18 before the Jayhawks rallied to cut the lead to seven at halftime. But the most significant moment of the first half occurred when Georgia Tech senior guard B.J. Elder tweaked his hamstring, forcing him to miss the rest of the game.
In Elder’s absence, junior point guard Jarrett Jack led the Yellow Jackets’ attack, scoring 26 points and grabbing four rebounds. But Kansas’ own backcourt superstar, Keith Langford, answered with 16 points after halftime, leading the Jayhawks back to a 61-61 tie at the end of regulation.
After trailing for the entire game, Langford set up the Jayhawks’ first lead in overtime with a steal that led to Alex Galindo’s basket that gave Kansas a 66-65 lead with about a minute and a half remaining. Then, with the score tied at 68 and 10 seconds remaining, Langford hit the game-winning jumper, giving Kansas a 70-68 lead that survived a desperation heave by senior forward Isma’il Muhammad.
Kansas coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks deserve credit for never giving up, despite falling behind early. Georgia Tech blew the lead, but the Yellow Jackets did not roll over after Kansas fought back early in the second half. Without Elder, Georgia Tech easily could have allowed Kansas to take over the game. Both teams overcame adversity in regulation, and in overtime, Kansas played a bit harder and more effectively to earn the win.
The energy in Lawrence, Kan., and the teams’ resiliency simulated a Final Four environment. Such an experience is invaluable and gives Kansas and Georgia Tech an advantage when they head into the postseason.
Non-Conference Exit Poll
With conference play set to hit full stride this week, some teams have more work to do than others to become NCAA Tournament worthy. At this point in the season, here’s a likely breakdown of each team’s postseason outlook:
Clemson: Not good
The Tigers are 9-4 and their best win is at South Carolina. A home loss to Georgetown negates the quality of that win, however. Clemson would have to go 11-5 in conference play to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. And the Tigers must hope that South Carolina finishes in the top three in the SEC. A 7-9 or 8-8 finish should get the Tigers to the NIT, however.
Duke: NCAA Tournament-bound
But the Blue Devils are overrated as most polls have Duke near the top five. The best wins are against Michigan State at home and against Oklahoma at Madison Square Garden. Depending on how those two fare in conference play, Duke may lack the power rating to earn a top seed. Look for Duke to draw a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the tournament unless the Blue Devils finish 12-4 or better in conference play.
Florida State: Awful
You just can’t lose to Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Florida International at home. It’s inexcusable. Just ask the selection committee. A home win against Florida is nice, unless the Gators turn out to be an SEC pretender, which could easily happen. The Seminoles need an 11-5 or 12-4 conference run to earn an NCAA bid. That’s not going to happen. The Seminoles must win at least five ACC games to remain NIT eligible.
Georgia Tech: NCAA Tournament-bound
The Yellow Jackets have played dominantly in most of their nine wins and lost at Kansas and to Gonzaga on a less-than-neutral court in Las Vegas. Georgia Tech will go to the NCAA Tournament and could excel in conference play, but the Yellow Jackets lack a great non-conference win. The team’s best non-conference wins are Michigan, Georgia and Air Force, all of which occurred in Atlanta. If Georgia Tech wants to earn a top three seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Yellow Jackets need an 11-5 ACC record or better, including a few road wins against teams such as Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke.
Maryland: Probably NCAA Tournament-bound
Losses at Wisconsin and against George Washington at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., are not bad. It’s the rest of the non-conference schedule that’s disturbing. Maryland’s best win right now is a neutral site game against Memphis, which is not exactly shooting up the polls. Maryland needs a 9-7 or 10-6 finish in ACC play to avoid the dreaded bubble. The Terps will likely draw a No. 5 or 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, depending on how the team finishes the regular season and conference tournament.
Miami: Interesting but unlikely
The Hurricanes’ best non-conference win is on the road at Florida. But again, the Gators may prove to be pretty weak. Home losses to South Carolina State and Xavier don’t help Miami’s cause. Like Clemson, Miami has a good record but a bad strength of schedule, necessitating an 11-5 conference record to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. That’s not going to happen, so Hurricane fans should hope the team finishes 6-10 or 7-9 to warrant an NIT bid. Now that’s a realistic possibility.
North Carolina: NCAA Tournament-bound
We’re talking championship contender here, folks. The Tar Heels are in an elite class with Illinois and Kansas right now. Those three teams are playing at such a high level that they seem capable of beating anyone. Given the difficulty of their respective conferences, each will likely drop a game or two, but these three are probable No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. For the Tar Heels, wins against Iowa and Kentucky are the best non-conference victories. A 12-4 or 13-3 conference record will be good enough to maintain a legitimate hold on a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed.
North Carolina State: Questionable
The Wolfpack jumped out to an 8-0 start by playing bad teams at home. The best non-conference win is against Purdue. Or maybe on the road at BYU. But neither of those teams appears headed for any postseason tournament. The Wolfpack also now have a two-game losing streak that includes an awful loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. The Wolfpack need a 10-6 conference record or a deep ACC tournament run to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Anything less is just begging the selection committee to snub the Wolfpack. The NIT would be guaranteed, but the team, fans and – perhaps most importantly to Herb Sendek – alumni boosters are not focusing on that tournament.
Virginia: Better chances than North Carolina State
It’s pretty clear that coach Pete Gillen will be unemployed if the Cavaliers do not reach the NCAA Tournament. He might even need to pick up a win or two once there. Fortunately, Virginia has a great non-conference win against Arizona and solid wins against Richmond and Auburn. The only problem is that all are at home. The Cavaliers lack a good road win, which they must pick up in ACC play. Virginia can probably get into the NCAA Tournament with a 9-7 conference record as long as three or four of those wins are against some of the strongest ACC teams on the road.
Virginia Tech: No chance
The Hokies are the only ACC team without even a remotely good win in non-conference play. And Virginia Tech lost to VMI. The Hokies would need an 11-5 or 12-4 conference record to have any shot at an NCAA Tournament bid. And that wouldn’t happen in coach Seth Greenberg’s wildest dreams. A good season will be a 5-11 or 6-10 conference record, but that wouldn’t be good enough to qualify for the NIT.
Wake Forest: NCAA Tournament-bound
Pencil the Demon Deacons in as one of the higher seeds in the NCAA Tournament. With wins against Arizona, Texas and George Washington, Wake Forest has a strong non-conference rÈsumÈ. The team’s lone loss was an ugly blowout at Illinois. But everyone seems to lose ugly to the Illini. Wake Forest can earn a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a strong ACC record, such as 12-4 or 13-3. No one expects any ACC team to go 15-1 or 16-0 this season.
Player of the Week: John Gilchrist, Maryland
Gilchrist is playing as well as any of the more acclaimed point guards in the conference. He averaged 22.5 points, four rebounds and three assists in two wins against Liberty and Mount St. Mary’s last week.
Rookie of the Week: Andrew Brackman, North Carolina State
ACC Coach Watch: Herb Sendek, North Carolina State
With two consecutive losses to St. John’s and West Virginia, North Carolina State’s non-conference results now look average at best. Sendek must rally this team quickly and find a way to win if Hodge misses more time because of an injured ankle.
Team Reports
Clemson Tigers (9-4, 0-1)
The Tigers split their two games against East Carolina and Duke last week. Clemson pounded East Carolina 74-40 as the Tigers held the Pirates to less than 22 percent shooting from the field in the game. East Carolina’s starters managed only 16 points. The Tigers got balanced scoring from their starters, led by senior forward Sharrod Ford and junior guard Shawan Robinson, who each had 14 points. As a team, Clemson hit more than 55 percent of its shots from the field, including seven three pointers. This team does not possess a full cupboard of perimeter threats, so players such as freshmen Cheyenne Moore and Cliff Hammonds need games like this to jack up threes to hone their range.
The offensive rhythm did not carry over to a 62-54 loss at Duke to open ACC play. That is not terribly surprising, however, because Duke is one of the toughest places to play in the country. In fact, Clemson should be lauded for its ability to stymie the Blue Devils for most of the game. The Tigers held Duke to less than 37 percent shooting. Unfortunately, Clemson let the wrong player get hot: J.J. Redick. Redick hit four three pointers en route to a 24-point performance that rescued Duke from a potentially embarrassing loss. Ford led Clemson with 20 points and was the only player to reach double figures. The team’s three-point weakness re-emerged as the Tigers missed all six of their attempts from long range.
In the next three games, Clemson gets Wake Forest at home Jan. 8, Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 12 and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Jan. 15. Clemson needs to win two out of three of these games to have a realistic shot at not finishing among the bottom three in the conference.
Duke Blue Devils (9-0, 1-0)
The Blue Devils played their first game in two weeks at home against Clemson, and the rest clearly added rust to Duke’s offensive rhythm. Duke won 62-54, even though the Blue Devils shot 36.7 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from three-point territory. On one hand, Duke must be granted some slack for the absences of forwards Shavlik Randolph and Reggie Love. Randolph has mononucleosis and could miss several games while recovering. Love started in Randolph’s place, but he sprained an ankle in the first half and will be out for several weeks.
On the other hand, Duke has no excuse for such poor shooting, especially at home. With the frontcourt hurting, the team’s guards, including junior J.J. Redick, senior Daniel Ewing and junior Sean Dockery, must rise to the challenge and hit more shots. More so than others, Dockery needs to play better as Duke’s point guard. He had zero assists against Clemson, and that just won’t cut it if teams send extra defenders to guard the perimeter. Dockery needs to work the ball inside to junior forward Shelden Williams and then rotate without the ball to create holes for Duke’s shooters. Crisp passing and frequent movement will allow Duke to cover up a sudden weakness in the paint. Despite the lack of a partner in the post, Williams continues to be effective, scoring 13 points and grabbing 16 rebounds against the Tigers.
Duke plays two non-conference home games against Princeton Jan. 5 and Temple Jan. 8 before traveling across town to North Carolina State Jan. 13 in the only meeting of the regular season between these two teams. The end of the home-and-home series in this rivalry is one of the machinations of ACC expansion.
North Carolina Tar Heels (12-1, 1-0)
North Carolina scored 85 points or more for the sixth consecutive game when the Tar Heels slammed William and Mary 105-66, culminating a week with three home games that also included UNC-Wilmington and Cleveland State. The Tar Heels have been on fire, shooting better than 56 percent from the field in each game. Junior forward Sean May continues to be unstoppable, averaging nearly 20 points and eight rebounds in the three games. Junior guard Raymond Felton had made 12 consecutive three-point attempts before missing against William and Mary. In addition to draining long jumpers, Felton dished out at least 10 assists in two of the three blowouts. And those efforts don’t include the usual contributions from junior guard Rashad McCants.
Although coach Roy Williams must be pleased with the results, he said after the William and Mary win that this team has more work to do to play at its full potential. Despite holding four of their last five opponents under 70 points, the Tar Heels’ defense could use some work. In each game last week, North Carolina allowed its opponent to shoot better than 40 percent from the field in the Dean Dome. Free throws could also become a concern as the Tar Heels shot less than 67 percent against UNC-Wilmington and Cleveland State. Although no one predicts an impending Tar Heel collapse, coach Williams wants North Carolina to eliminate any weaknesses that opportunistic ACC competition could exploit.
North Carolina’s next three games are a brutal run through stiff ACC competition: Maryland at home Jan. 8, Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill, N.C., Jan. 12 and at Wake Forest Jan. 15. The trip across I-40 to Winston-Salem will be the Tar Heels’ only meeting of the regular season against Wake Forest and could determine the regular season championship.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-1, 1-0)
Wake Forest opened last week with a drubbing of cross-town creampuff North Carolina A&T, 98-76. Then the Demon Deacons took their show on the road to Charlottesville, Va., where Wake Forest won an important conference-opening game at Virginia, 89-70. Against the Aggies, Wake Forest jumped out to a 60-28 halftime lead and then let the bench players clean up the mess in the second half. Junior guard Justin Gray scored 23 points in 22 minutes to lead Wake Forest. Defensively, the Demon Deacons shut down North Carolina A&T, holding the Aggies to 38 percent shooting from the field.
According to the standings, Wake Forest’s win against North Carolina A&T counts as much as the win at Virginia. But don’t downplay the importance of the latter victory – the Demon Deacons proved they can leave the comforts of home and play good defense to soundly quiet ACC competition. Wake Forest held Virginia to 42 percent shooting from the floor. Equally important, the Demon Deacons denied the Cavaliers an opportunity to cash in on second chances, out-rebounding Virginia 40-28. Cavalier fans will protest that Virginia was missing leading scorer Devin Smith. Smith’s absence may hurt Virginia offensively, but there’s no excuse for allowing six Demon Deacons to reach double figures, led by sophomore sensation Chris Paul. Paul scored 21 points and dished out nine assists to lead the offense to the win.
Wake Forest continues ACC play with a road game at Clemson Jan. 8 before returning home to play Maryland Jan. 11 and North Carolina Jan. 15. The games against Maryland and North Carolina will be the only regular season match ups against those two ACC squads.
Virginia Cavaliers (8-2, 0-1)
After losing to Wake Forest at home in the conference opener 89-70, Virginia will need to rebound throughout conference play or risk being left out in the cold come NCAA Tournament time. The Cavaliers best wins thus far are home wins against Arizona, Richmond and Auburn. Virginia is 1-1 on the road, with a win at Northwestern and loss at Iowa State. The strength of those non-conference highlights will depend on how each of those teams performs during the balance of the season. Therefore, the Cavaliers must win games in the ACC; they must earn their place in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers failed their first test in conference play by allowing the Demon Deacons to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor in University Hall. Sophomore point guard Chris Paul outplayed Virginia’s freshman point guard Sean Singletary, scoring 21 points and dishing nine assists. Singletary, meanwhile, managed only two points and six assists. Virginia’s offense was understandably off kilter with the absence of leading scorer Devin Smith, who missed the game with an injury. Freshman forward Adrian Joseph filled in quite nicely, however, scoring 19 points. But Joseph could not replace Smith’s presence around loose balls. He failed to collect a single rebound in 32 minutes, which helped contribute to Wake Forest’s 40-28 advantage on the boards. Virginia’s youngsters were the only reliable scorers as sophomore guards J.R. Reynolds scored 17 points and Gary Forbes scored 13 points.
Virginia plays one more non-conference game at home against Western Kentucky Jan. 5 before jumping into the heart of conference play, starting at Georgia Tech Jan. 8 and then at home against Miami Jan. 12.
Florida State Seminoles (8-6, 0-1)
The Seminoles had an SEC-flavored week with games against Florida and LSU. Florida State split the series, losing badly to LSU 67-50 before beating rival Florida 82-69. The Seminoles’ offensive inconsistency continued as the team shot 36 percent from the floor in the loss and better than 50 percent in the win. Sophomore guard Von Wafer found his range against Florida, hitting 6-of-8 from three-point land to finish with 20 points. As a team, Florida State shot 60 percent from downtown. But the statistic of the game was on the glass: Florida State erased the Gators, 42-18. Alexander Johnson, Adam Waleskowski and Al Thornton each had at least eight rebounds. The endless number of second chances helped overcome 21 turnovers, a problem that Florida State needs to address to succeed in ACC play.
Against LSU, turnovers were not as big of a problem as poor shooting. Florida State committed only 16 turnovers but made only 18 field goals. Only freshman guard Jason Rich reached double figures, scoring 10 points. LSU pounded Florida State on the glass, out-rebounding the Seminoles 36-26. If you’re looking for a silver lining in this ugly loss, Florida State’s bench continues to play well, contributing half of the team’s 50 points. Coach Leonard Hamilton has a number of options to rotate in the game if the starters are ineffective. When teams win, such a rotation is referred to as flexibility and depth. When teams lose, it’s referred to as inconsistency and imbalance.
Florida State’s next three games will determine if this team has a chance to evade the ACC’s basement: home games against Virginia Tech Jan. 8 and Clemson Jan. 12 and a road game at Miami Jan. 15.
North Carolina State Wolfpack (10-3, 0-0)
After winning 10 of the team’s first 11 games, North Carolina State is the new owner of a two-game losing streak. The Wolfpack limped though an uninspiring win against Columbia in the first round of the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. Then the Wolfpack lost an embarrassing game to St. John’s in the tournament finale. The Red Storm won 62-45, but they led by 28 points at one point in the second half. The Wolfpack scored only 10 points in the first half, shooting 13 percent from the floor. North Carolina State had a 14-minute stretch in which the Wolfpack failed to make a single field goal. In addition to the hideous performance, senior guard Julius Hodge sprained his right ankle in the second half. He was the only North Carolina State player to reach double figures, scoring 19 points.
Without Hodge, the writing was on the wall for a second consecutive loss when a grossly underrated West Virginia team arrived in Raleigh, N.C. The Mountaineers torched the Wolfpack 82-69 by shooting better than 58 percent from the floor. Six Mountaineers reached double figures as the team shot better than 50 percent from three-point range. Junior forward Ilian Evtimov started in Hodge’s place and played well, scoring 16 points. Without Hodge, North Carolina State’s depth is severely limited – three starters played 35 minutes or more against West Virginia. Freshman forward Andrew Brackman continues to be a pleasant surprise for the Wolfpack. He led all scores with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Equally important, Brackman picked up only one foul in 28 minutes, which is impressive for a freshman against a strong opponent.
North Carolina State needs to bounce back at Miami Jan. 9 before hosting Duke Jan. 13 and Georgia Tech Jan. 16. With few good non-conference victories, North Carolina State can ill-afford a poor conference record. This team could be one of the ACC’s bubble teams come March. Home wins against Duke and Georgia Tech could become mandatory for this team to become the sixth or seventh ACC team to reach the tournament.
Maryland Terrapins (9-2, 1-0)
The Terrapins picked up two more easy wins last week by blowing out Liberty and Mount St. Mary’s. Although these opponents are pretty terrible – they have a collective record of 4-15 – the Terrapins played the type of ball that will win ACC games. Maryland held Mount St. Mary’s to less than 30 percent shooting from the field and Liberty to less than 40 percent. The team grabbed at least 51 rebounds in both games and committed only 26 turnovers in two games.
Against Liberty, the Terrapins won 112-68 as junior guard John Gilchrist lit up the Mountaineers for 28 points in only 22 minutes. Junior forward Nik Caner-Medley scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and ripped five steals in one of his better performances of the season. In Maryland’s 85-53 win against Mount St. Mary’s, Gilchrist and Caner-Medley again led the way with 17 points apiece. Junior forward Travis Garrison was the only other Terp in double figures, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Forward James Gist is proving to be one of the better freshmen in the ACC this season. He scored 16 points, grabbed 16 boards and had four steals in the two games.
Maryland’s next three games feature two tough road games at North Carolina Jan. 8 and at Wake Forest Jan. 11 before returning to friendly confines of the Comcast Center to play Temple Jan. 15 in the final non-conference game of the regular season.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-2, 0-0)
In addition to the aforementioned thriller at Kansas, the Yellow Jackets played Lafayette last week, obliterating the Leopards 92-58. Freshman guard Anthony Morrow led the team with 20 points in only 15 minutes. Another freshman, Ra’Sean Dickey also played well in the blowout, scoring 15 points and grabbing six rebounds. The emergence of Dickey and Morrow will give coach Paul Hewitt a more balanced rotation, resembling the 10-man rotation that he used last season during Georgia Tech’s run to the Final Four. Dickey may be the most important player to develop because Hewitt lacks reliable scorers in the paint to help deflect attention from the talented backcourt.
The Yellow Jackets play two conference games in three days as Georgia Tech hosts Miami Jan. 6 and Virginia Jan. 8 before traveling to North Carolina Jan. 12.
Miami Hurricanes (9-2, 0-0)
Although the competition has largely been soft, Miami now possesses an eight-game winning streak after losing two of the team’s first three games. The most recent victims are Appalachian State and Norfolk State. Guillermo Diaz and Robert Hite are a formidable pair in the backcourt for the Hurricanes. In a conference loaded with superstar guards, Diaz and Hite will never receive the credit they fully deserve. But it’s hard to argue with their stats: Diaz averages 15.1 points per game, and Hite puts up 20 points per game and pulls down 5.2 rebounds per game.
Against the recent opponents, Hite and Diaz again led the way. The two combined for 33 points in the 80-63 win against Appalachian State and 40 points in the 76-58 win against Norfolk State. In addition to the guards’ offensive explosion, Miami is winning because the defense is denying opponents open looks. The Hurricanes held their two most recent opponents to less than 36 percent shooting from the field. Junior forward Gary Hamilton has been one of the Hurricanes’ best post players, scoring 15 points and grabbing 20 rebounds in the past two games.
Miami plays its first ACC conference game Jan. 6 at Georgia Tech, then follows up with a home game against North Carolina State Jan. 9 and a road game at Virginia Jan. 12.
Virginia Tech Hokies (6-5, 0-1)
The Hokies split their two games last week against Morgan State and Mississippi State, but both games had similar scenarios. Virginia Tech played solid defense in both games, holding the Golden Bears and Bulldogs to less than 39 percent shooting. Against Morgan State, the Hokies collected most of the loose balls, out-rebounding the Golden Bears by 11. But against the Bulldogs, Virginia Tech failed to be as productive on the glass, getting out-rebounded 42-26. The Hokies also allowed 17 offensive rebounds, prolonging Mississippi State’s possessions. Wooden Award candidate Lawrence Roberts grabbed 19 rebounds for the Bulldogs, only seven less than the entire Hokies team.
Offensively, senior forward Carlos Dixon appears to be the only consistent performer for the Hokies. He led the team with 19 points against Mississippi State and scored 12 against Morgan State. One reason why the Hokies lack rhythm on offense is because they lack an experienced point guard. The team as a whole had no more than 14 assists in either game. Freshman point guard Marquise Cooke may be the long term answer, but he had only three assists in the two games combined.
The Hokies play three winnable games in the next week, starting at Florida State Jan. 8, then playing Bethune Cookman Jan. 12 and Clemson Jan. 15 at home.
