- Duke Basketball Report: Florida State is off to a rough start, and the triple-overtime loss to Princeton fit right into the Seminoles’ disappointing non-conference season. But how rare is a 3OT game? Apparently, very rare. Barry Jacobs has a very interesting look at all games that went to three overtimes or more. NC State has the most quadruple-overtime games (two), but Georgia Tech takes the day because of its undefeated record in triple-overtime games.
- Wilmington Star News: Brett Friedlander takes a look at some of the unknowns going into conference play. I think the biggest question will be how Virginia will perform against more familiar (and talented) teams. Now, whether NC State can make the Big Dance, I’m not nearly as optimistic. Sure, it’s still possible, but barring a Texas resurgence the Wolfpack are in serious trouble as far as quality wins are concerned.
- Washington Post: An underreported aspect of Maryland’s turnaround has been Terrell Stoglin‘s defense. The sophomore scoring machine didn’t start when Mark Turgeon wanted to send a message about Stoglin’s effort on the defensive end of the floor, and apparently, the move worked. Now, the Maryland seven-game winning streak is pretty difficult to put a finger on because of the mediocre quality of opponents it has played the last few weeks, but winning games is winning games.
- Winston-Salem Journal: NC State’s Lorenzo Brown, CJ Leslie and DeShawn Painter have all gotten praise at various times for their performances this season. One guy a little more under the radar is Richard Howell, who is absolutely dominating the glass for the Wolfpack this season. Howell pulled down 12 or more rebounds for the fourth consecutive time over the weekend against Western Carolina. It’s that kind of unnoticed play that will give Mark Gottfried’s team the grit to succeed in the conference schedule.
- Carolina March: Here’s an interesting idea from Carolina March: piggy-back on bowl games with basketball games the night before. Miami, Georgia Tech, Maryland and three North Carolina schools all have bowl games very close to their campuses. Why not have a basketball game that tries to capitalize on the excitement surrounding their respective bowl games? It’s worth a thought, especially for Georgia Tech and Miami, which have both really struggled filling the stands consistently.
EXTRA: ACC Digital Network Video of the Day: Analyst (and North Carolina alumnus) JR Reid looks at shot-blocking and specifically John Henson.