This Weekend in the ACC: January 28
Posted by Mick McDonald on January 28th, 2017Here are a few things to keep your eye on around the ACC this weekend (all times Eastern).
- Saturday, 12:00 PM: Notre Dame (17-4, 6-2) at Georgia Tech (12-8, 4-4). When North Carolina lost to Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve, the subsequent narrative was that the Tar Heels slept through a forgettable blip on the ACC radar. That thinking looked accurate when the Yellow Jackets were subsequently blitzed by 53 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium in their next game. Four weeks later, Josh Pastner’s bunch is now playing like that early league game against the Tar Heels was a sign of things to come rather than an anomaly. Georgia Tech is 3-2 in its last five, a stretch that includes a heart-breaking one-point loss at Virginia Tech and an absolute demolition of Florida State. Freshman Josh Okogie has been fantastic, averaging 20.2 PPG over that stretch while shooting 50 percent from three. Pastner will need another outstanding performance from his wing this weekend if the Yellow Jackets hope to add another high-level win to their resume. Okogie has averaged eight free throws per game in Georgia Tech’s last five contests, so look for him to force his way to the basket against Note Dame’s VJ Beachem and Steve Vasturia.
Can Bryant Crawford take care of the ball and lead Wake Forest to a big win over Duke? (US Presswire)
- Saturday, 3:00 PM: Duke (15-5, 3-4) at Wake Forest (12-8, 3-5). There is certainly no bigger circus in college basketball than Duke, but everything going on in Durham has distracted from the notion that today’s game is quite possibly the biggest of the Danny Manning era in Winston-Salem. While Wake Forest is hovering around the bubble with a mediocre record both inside and out of conference play, wins over Miami and at NC State do not really impress anyone. That effectively means that the Deacons could desperately use another big win, and a reeling squad of Blue Devils could nicely do the trick. In Duke’s last three losses, it twice allowed an eFG rate of 56.0 percent or higher. Wake Forest’s high-powered offense, which starts with sophomore point guard Bryant Crawford, should be able to score against the Blue Devils. The key will be if Crawford can take care of the ball well enough to give his offense sufficient chances. The Demon Deacons are 11-3 when he has three or fewer turnovers,with their only losses coming to Virginia, North Carolina and Villanova. When he turns the ball over four or more times, Wake Forest is 1-5.
Abdul-Malik Abu will have to continue his stellar play if the Wolfpack want to notch their second straight road victory. (Will Bratton/WRAL Contributor)
- Sunday, 1:00 PM: NC State (14-7, 3-5) at Louisville (5-3). As The News & Observer’s Joe Giglio astutely pointed out yesterday, a win over Duke or North Carolina hasn’t usually meant good things in the Wolfpack’s immediate future. Since the 1990-91 season, a regular season win over either the Blue Devils or the Tar Heels resulted in a 2-19 record in the very next game. NC State may be staring 2-20 in the face this weekend in Louisville. How can they avoid what appears to be a programmatic letdown? Start with freshman sensation Dennis Smith, Jr., for one, but don’t forget about Abdul-Malik Abu, who has been spectacular (19.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG) in his last two games. That means staying on the floor and out of foul trouble — when Abu commits three or fewer fouls, NC State is 8-2; when he commits four or five fouls, the Wolfpack are just 6-5.
