The Hurricanes won their first ACC game despite allowing the Clemson Tigers to shoot 47.4% from the field, losing the offensive rebounding and the turnover battle. How do you win against a team that took more shots and nearly shot 50%? Well, you just have to shoot better than 50% yourself. In a dazzling offensive performance, Miami shot 51.9% from the field, made 9-of-20 three-pointers and converted 13-of-14 free throws. Miami may have gotten fewer possessions than Clemson, but they certainly made the most of the shots they got. Miami’s primary four guard rotation of Malcolm Grant, Durand Scott, Trey McKinney-Jones, and Shane Larkin all managed at least three assists and two steals. These aren’t huge numbers, but when you have four guys on the perimeter who are such capable play-makers and ball-hawks, it’s going to really help your team win. Another thing that will help your team win against Clemson? Holding Andre Young to 0-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Too Much To Prove
- North Carolina at Virginia Tech at 9:00 PM on ESPN
Virginia Tech has yet to win a conference game despite playing both lowly Boston College and Wake Forest. North Carolina is coming off a nationally televised beatdown which is the worst loss of Roy Williams’ career. One thing is certain about this game: Both teams should be playing as hard as they can. While it’s easy to expect a dominant Tar Heel bounceback, the Hokies have a couple of things going for them that makes this a tough match-up for North Carolina. UNC’s slumping three-point attack will be tested against a Hokies’ defense that’s even better than Florida State at defending the perimeter. Virginia Tech’s opponents have managed a meager 26.2% from long range. A lot of this has to do with the personnel that Seth Greenberg can put on the wing. With a number of quick, long forwards like Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarrell Eddie as well as two 6’5″ guards in Dorenzo Hudson and Robert Brown, the Hokies are one of the few teams that can match up with Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, and P.J. Hairston without much trouble. Even worse for the Tar Heels, Erick Green is the exact kind of player (quick guard with a long-distance touch and play-making abilities) that is easily capable of hanging thirty on North Carolina. That said, Virginia Tech hasn’t proven anything this year: In every big game the Hokies have played, they’ve lost. You could say that they’re due a big win or you can say the lack that intangible mental toughness. Either way you see it, the Hokies will have a hard time dealing with the post presence of Tyler Zeller and John Henson. Virginia Tech’s biggest guys aren’t all that big, not all that skilled, and frequently suffer from foul trouble. It’s a tough matchup for any team, but if Carolina can get the ball inside on offense and prevent an Erick Green-based perimeter onslaught on defense, UNC takes the first step out of the shadow of Saturday’s brutal loss.
Easy Wins If This Weren’t The ACC
- Wake Forest at Duke at 7:00 PM on ESPN
- Virginia at Georgia Tech at 8:00 PM on ESPN3.com
- Boston College at North Carolina State at 8:00 PM on ESPN3.com
If this weren’t the ACC, I’d say that these should all be easy wins for Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina State, but in the early going, the conference hasn’t made a lot of sense. Wake Forest can challenge Duke’s perimeter defense and has the size and strength to make an effort to hold on in the interior, but on paper, Duke is the better team in just about every category and standing strong in Cameron, they should win this one unless they’ve been lulled into looking too far ahead to Saturday’s match-up with the Seminoles. Virginia’s ball-hawking back court should cause Georgia Tech’s offense to grind to a halt and Mike Scott is probably the conference Player of the Year while Georgia Tech hasn’t shown it can do much outside of an oddly decisive win against North Carolina State. On that same topic, North Carolina State should be able to win easily over Boston College, but they also should have been able to win easily against the Yellow Jackets. Conversely, the Eagles had no business beating either Clemson or Virginia Tech, yet they come into Raleigh with the same record as the Wolfpack. I don’t know what’s going on with Boston College, but if they somehow manage to pull off what on paper looks like a wholly improbable upset, I’ll just shrug as the camera does a slow backwards tracking pull out and say, “Forget it Jake, it’s conference play.”