Trending is a column examining the week that was in college basketball social media. Nick Fasulo (@nickfasuloSBN) is your weekly host. 

Who should be more embarrassed: Memphis’ Joe Jackson or California’s Justin Cobbs?

Jackson tried a windmill dunk in the middle of a close game, only to get an earful from head coach Josh Pastner. Cobbs wedged the ball between the rim and glass on a a breakaway layup.

or

Our pick? Got to go with Jackson. Up five on the road against a pesky UCF club, you take any points you can get. Cobbs’ blunder actually ended up benefiting the Golden Bears, as officials called the play a jump ball, Cal retained possession and converted a three pointer a few seconds later.

Regardless, expect the Mothership to have both these plays ranked high on their weekly #SCNotTop10 countdown this evening.

Doug McDermott plays hero with a questionable no-call?

GIFs never lie, man. Click the screen grab below to see  what “Creighton Otter” of White &Blue Review is calling a “super screen” by the Bluejays’ Isaiah Zierden to free up the NPOY candidate for his game-winning shot against St. John’s.

There really is no place like home when the game is tied in the final 10 seconds.

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1. Syracuse Post-Standard: I’m late to the party on this Post-Standard series, “10 Reasons why Duke is hated.” First let’s talk about the piece from Tuesday on Duke’s lack of NBA success. It’s fair to say Brent Axe is standing in a glass house here — and we won’t even talk about the “I could do 10 posts on bad calls Tim Higgins has made against SU alone” comment. Syracuse has had two NBA All-Stars since Jim Boeheim took over: Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Coleman (who only went once). That’s three fewer than Duke over the last 10 years. But Wednesday’s piece takes the cake, with Axe writing what feels like a fanboy blog piece on Duke’s “dark side.” This isn’t to say the national media doesn’t put Duke on a pedestal — it most certainly does. But long story short, this series looks pretty ridiculous on a newspaper blog (a paper, theoretically capable of reporting on scandals in the conference), and crosses the fine line between fun trolling and unprofessional potshots.
2. Daily Orange: In a better example of Syracuse journalism, the student paper continued its “2-3 Series” talking about how Jim Boeheim teaches his teams to feel the zone instead of “reacting” to the play. Specifically, it looks at Hakim Warrick, who — like most post players — took time learning the rotations. That’s one reason I (and Stephen Bailey) don’t think Jim Boeheim will ever fully embrace the one-and-dones. All it takes is one disinterested or lost player to ruin a zone (unlike man-to-man, where you make sure a weak link guards a non-factor).
3. ACC: The ACC announced this year’s ACC Legends, which will be honored at the ACC Tournament in March. It’s a good thing the league is expanding because it’s really having to stretch on some of these — no offense to Sam Ivy, who was a “linchpin” in Bob Staak’s teams at Wake Forest — teams that never made the NCAA Tournament. I was happy to see Julius Hodge honored for his nine four years of playing for NC State. And Al Thornton probably deserves to be an ACC legend based on this play alone.
4. Boston Globe: Boston College was 5-14 going into its game against Virginia Tech last night (winning by 24). Steve Donahue admits to over-scheduling his team, but he would have been killed for playing a Clemson-like schedule. He also cites Ken Pomeroy’s numbers as proof of Dennis Clifford’s impact on his team’s defense. The only question now is how many wins Donahue needs to notch to keep his job.
5. Cardiac Hill: Pittsburgh has a lot of wins, but is is still missing a marquee victory that helps its resume stand out. A down conference and horrid non-conference schedule doesn’t make the search for a capstone win any easier. The Panthers have two more chances for a good one — at home against both Virginia and Syracuse. Losethose games and you could be looking at a 25-win major conference team that somehow ended up on the bubble. The Panthers also have the conference tournament to prove their worth, but time is running out.

EXTRA: McDonalds All-American teams were announced on Wednesday and seven (eight if you pretend Maryland isn’t leaving next summer) will play in the ACC next season. Four will play for Duke and three for North Carolina. Syracuse recruit Chris McCullough would likely have been a burger boy, but he’s ineligible for the recognition as a fifth-year player.

VIDEO EXTRA: The ACC Digital Network is doing an interesting series miking up coaches from around the league. Here’s Virginia Tech’s James Johnson.

1. Raleigh News & Observer: Good stuff on Duke’s Jabari Parker from Laura Keeley, as she also followed up with his bishop and mother to talk about the possibility of him doing a Mormon mission next year. It’s interesting that Duke and Parker already have a plan in place for him to graduate even if he leaves after this season. The article also has a good interview with Matt Jones, Parker’s roommate, about the future top-five pick.
2. Charlottesville Daily Progress: Tony Bennett busted out some Robert Frost this week, and it was awesome. “The hero is not fed on sweets” may help fire his team up, but they’re sure playing a sweet schedule. With only two remaining games against the top ACC teams (at Pittsburgh Sunday, and at home against Syracuse in March), the Cavaliers need to let teams come back to them. They’re already leading the conference in efficiency margin, and I expect that trend to continue. With Virginia’s talent and experience, don’t be surprised if the Cavaliers end conference play with a top-two seed in the ACC Tournament.
3. Duke Basketball Report: With the league down as a whole, it’s time to start thinking about another new round of coaches. I think Georgia Tech will give Brian Gregory at least another year or two (emphasis on think); I have no clue about Virginia Tech (more on this later); and, Jeff Bzdelik and Steve Donahue are squarely on hot seats. The Boston College search could be the most interesting, as the school has ties to two coaches with solid resumes if it is willing to roll the dice (Bruce Pearl and Ed Cooley).
4. Washington Post: While I have no idea what Virginia Tech is planning to do with James Johnson, this quote should definitely serve as notice to him: “One of the first decisions for Babcock will be determining how to ‘fix the basketball problem’ [according to John Ballein, an internal candidate for the athletic director].” And to be clear, that quote isn’t from the school’s new athletic director, Whit Babcock, but it does make clear that at least part of the department is already concerned with the second-year head coach. For his part, Brad Brownell, who may have landed Johnson the job by initially hiring him to Clemson, is calling for Johnson to get more time to right the ship.
5. Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Very cool story, albeit football-centric, on Georgia Tech‘s decision to leave the SEC some 50 years ago. You have to be a subscriber to get the whole piece, but the excerpt is worth reading nevertheless. The Yellow Jackets’ decision ultimately came down to the practice of oversigning recruits (at least on the surface).

It’s another weekend of conference play in the ACC, so let’s take a look at the match-ups from an advanced statistics perspective. All statistics used are for results in ACC conference games only along with team rankings (#1-#15) in each category. For each game we will show how the two teams compare in efficiency ratings and the four factors, offense versus defense. We will also look at interesting areas of particular strength and weakness that could hold the key to the outcomes of these games. All numbers are from Ken Pomeroy’s site and are current through games of January 22, 2014. The games are presented in the order of best combined Pomeroy overall team rankings.

Saturday: Florida State (13-5, 4-2 ACC) @ Duke (15-4, 4-2 ACC) – ESPN (12:00 PM)

Pomeroy Prediction: (#11) Duke 78-72 (#21) Florida State 

Jabari Parker Has Been More Aggressive Lately For Duke.
(Photo: Ethan Hyman)

This weekend’s kick-off game should be a great match-up between surging Duke and a Florida State team that has beaten every ACC team it has played not named Virginia. And don’t discount the Seminoles’ chances just because this game is at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Florida State already has two impressive road conference wins over Clemson and Miami, each by double figures. In a bit of a surprise, the Seminoles lead the ACC in three-point shooting (43.8%), with sophomore Devon Bookert leading the way with a league-leading 12-for-19 (63.2%). The Florida State defense is tough on opposing shooters and ranks #16 nationally in adjusted efficiency, but it has not been quite as stingy in league play. They will be facing a hot Duke team that remade its lineup, is using its bench more, and has had success with it — winning three straight. The Blue Devils got their first road win of the season on Wednesday over Miami and have averaged an outstanding 121.7 points per 100 possessions over the last three outings. Jabari Parker appears to be bouncing back from his mini-slump, averaging 20 points per game in the last two outings. As an indication of Parker’s aggressiveness lately, he shot 18 free throws in those two games after only attempting a total of 12 in his first four ACC games.

Stat Watch. Florida State has two glaring weaknesses: defensive rebounding and ball-handling. Even though Duke has been weak on the offensive boards for most of the year, they grabbed 15 of them against Miami. And in their last home game, the Devils forced N.C. State into 15 first half turnovers, so the key to the game will probably be how well Florida State takes care of the ball. If they can make the game depend on who shoots better, Florida State has the edge, with their defensive field goal shooting (38.3%) much stronger than Duke’s defense (45.3%).

Saturday – Pittsburgh (17-2, 5-1 ACC) @ Maryland (11-8, 3-3 ACC) – ESPN2 (6:00 PM)

Pomeroy Prediction: (#2) Pittsburgh 73-65 (#66) Maryland

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1. Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician: Here’s a good brief context piece on where Syracuse is this season. The national media has started paying attention to college basketball again, and not surprisingly, as one of the best teams in the country, Syracuse has been getting its fair share of love. So has Tyler Ennis. But we’re just now getting to the point in the season where people start talking about undefeated seasons. Here’s where I (mostly) side with Sean Keeley: Syracuse isn’t going undefeated. Trips to Pittsburgh, Duke, Virginia and Florida State all but guarantee that. In fact, four of the team’s last five games are on the road. My only disagreement is that I think Wichita State has a reasonably good chance to finish the regular season undefeated. Not a great chance, but not zero either. Keeley nails everything else.
2. Charleston Post and Courier: Don’t look now but Clemson is 4-1 in conference play. Yep, the same Clemson we picked eighth and the conference media picked –gulp, 14th — is tied for second in the loss column (along with Pittsburgh and Virginia). That said, it’s about to get real for the Tigers. They play five of their next six games on the road, including trips to Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Florida State and Syracuse. Yeesh. The most winnable game there looks like — double gulp — at North Carolina? Clemson has to find a way to keep its collective head over the next couple of weeks, or our 7-9 finish with a trip to the NIT prediction might not look too far off.
3. Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State’s Boris Bojanovsky and Michael Ojo are totally different players this season, but Tony Bennett did a good job shutting the pair down by doubling them every time they got the ball in the post. I’m not sure how long the tactic will be effective though because both players measure over seven feet. So long as they keep their heads about them when doubled, they should be able to pass out to an open player. But if this proves an effective strategy for other teams (which admittedly won’t have double-teams as readily accessible as Bennett’s pack-line), it could spell trouble for the Seminoles.
4. Real GM: Awesome stuff from Dan Hanner, who took a look at how teams have fared with and without different players in the lineup. From the ACC, he has stats for Notre Dame, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State and Georgia Tech. Most surprising was Jordan Vandenberg‘s defensive impact: Without him in the lineup NC State’s defense is 11.1 points worse per 100 possessions. That’s a huge difference. By comparison, Georgia Tech is only 2.1 points per 100 possessions worse on defense without Robert Carter, and Notre Dame is 3.7 points per 100 possessions worse without Jerian Grant. The sample size for a lot of this is pretty low, but still great to see the trends.
5. Sports Illustrated: Seth Davis spends a good amount of time discussing Bruce Pearl to kick off his weekly “Hoop Thoughts” column. He notes several things of interest: (1) Pearl is a Boston College alumnus; (2) Pearl “has received several serious inquiries from Division I schools to be a head coach, but as he put it, ‘the opportunities were not at the level that I would be interested in.'” The first we already knew, but it is worth a reminder that Boston College sits at 5-13 on the year. The second point is interesting because Pearl’s show-cause doesn’t expire until August this year. That makes me think that the offers were from low-major schools hoping to hit a home run. And while the Eagles probably wouldn’t pay Pearl quite what Tennessee did (partially because his market value dropped with the NCAA business), that’s somewhere where “at the level” makes more sense. Food for thought.

It’s the third weekend of conference play in the ACC, so let’s take a look at the match-ups from an advanced statistics perspective. With every team except North Carolina having played at least four ACC games, we will now be using conference games only statistics along with team rankings in each category. For each game we will show how the two teams compare in efficiency ratings and the four factors, offense versus defense. We will also look at interesting areas of particular strength and weakness that could hold the key to the outcomes of these games. All numbers are from Ken Pomeroy’s site and are current through games of January 15, 2014. The games are presented in the order of best combined Pomeroy overall team rankings (all times EST).

Saturday – Pittsburgh (16-1, 4-0 ACC) @ Syracuse (17-0, 4-0 ACC) – ESPN (4:00 PM)

Syracuse’s C.J. Fair and Pittsburgh’s James Robinson Renew Their Rivalry in a New Conference.
(Photo: bigstory.ap.org)

The best match-up of the weekend is ironically between these two ACC newcomers. Something has to give as Pittsburgh is leading the conference with 78.5 points per game in ACC play, while the Orange have the stingiest defense, allowing only 50.0 points per game. As he has all season, senior Lamar Patterson leads the way for the Panthers, averaging 20.0 PPG in ACC games. He will probably match up frequently with Syracuse’s All-America candidate C.J. Fair (17.1 PPG) in Pitt’s man-to-man defense. The battle at point guard may decide the game as Syracuse’s freshman sensation Tyler Ennis faces off with Pitt sophomore James Robinson. In conference games only, Ennis leads the league in assists (6.5 APG) and steals (3.0 SPG), while Robinson has the ACC’s best assist/turnover ratio (16/2).

Stat Watch. Pittsburgh leads the ACC by a huge margin in field goal percentage in conference games at 51.6 percent, while Syracuse is 10th at 40.9. Ball-handling will be important as these are the top two teams in the ACC in steals. It will also be interesting to see how many three-point shots Pittsburgh tries against the Orange zone, as they are last in the league in attempts, while Syracuse allows more than any other team.

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Remember that time when there were a bunch of folks rumbling about how it was time for Boston College to take a big step forward this year? The Eagles were virtually losing no production while bringing back a number of players who had shown flashes of brilliance. At Operation Basketball, the media that covers the ACC picked Boston College to finish eighth in the conference, while at this very website, a bunch of turkeys picked them to finish seventh. With the Eagles currently lurking near the bottom of the ACC standings, these predictions might seem silly, but taking a step back: losses to Syracuse, Clemson, and Maryland aren’t so bad. That’s just a tough(-ish) opening schedule.

What Has Happened to Steve Donahue’s Defense? (Boston College Athletics)

The really concerning thing about Boston College, you might say, is how the team did during non-conference play. No matter where you are, 4-9 is not a great way to start the year, especially with your four wins coming against Washington (not bad), Florida Atlantic, Sacred Heart and Philadelphia (a legendary program that is nevertheless in Division II). Of course, this poor performance can be explained away too: BC played a bunch of really good teams. In Division I, Ken Pomeroy currently calculates the Eagles as having the fifth-toughest overall schedule and the 22nd hardest non-conference schedule. Can we really say that Boston College is playing poorly given the quality of opponents they are facing? Perhaps BC’s crummy record is just an artifact of scheduling: context overwhelming a team that would look much better against average competition. It’s early in the season. Surely those who dare to call Boston College terrible are simply overreacting!

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It’s the second weekend of conference play in the ACC, so let’s take a look at the match-ups from an advanced statistics perspective. For each game we will show how the two teams compare in efficiency ratings and the four factors, offense versus defense. We will also look at interesting areas of particular strength and weakness that could hold the key to the outcomes of these games. All numbers are from Ken Pomeroy’s site and are current through games of January 8, 2014. The games are presented in the order of best combined Pomeroy overall team rankings (all times EST).

Saturday – North Carolina (10-5, 0-2 ACC) @ Syracuse (15-0, 2-0 ACC) – ESPN (12:00 PM)

CJ Fair and the Orange Look to Add to North Carolina’s Losing Streak

Pomeroy Prediction: (#5) Syracuse 75-64 (#34) North Carolina

There’s some chatter that it would be typical of this year’s up and down Tar Heels team to pull off another monumental upset in the Carrier Dome. But North Carolina has actually been more consistent lately, only in a bad way. The Heels do not look like a confident team right now. Still, Roy Williams has shown in the past (including this season) that he can motivate a team out of a slump. At least they appear to have one clear advantage on the offensive end they could exploit – offensive rebounding. Unfortunately for the Heels, the same is true on the other end with Syracuse hitting the offensive glass hard this season. Taking care of the ball will also be crucial against the long and active Syracuse zone. It will be interesting to see how many three-pointers each team takes. Neither likes to shoot many, but they both allow opponents to fire a bunch. Finally, a good start by the Heels (see: the Michigan State game) is important, but with the way the Orange has come back from big early deficits, even that may not be enough.

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It’s the first weekend of conference play in the ACC, so let’s take a look at the match-ups from an advanced statistics perspective. For each game we will show how the two teams compare in efficiency ratings, offense versus defense. We will also look at interesting areas of particular strength and weakness that could hold the key to the outcome of the game. All numbers are from Ken Pomeroy’s site and are current through games of January 1, 2014. The games are presented in the order that they will be played this weekend (all times EST).

Saturday – Pittsburgh (12-1) @ N.C. State (10-3) – ACC Network (12:00 PM)

Jamie Dixon And Pittsburgh Kick Off the First Weekend of ACC Conference Play vs N.C. State in Raleigh (US Presswire)

• Pittsburgh Offensive Efficiency – 114.1 (#24 in the NCAA)
•         N.C. State Defensive Efficiency – 100.4 (#110)

•         N.C. State Offensive Efficiency – 109.5 (#66)
•         Pittsburgh Defensive Efficiency – 92.5 (#11)

What to Watch For: In its first ACC conference game ever, Pitt looks to have a strong edge on the offensive end of the court. In particular, look for the Panthers to try to exploit the Wolfpack on the boards. Pitt comes in 11th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage, while N.C. State is 237th in defensive rebounding percentage. Another area to watch is the mismatch in free throw attempts. N.C. State ranks near the bottom of the NCAA in free throw attempts, while Pitt rarely fouls. In fact, the Panthers actually had a game earlier this year against Cal Poly in which Pitt did not commit a single first half foul.

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As the non-conference portion of the 2013-14 college basketball season nears its conclusion and conference play looms large in the New Year, the ACC has seen its share of ups and downs along an uneven early stretch. While some of its teams (Duke, Syracuse) appear to be capable of the preseason hype bestowed upon them, others have been a mixture of confounding (North Carolina), shockingly underwhelming (Boston College, Maryland) and utterly but pleasantly surprising (Florida State). The conference some were talking about being the greatest college basketball had ever witnessed hasn’t shown the depth and consistency in non-conference play to justify that acoolade, but there is still a long way to go as this new-look league embarks into ACC play. Here’s a look back at the RTC preseason ACC rankings as voted upon by the writers and how those teams have performed thus far and look to perform as the season progresses.

To review Part One of this feature, click here.

6. Maryland (8-5)

The continued emergence of Roddy Peters bodes well for Maryland. (USA TODAY Sports)

• Signature Wins: Providence, at Boston College
• Signature Losses: Connecticut, Boston University
• Reasons for Optimism: Seth Allen is back, which should take pressure off of freshman Roddy Peters. But it’s also worth noting that Peters looks like he’ll be the real deal eventually. He’s already the team’s best distributor and his ability to draw contact in the lane should make him valuable going forward. Evan Smotrycz and Jake Layman make a pair of sharpshooting forwards who are a horrible match-up for anyone. Last but not least, the Terrapins already have a conference road win under their belt.
• Reasons for Pessimism: What looked to be a great one-two punch in the frontcourt has turned into an awful start for Shaquille Cleare and nothing special from Charles Mitchell. Also, home losses to Boston University and Oregon State raise serious questions about the team’s consistency. The team often loses sight of its strengths on offense (or commits needless turnovers), which leads to scoring droughts and opponent runs.
• Forecast: The losses essentially come down to defense: When the Terrapins hold opponents below a point per possession, they’re 6-0 (not counting Tulsa or George Washington, both of which effectively scored a point per possession). But when Maryland fails to limit its opponents on offense, the team is 1-4. This team needs to finish in the top three of the standings to sniff the NCAA Tournament, but the NIT should be in the cards with a strong conference showing.

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