Atlantic Coast Conference Notebook
The ACC is down to one week remaining in the regular season. The standings have already taken shape with the top four teams head and shoulders above the rest. Duke has claimed the regular-season title, and North Carolina appears a good bet for second. North Carolina State and Boston College are locks for the other two byes in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.
But after those four, the quality level drastically decreases. The conference’s four bubble teams are Florida State, Maryland, Miami and Virginia – in alphabetical order, which is the only simple way to rank them because none of them have done anything to separate themselves.
Last week, those four went a collective 3-4, including two losses by Maryland to drop the Terrapins to 6-8 in the conference. More detrimental to the team’s tourney hopes, Maryland is only 3-7 in the last 10 games, which happen to be the 10 games the Terrapins have played without senior guard Chris McCray, who is academically ineligible for the remainder of the season. With such a resounding thud to end the season, Maryland is done barring a spectacular run in the ACC Tournament. And with a likely opening-round date with Clemson – suddenly the Terrapins’ arch-nemesis – Maryland is in deep trouble.
Despite the Terps’ woes, Miami and Virginia must fear the turtle this weak because a loss to Maryland would kill their own NCAA Tournament aspirations. Virginia did the most to help its résumé with a win against Boston College in Charlottesville before promptly falling flat at Clemson. The Tigers pounded the Cavaliers 90-64, which hurts a lot more than the 72-58 win against the Eagles helps. Virginia is in a must-win situation at North Carolina this week. Good luck.
Miami did what it had to do in its only game last week – beat Virginia Tech in Coral Gables. With games against bubblemates Florida State and Maryland this week, Miami cannot do enough to earn an NCAA Tournament bid on its own this week. That means Miami is mostly playing for a top five ACC finish to force the selection committee to think twice before leapfrogging one of the other conference bubble teams into the field before the Hurricanes.
With 17 wins on the season, Florida State has the best overall record of any ACC bubble team. And the Seminoles have an intriguing game against Duke in Tallahassee. They took the Blue Devils to overtime in Durham earlier this season and have a history of playing Duke tough in Florida. A win against Duke followed by a road victory against Miami would give the team 19 wins overall and nine in the conference. Florida State should have all it needs to reach the NCAA Tournament in that scenario, which seems unlikely, but anything is possible. But the Seminoles are certainly the only team that can control its own destiny for earning an NCAA Tournament bid based on the strength of remaining quality opponents.
ACC Player of the Week: Shelden Williams, Duke
In the week during which teammate J.J. Redick broke the ACC’s all-time scoring record, Duke’s Williams surpassed his teammate for the two best performances of the week. As Georgia Tech and Temple slowed Redick, Williams exploded for a combined 49 points and 23 rebounds, leading the Blue Devils to two more wins.
ACC Rookie of the Week: Lewis Clinch, Georgia Tech
For the first time in a very long time, this award goes to someone other than North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough. Clinch had a sensational week with 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in games against Duke and Wake Forest. More importantly, he was the leader in the Yellow Jackets’ win against the Demon Deacons with 20 points. Clinch’s development in key to building optimism in Georgia Tech that good times are ahead.
ACC Coach Watch: Herb Sendek, North Carolina State
Despite a top-four ACC finish, Sendek will likely hear the deep-seeded rumblings in Raleigh about whether he’s the right man for the job after North Carolina completed a regular-season sweep of the Wolfpack. Sendek has now lost six consecutive games to its most-hated rivals, and even a solid season worthy of national praise can’t keep the critics off his back if he can’t beat the Tar Heels. Memo to the critics: Lay off the man and let him guide your team to yet another NCAA Tournament bid, something that wasn’t frequent before he arrived.
Duke Blue Devils (27-1, 14-0)
Last week:
Win: at Georgia Tech, 73-66
Win: at Temple, 74-66
Next week:
March 1: at Florida State
March 4: North Carolina
After scoring 11 points against Temple Saturday, senior guard J.J. Redick passed Wake Forest’s Dickie Hemric for first on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. Redick has 2,590 points and counting, surpassing Hemric’s 2,587. Redick holds several major records at Duke and in the ACC and NCAA, cementing his place in college basketball history. But he does not have a national championship to his credit, which is clearly his primary goal. After draining the free throw that gave him more points than Hemric, Redick did not even crack a smile. The man is focused on the team’s goal. And against Temple, senior forward Shelden Williams was the more important player, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead Duke to a tough victory against the Owls.
Williams’ performance in Philadelphia followed a sensational game in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. He picked up his first double-double of the week with 26 points and 11 rebounds. He now has 12 double-doubles and a triple-double on the season, putting up All-American numbers in Redick’s shadow. Although Redick’s scoring outbursts and deadly three-point shooting usually garner most of the attention, Williams’ performances usually dictate the ease of victory for the Blue Devils. He is Duke’s only true post player and easily the best defender within the arc. Because Duke forces most of its opponents to shoot from inside the arc, Williams must oversee the paint to swat shots and – more importantly – give opponents difficult attempts. When Williams is in foul trouble, Duke’s defensive prowess takes a significant step down.
North Carolina Tar Heels (19-6, 10-4)
Last week:
Win: at North Carolina State, 95-71
Win: Maryland, 81-57
Next week:
March 1: Virginia
March 4: at Duke
Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Tar Heels are the hottest team in the ACC not named Duke. North Carolina has improbably surged to second in the ACC and can claim that spot heading into the ACC Tournament with a split this week at home against Virginia and on the road at Duke. Obviously, the former match up is the more likely victory, but the Tar Heels played Duke tough in the first meeting, so don’t expect this team to roll over just because they’re playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The young Tar Heels have shown tremendous poise on the road, winning five consecutive road trips in the ACC.
Last week’s wins were largely supported by David Noel. The senior forward scored registered a double-double at North Carolina State with a season-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. He filled the stats sheet against Maryland with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Noel does everything coach Roy Williams asks of him. And despite a deep rotation, Williams played Noel for at least 35 minutes in both games last week. With Noel leading the way and freshmen Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green and Marcus Ginyard maturing by the minute, the Tar Heels might the most dangerous youthful team entering the NCAA Tournament since the famed Fab Five.
North Carolina State Wolfpack (21-7, 10-5)
Last week:
Loss: North Carolina, 95-71
Loss: Boston College, 74-72
Next week:
March 4: at Wake Forest
The Wolfpack are in the midst of a disastrous end to the regular season after dropping two home games against North Carolina and Boston College. North Carolina State has not defeated an elite ACC opponent since Jan. 10 at Boston College. In fairness to the Wolfpack, they have lost to only one team not headed to the NCAA Tournament in that span – Georgia Tech – although Seton Hall is fading quickly. If Boston College holds court against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech and the Tar Heels split against Virginia and Duke, the Wolfpack will finish fourth in the conference after sitting in second for nearly the entire conference slate. North Carolina State will still receive a bye in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, but a No. 4 seed would likely mean a semifinal match up vs. Duke.
One reason for back-to-back home losses is the Wolfpack’s inability to play consistently solid defense. North Carolina finished with a shooting percentage better than 53 percent, while Boston College hovered around 50 percent for much of the game, until the two overtime periods when the Eagles started running out of gas. Both teams heaved ugly shots in the overtime periods, and North Carolina State’s rebounding Achilles’ heel reared its ugly head. In two games last week, opponents out-rebounded the Wolfpack 81-54. And the Wolfpack forced only 21 total turnovers in 90 minutes of action. Unless North Carolina State plans to shoot 60 percent from the field in every game, those defensive and rebounds numbers just won’t do. Coach Herb Sendek needs his team to focus on defensive pressure and crashing the glass when shots go up before hustling down court on offense.
The Wolfpack have a tougher-than-it-looks trip to Wake Forest to end the regular season. Wake Forest has uber-rebounder Eric Williams who poses all sorts of match up problems in the paint. Sendek has a full week to prepare the Wolfpack for a game in which they must show notable improvement or else this team will have plenty of questions to answer entering the post-season.
Boston College Eagles (22-6, 9-5)
Last week:
Loss: at Virginia, 72-58
Win: at North Carolina State, 74-72
Next week:
Feb. 28: Wake Forest
March 4: Virginia Tech
The Eagles battled through a tough road swing through Charlottesville and Raleigh and emerged with a split. Many might expect the win to come against Virginia and the Wolfpack to hand Boston College the loss. But the ACC is full of twists this season. Virginia’s resurgence under coach Dave Leitao will be one of the enduring stories from this season, and Boston College’s loss to the Cavaliers will be a highlight for that team. Equally important to the Eagles, the road loss to Virginia should not be considered a bad loss. Boston College couldn’t find its shooting stroke for the entire game as senior forward Craig Smith was the only starter to reach double figures. He finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Smith had an even bigger game in the Eagles’ double overtime victory at North Carolina State. He had 18 points and 14 rebounds, joining teammate Jared Dudley as the second Eagle in the game to register a double-double. In addition to shooting a respectable 44 percent from the field, the Eagles collected 18 offensive rebounds, facilitating plenty of second-chance opportunities. Those were especially key in overtime as Smith and Dudley seemed to collect every missed shot in crunch time. As the Eagles head into the post-season, the most disturbing trend is the team’s inability to hit free throws. The team was just 30-of-51, slightly worse than 60 percent from the free-throw line. That figures to cost the team in a big game sometime in the next few weeks, which could end Boston College’s season earlier than fans and players would prefer.
Florida State Seminoles (17-8, 7-7)
Last week:
Win: Maryland, 71-60
Loss: at Virginia Tech, 72-61
Next week:
March 1: Duke
March 5: at Miami
Junior forward Al Thornton dominated Maryland as Florida State held its ground in the middle of the ACC pack with a solid win at home vs. the Terrapins. Thornton had 27 points and 12 rebounds, single-handedly leading the Seminoles to the 71-60 win. But he couldn’t follow that performance on the road at Virginia Tech. The Hokies stifled Thornton by keeping him off the floor. He played only 22 minutes because of foul trouble. Despite desperately needing the win, Florida State could not find enough offense to overcome Virginia Tech’s defensive pressure, which forced 20 turnovers.
When Duke comes to town this week, Thornton must stay out of foul trouble. He played his best game of the season in Cameron Indoor Stadium with 37 points and 15 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. If Thornton shows the same tenacity this week and gets more help from his teammates, the Seminoles have every reason to expect to win. The key will be the ability of Thornton and frontcourt stalwart Alexander Johnson to get Shelden Williams in foul trouble and out of the game. Without Williams, Duke’s perimeter defense must hedge toward the paint to cover Florida State’s post players. That should yield more open looks for the Seminoles’ three-point shooters. If Williams doesn’t have two fouls within the first 10 minutes of the game or three fouls by halftime, Florida State will be in trouble.
Virginia Cavaliers (14-11, 7-7)
Last week:
Win: Boston College, 72-58
Loss: at Clemson, 90-64
Next week:
March 1: at North Carolina
March 5: Maryland
In the win against Boston College, junior guard J.R. Reynolds and sophomore point guard Sean Singletary combined for 44 points. In the loss at Clemson, they scored 41 points. So what explains the difference between a 14-point home win vs. a 26-point road embarrassment? With only eight more points from teammates in the Boston College games than in the Clemson game, other scoring options isn’t the answer. But you don’t need look further than defense and ball control.
Against Boston College, Virginia’s defense was outstanding, holding the Eagles to 35 percent shooting from the floor and giving up only three three-pointers. With such defensive acuity, the Cavaliers’ offense only needed to play decent to win. Virginia was efficient and only turned the ball over 12 times. Fast-forward to Saturday’s game at Clemson and the statistics are entirely different. Virginia committed 28 turnovers against Clemson’s pressure defense. All those turnovers yielded easy points and 52.5 percent field-goal shooting for the Tigers. But Virginia couldn’t defend Clemson in the half-court game either, allowing the Tigers to hit nine three-pointers even though the scouting report clearly indicates that all Clemson does is jack up long bombs. The Cavaliers must forget the debacle in South Carolina and find the chutzpah to play sound basketball in Chapel Hill, where Virginia must win to resuscitate any NCAA Tournament hopes.
Miami Hurricanes (15-12, 7-7)
Last week:
Win: Virginia Tech, 70-59
Next week:
March 1: at Maryland
March 5: Florida State
As mentioned earlier, Miami played only one game week, a home victory against Virginia Tech. Junior guard Guillermo Diaz picked a good time to go off for his season-high total. He scored 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting. And that includes only three three-pointers, meaning that Diaz was willing to take the opportunities the Hokies gave him rather than forcing three-point shots all night. Diaz’s solid performance covered up a rough outing for senior guard Robert Hite, the other half of the Hurricanes’ dynamic duo.
After plenty of rest, Miami will travel to Maryland this week in an attempt to win its fourth ACC road game and finish in the top half of the standings. With 12 losses, Miami likely must win both games this week and reach the ACC Tournament championship to reach 20 wins before having any real chances of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Maryland Terrapins (16-11, 6-8)
Last week:
Loss: at Florida State, 71-60
Loss: at North Carolina, 81-57
Next week:
March 1: Miami
March 5: at Virginia
To repeat the most critical fact the selection committee will consider when reviewing Maryland’s tournament résumé, the Terrapins are 3-7 without senior guard Chris McCray. Even if Maryland beats Miami and Virginia this week, they can only get to 5-7 without McCray and 4-6 in the final 10 regular-season games. A promising season has once again imploded, likely yielding a second consecutive NIT appearance.
Maryland’s performance has sunk to a level so low that coach Gary Williams no longer screams in fits of passion throughout games. In the blowout at North Carolina, Williams appeared to have lost the desire to perform his patented turn-and-shout moves, usually in the general direction of his assistants. His team repeatedly missed layups and open shots en route to a 27.9 percent shooting performance. No one scored more than 12 points for the Terrapins, who seemed to lack the energy and focus to compete with the Tar Heels. Maryland needs to regroup to finish the season with at least a sense of pride, if not a run at an NCAA Tournament bid.
Clemson Tigers (16-11, 5-9)
Last week:
Loss: at Wake Forest, 74-68
Win: Virginia, 90-64
Next week:
March 1: at Virginia Tech
March 4: Georgia Tech
The Tigers continue to play tough basketball despite remaining in the bottom third of the ACC standings. But with Maryland fading, Clemson could pass the Terrapins for eighth in the conference. Looking at the schedule, the Tigers have an excellent opportunity to face Maryland in the opening round of the ACC Tournament either as a No. 8 or 9 seed. Based on recent history, the Tigers can book a second ACC Tournament game, against Duke. Given Clemson’s performance against Duke earlier in the season, the Tigers will be game for that match up. Even a close contest in the first game on tap in the quarterfinals would be worthy of national attention.
Minus a forgettable performance at Boston College, senior guard Shawan Robinson has been solid in the past five games. He has made nearly four three-pointers per game and scored no less than 15 points against Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest and Virginia. He led the Tigers to a blowout against the Cavaliers last week with 22 points, including five three-pointers. With a deep bench, coach Oliver Purnell usually plays Robinson less than 30 minutes per game. Extending his averages for 40 minutes, Robinson would be good for nearly 20 points per game. The Tigers have several prolific scorers to add to academically ineligible sophomore forward James Mays for next season.
Virginia Tech Hokies (14-13, 4-10)
Last week:
Loss: at Miami, 70-59
Win: Florida State, 72-61
Next week:
March 1: Clemson
March 4: at Boston College
Coach Seth Greenberg has the Hokies playing tough and refuses to let his team go soft. Although the season is winding down, Greenberg continues to emphasize team play and integrity, demonstrated by the punishment he handed down to junior guard Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon after they failed to fulfill a team obligation. He did not start either guard against Miami. Although he inserted both players into the lineup quickly, their presence could not stop Miami’s Guillermo Diaz from torching the nets on 10-of-14 shooting.
The Hokies relished the role of ACC spoiler against Florida State, knocking off the Seminoles in their attempt to move above .500 in conference play. Dowdell returned to the starting lineup and led the Hokies with 20 points. The Hokies’ four regular starters – Dowdell, Gordon, junior forward Coleman Collins and sophomore forward Deron Washington – accounted for 60 of the team’s 72 points in the win. Depth continues to be an issue for Greenberg. With another year of development, however, Greenberg could have an eight- or nine-man rotation in his arsenal.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-15, 4-11)
Last week:
Loss: Duke, 73-66
Win: Wake Forest, 76-61
Next week:
March 4: at Clemson
Give Georgia Tech credit. With everyone watching the Duke/Georgia Tech game in hopes of seeing J.J. Redick break the all-time scoring records, the Yellow Jackets nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the year in the ACC. Georgia Tech refused to back down from the Blue Devils and stifled Redick for the first half. And they never allowed Redick to find his range, finishing just 5-of-21 from the field. At one point early in the second half, Georgia Tech led by 11 points. But then the wheels came off – or more specifically, the shots stopped falling and the turnovers started mounting. Sophomore forward Jeremis Smith and Ra’Sean Dickey led the Yellow Jackets with a combined 32 points, nearly half the team’s offense. They just couldn’t do enough to keep Shelden Williams and Redick out of the scoring column.
Georgia Tech bounced back with a solid win against Wake Forest, led by freshman guard Lewis Clinch. He had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the week and promises to be a star in the near future for the Yellow jackets. Clinch’s improvement coincides with the recent maturation of the entire team. Although Georgia Tech is far from NCAA Tournament consideration, the Yellow Jackets are playing their best basketball at the end of the season. Although they have lost four of the past six games, none of those losses were by more than 10 points. Georgia Tech could snipe one of the ACC’s many bubble teams in the opening round of the ACC Tournament to grab headlines in Greensboro. A run to the conference tournament semifinals would make an excellent finish to build on for next season for coach Paul Hewitt and the young Jackets.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-14, 2-12)
Last week:
Win: Clemson, 74-68
Loss: at Georgia Tech, 76-61
Next week:
Feb. 28: at Boston College
March 4: North Carolina State
The Demon Deacons suffered through a week of feast and famine that produced the team’s second conference win followed by their 12th conference loss. Wake Forest shot better than 54 percent in an overtime win against Clemson but couldn’t buy a bucket in a road loss to Georgia Tech. With their senior seasons quickly coming to a close, center Eric Williams and guard Justin Gray continued to lead the team, as they have done for much of the past four years.
Wake Forest will honor Williams and Gray during the team’s senior night March 4 vs. North Carolina State. The designated rivalry game will finish the careers of the two stars in Winston-Salem, barring a home game in the NIT, if the committee chooses to include the Demon Deacons. Given that Wake Forest has won only four games in 2006, a post-season appearance is doubtful. Both Gray and Williams are among the conference leaders in scoring, and Williams is among the leaders in rebounding. Statistically, they are having their best seasons despite the team’s struggles. That indicates that Williams and Gray will leave Wake Forest as two of the Demon Deacons’ most heralded players. But without a lot of experience on the bench, Wake Forest faces more rough times in the near future.
