Rush The Court

Ryan ZumMallen of the LBPostSports is the RTC correspondent for the ACC, SEC and Big West Conferences. 

There’s been a little grumbling thus far that the ACC is not the nation’s strongest top-to-bottom conference, but as the week begins we will likely see another one of its squads perched at #1.  In case you missed it, Virginia Tech jumped out to a 24-12 lead over then-#1 Wake Forest and never looked back, defeating the nation’s final undefeated team on Wednesday.

So who is waiting in Wake’s… wake?  Why none other than the #2 Duke Blue Devils, who made their case for the top slot with a crushing 85-44 win over Maryland three nights later.  Duke also smashed NC State earlier in the week, 73-56.  The Krzyzewskis have the country’s top RPI rating and only one loss, so whether or not it’s the best conference, we’ll probably see an ACC team in the #1 ranking for the ninth week out of eleven this season. 

If you’re not a fan of having an ACC team at the top of the rankings, I would direct you to your nearest television set this Wednesday, when a scorned Wake Forest will look for vengeance against the Blue Devils.  It will be interesting to see how the Deacons respond to being knocked off their perch, and whether Duke can hold their newfound position on the road.

Did anybody else notice ESPN’s commentators calling out Wake’s super-soph Jeff Teague in the loss to Virginia Tech?  Teague willed his team back into the game in the second half and cut the Hokie lead to two with 1:53 to go, but didn’t take another meaningful shot and the Demon Deacons fell by seven.  The TV analysts brought up examples of Teague’s poor attitude in the past, claimed that Wake’s staff was warned that he can be a handful and used the word “sulking” to describe his attitude.  Granted, Teague is a spectacular talent and that comes with a lot of expectation and criticism, but Tech didn’t give him an inch in the last two minutes and there’s something to be said for a guy who passes to the open man when his team needs a bucket.  Scoring 23 on 10-16 shooting isn’t enough for some people, I guess.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has quietly snuck into the ACC’s #2 slot and is making a strong case for a Top-25 ranking.

Is it weird that I haven’t mentioned North Carolina until now?  Well, raise your hand if you thought the ‘Heels would be caught in a three-way tie for fourth place at this point in the season.

Didn’t think so.

After offensive weaknesses were exposed in losses to Boston College and Wake, Roy Williams & Co. restored some order with a strong performance over #9 Clemson.  North Carolina shot a combined 54-147 (36.7%) in the two previous losses, but blasted the Tigers by 24 points with 35-66 (53.0%) shooting.  They’ll hit the road for two this week, but won’t face another real test until the season’s first UNC/Duke game on February 11 – the latest installment of the Most Important Matchup In The Rivalry’s History Ever Series, brought to you by ESPN.

Speaking of schedules, am I the only one that feels cheated because UNC won’t face Clemson or Wake Forest again this season?  I understand that the ACC fields twelve teams and it would be near impossible to schedule everyone twice, but there are three other conference teams currently ranked in the Top 10 and Duke is the only one that UNC will play twice.  This shall not stand.  I’m going to propose some kind of flex scheduling system – let the fans text their votes for the best matchup near the end of the season.

Speaking of Clemson, the Tigers will lose a spot or two after their beating in Chapel Hill, so they did what any ACC team would do and took it out on Georgia Tech.  The 73-59 win snapped Clemson’s two-game losing streak after falling to Wake and UNC, and we’ll see if a previously undefeated team can get back on track against a hot Virginia Tech squad this Thursday.

Poor Georgia Tech.  Along with Virginia, they’re the only ACC teams with an overall losing record.  The Yellow Jackets haven’t won a conference game yet and have blown leads against Duke (8 points) and NC State (10 points).  They also played Boston College tough before caving and are third in the nation in rebounding, so there may be some potential for success.  It definitely makes you wonder: would the ‘Jackets be any better if recently-signed recruit Derrick Favors were to join the team right now?

At 6’9″ and 220, Favors is a top-five national recruit on every scout’s list and GT lucked out on the Atlanta native.  Tech is ill-equipped for the talent and experience of the ACC right now, but they’ll lose only four of their 15 players to graduation next season, and adding Favors may just be the piece they need to rebuild Paul Hewitt’s squad (because if he’s not, then God help the Yellow Jackets).

Five Georgia Tech players currently score in double figures, and three of them will return next year.  Two Jackets are also among the ACC’s top five in assists.  But don’t take it from the stats – the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Mark Bradley today likens Favors to a quicker and more versatile Dwight Howard, and says that Favors is “so good he might even make Paul Hewitt seem smart again.”

For the sake of the ACC, let’s hope that Hewitt is a genius.