On an exciting Saturday of ACC play, everything pretty much went as expected. Virginia Tech’s surprising slide to the bottom of the conference continued at the merciless hands of Terrell Stoglin, while Clemson found a little more consistency in its defeat of Wake Forest. The North Carolina State – Virginia game was as close as expected, and included the expected Cavaliers win, while Duke came away with its win against St. John’s despite a surprisingly close game thanks to the Herculean efforts of Moe Harkless (30 points and 15 rebounds). Duke won the game with its increasingly refined and balanced offensive attack, but the fact that game remained close speaks to the Devils’ troubles on defense.

Rivers and Duke Survived St. John's Upset Bid in Cameron Saturday

Taking Care of Business

• Miami at Boston College at 1:00 PM on ESPN3.com
• Georgia Tech at North Carolina at 6:00 PM on ESPNU

Boston College and Georgia Tech are the two worst teams in the conference. Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have similarly bad records, but each team shows flashes of potential that makes each squad seem a little less damned than their bottom-of-the-standings compatriots. Though Miami hasn’t shown it yet, the emergence of Kenny Kadji and Shane Larkin means that the Hurricanes can put at least five very good players on the court. This team is still figuring things out, but it’s unclear if Boston College’s team even understands the concept of basketball. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is going to have a hard time matching up with North Carolina. Defense appeared to be an early strength of Georgia Tech, but since the beginning of conference play, the Yellow Jackets have been the worst defensive team in the conference while still managing to remain thoroughly underwhelming offensively. The simplest recipe for beating the Tar Heels has been an effective perimeter attack paired with aggressive ball pressure, and unfortunately for Georgia Tech, these are two things that this team can’t actually do that well. Daniel Miller is a good enough defender in the post to effectively handle either Tyler Zeller or John Henson, but it’s unclear who takes whichever player Miller doesn’t guard. Worse, on the offensive end, Miller is limited, and against the North Carolina frontcourt, he might really struggle to score. Miami and North Carolina are clear favorites, but Boston College already has a pair of surprising conference wins, and somehow Georgia Tech has beaten North Carolina in the past four match-ups. Hard to hang your hat on either of these fun facts, but it’s at least something.

Well, Maryland managed to defend the honor of newly-christened Gary Williams Court for about 30 minutes before succumbing to the temptations of lousy help defense. Beating the Terps doesn’t look like a great win on paper, but it’s a great win for a Duke team that still seems occasionally unsure of their own identity. Virginia Tech lost to Brigham Young thanks to poor offensive execution and despite a relatively strong game defensively. It was a game that came down to the last play, but the Hokies just couldn’t pull it out. Florida State put up a command performance in stomping Wake Forest with the wicked defense of the Seminoles holding star player Travis McKie to a pitiful 1-of-13 shooting night. Couple that with an over 50% shooting night from the field and the Florida State juggernaut looks as hot as ever.

A Cold War Goes Hot

An NC State vs. UNC Game That Means Something? It's Been a While...

• North Carolina State at North Carolina at 7:00 PM on ESPN

In Chapel Hill, this game hasn’t meant much in the Roy Williams‘ era. The heat from a once-vicious rivalry cooled as the Wolfpack drifted further and further into irrelevance. Now, NC State fans are always hot for this game, but the recent history of this match-up has left Chapel Hill fans indifferent. But for the first time in a long while, Tar Heel fans are nervous. Quietly, Mark Gottfried has developed a powerful and versatile balanced attack. Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, C.J. Williams, and Scott Wood all have a legitimate case for being the ACC break-out players of the year (ignoring Terrell Stoglin), each making massive strides in their respective games. Meanwhile C.J. Leslie still remains an immensely talented wild card, capable of taking over a game at both ends, though his inconsistency remains an issue. They match up well with the Tar Heels, having a combination of size and speed to counter North Carolina’s usual advantages in this area. Still, North Carolina is a great team and as well as the Wolfpack matches up on the perimeter, it’s unclear if their is a frontcourt answer to the Tyler Zeller and John Henson tandem. Also, a real concern: the Wolfpack’s three-point defense has been abysmal and with Reggie Bullock getting the start alongside Harrison Barnes, an early barrage of perimeter shots could break NC State’s back early. I think this game will be close, but the Tar Heels take this one. The real intrigue for this game is how it sets the stage for what’s almost certain to be the dramatic second meeting in Raleigh.

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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

What Does Roy Have In Store For Us Tonight?

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.

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Now, in the cool light of Tuesday we open up with a conference where Boston College and North Carolina have the same ACC record and we can answer the big question of the weekend with a firm nod: Yes, this is real life. The question that remains is simple: Which teams are for real? Florida State made a ridiculously impressive statement against North Carolina on Saturday, but the Seminoles had been maddeningly inconsistent up to this point. Meanwhile, Maryland has looked like a brand new team after Pe’Shon Howard and Alex Len joined with the team, though ironically, it’s been the play of neither that has been the most impressive.

Terrell Stoglin Takes 36.8% of Maryland's Shots. That's A Lot.

The Gut Check

• Maryland at Florida State at 9:00 PM on ESPNU

Florida State may have pounded North Carolina, but they looked abysmal against a really rough-looking Clemson team. Florida State should be able to hammer Maryland without much difficulty at home, but the Terps have been full of surprises and this match-up has a number of pivot points that could make things really interesting. While the Seminoles have a sterling defense, they are (and have been for the past few years) curiously weak on the defensive glass. This is a problem because Maryland’s James Padgett‘s reign of terror on the offensive glass shows no sign of slowing. Padgett easily remains the best offensive rebounder in the country and his efficiency in the post, particularly on second-chance points, can be a deadly weapon. For Leonard Hamilton‘s squad, the strategy will be the same-as-it-ever-was: Pressure the perimeter to force turnovers and try to bait the team’s worst offensive players into taking too many shots. Sadly for the Terrapins, the shot-happy-but-accuracy-challenged tandem of Nick Faust and Pe’Shon Howard seems pretty susceptible to falling right into this trap. More good news for the Seminoles? Maryland doesn’t force many turnovers, which has been Florida State’s weakness all year long. Will it come down to  a shootout between Terrell Stoglin and a newly confident Deividas Dulkys? Stoglin shoots more than anyone in the ACC, but if anyone is prepared to match fire with fire, the Dulkys that we saw on Saturday was far from gun shy.

Well, you may have heard that Roy Williams‘ early departure got more time in the news when North Carolina released his account of the incident. Condensing the story, Williams didn’t realize his walk-ons were still on the court after the rest of his team left the floor and apologized to them today. This immediately resulted in backlash from both local and national media for being late and a little weird (it’s not like it made him look better). My thoughts are this (admittedly having no more actual information than anyone else): Williams was livid with his team’s performance and legitimately concerned for its safety, so he went to the locker room and did not even see who was following him. Now, if I was handling the situation, I would’ve put my walk-ons right by the bench, had everyone sit down as soon as the game was over and watch the court rushing from the relative safety of a folding chair. Princeton did this last year in its road loss to Harvard (admittedly, the Harvard crowd was significantly smaller than Florida State). Not only would this prove a point, but I also think players sitting on the bench would be perfectly safe and could leave in peace once the students were on the court. Anyways, that’s my two cents. Here are Tar Heel Fan Blog‘s (with Williams’ comments from his radio show).

1. TechSideline.com: Chris Coleman offers a brutally honest diagnosis of Virginia Tech basketball. It’s also an indictment of Seth Greenberg (one really interesting stat is that Greenberg had more NBA players in six years at Long Beach State than in over eight years at Virginia Tech). As much as I want to remind Hokie fans that Greenberg brought them to new heights, it’s not unreasonable to think he might be on the hot seat. Not on fire, but the points Coleman makes about the team’s personality and falling ticket sales are real issues.
2. Fayetteville Observer: Duke’s Austin Rivers has really struggled the last few games. Ironically, the national media seems to be ambivalent at this point. Rivers has the right attitude about his slump though, pointing to the team’s undefeated conference record and working more in practice instead of grumbling about getting less playing time. The freshman is still averaging over 14 points a game and is by far the best shot-creator Duke has.
3. Washington Post: Mike Wise takes a look at Sean Mosley, who is really the main link between Maryland’s past and present. Mosley started with the likes of Greivis Vasquez, and now he provides necessary leadership for a very young Terrapin team this year. Mosley does the crafty things, mainly shot fakes and steals, as well as the fundamental things, like hitting free throws. He’ll almost never wow you from the stat line, but it’s hard to watch Maryland and think there’s a more important intangibles guy.
4. Soaring To Glory: Is it time to re-evaluate the ceiling for Boston College? I certainly think so (now that the Eagles have reached the prediction I set in the preseason). Now, do I think that BC will win five conference games? I’m not so sure. I think three or four conference games sounds about right (winning against Wake Forest and Miami at home if I had to guess). Still, the fact that we’re even having this discussion is a sign of how much the Eagles have improved over the last month.
5. Lynchburg News & Advance: If you want to get in the Morning Five, just use the phrase “he’s pretty popular with the ladies on a campus notorious for its attractive women.” That’s what Nathan Warters did, describing Deividas Dulkys. It’s actually a very good article on the Lithuanian assassin, who came to the Seminoles via Findlay Prep. Wait, this article was written in 2010? Whatever, it’s still worth a read following the career performance from Dulkys.

1. BC Interruption: Let’s get started with the most important story of the weekend. Boston College has an ACC winning streak! I’m not sure whether this says that the Eagles are better than I expected (probably true), or that Virginia Tech and Clemson are much worse than I originally thought (also likely), but it sure does make ACC play more interesting. Oh, and by the way, Virginia Tech fans don’t need to worry about the bubble this year. Just for those keeping score at home the Hokies already lost to Wake Forest, Boston College and Florida State; the bad news is they play North Carolina, at Virginia, at Maryland and against Duke for the next four conference games. Seriously, that’s a very possible 0-7 start to conference play (though I’d put the over/under at one). Not good. But congratulations to the Eagles, who are a remarkable 2-1.
2. Searching For Billy Edelin: The other conference shake-up of the weekend came out of Tallahassee, where the Seminoles took the Tar Heels behind a woodshed and clubbed them for two hours to the tune of a 90-57 final score. At the heart of the Florida State offense was an unconscious Deividas Dulkys. Dulkys is a better shooter than people give him credit for (truthfully, I just assumed he couldn’t shoot because he’s on Florida State). The Lithuanian is actually one of the better shooters in the conference, and proved it with an 8-10 performance from the three-point line. He may not do it again, but Florida State fans will remember Dulkys’ career performance for a long time.
3. Raleigh News & Observer: Speaking of the beatdown, the other story (or diversion, in my opinion) from Tallahassee was Roy Williams taking his players off the floor before the end of the game to avoid potential injuries during the court rushing. Leonard Hamilton says it was his idea. That left five walk-ons to face the masses of Seminole faithful streaming onto the court solo. Obviously the move drew a lot of criticism. It also drew this awesome photoshop.
   
4.  Washington Post: Maryland‘s poor attendance has been documented this year. The same is true of the athletic department’s financial woes. Mark Turgeon is going to be a huge part of trying to overcome the department’s huge deficit over the next few years ($2.8 million this year alone). If he wins, people will come. It’s no coincidence that the basketball team’s revenue has declined since 2006. The school is also investigating outfitting the Comcast Center for concerts or adding ad ribbons between the upper and lower decks. I still think the most important thing is to start winning games. If Turgeon gets this program back in the upper echelon of the conference, the team should make much more money.
5. Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Speaking of guys who should be getting more attention, Mfon Udofia is playing much better in Georgia Tech’s recent games. Glenn Rice, Jr., gets most of the press because he is a better scorer and has name recognition, but Udofia may be more important. His current role is to “just be the coach on the floor, pretty much.” He’ll need to be more consistent if the Yellow Jackets want to make a run at finishing somewhere in the middle of the conference.

Before we get started, how about a pretty amazing stat from last night. Duke shot below 50% from the foul line and 25% from three for the first time in school history in its win against Virginia (to be fair, the Cavaliers went 0-11 from three in the second half in a game they lost by three).

1. Gobbler Country: The Virginia Tech blog takes a look at the Hokies and hands out grades for the starters. Erick Green leads the way with an A followed by Jarell Eddie with a B+. Eddie, in particular, came out of nowhere for me especially. I personally thought the C- for Dorenzo Hudson was generous. True, his numbers aren’t terrible, but I sort of expected him to excel as the second option for Green. The best news from this post is that they still believe in true grades, giving a C to Dorian Finney-Smith despite the fact that “he has nearly met them and exceeded them on the boards”. Take that grade inflation.
2. Shakin’ The Southland: While we take a jaunt around the blogosphere, this wins the lede of the night: “We just lost to Clifford the Big Red Dog and his merry band of freshmen.” Boston College gets its first conference win! The Eagles pulled off the upset over Clemson exactly how I imagined, knocking down eight threes in a slow game while their opponent went ice cold down the stretch. It’s a great win for the Eagles and a horrendous loss for Clemson coming off an exciting conference opener.
3. Baltimore Sun: Mark Turgeon needs more out of Ashton Pankey, Terrell Stoglin, and Alex Len. Pankey played some solid games when Len was on the bench, but losing his starting spot has killed his productivity. Turgeon’s criticism of Stoglin seems harsh, but I think–like the other players–it’s really a compliment. As for Len, Turgeon just wants him to get in game shape.
4. The Sporting News: Sorry to be recap heavy, but it was an important night in conference play. Duke pulled out the victory in the end, but give Virginia a lot of credit. It played Duke too close for comfort all night. Mike Scott showed he’s almost certainly the most valuable player thus far in the conference. On Duke’s side, Mason Plumlee would be en route to a first-team All-Conference season if not for unbelievably bad free throw shooting. Against the Cavaliers, Plumlee finished 2-10 from the charity stripe.
5. South Florida Sun-Sentinel: About the lone bright spot from Miami’s beatdown at North Carolina was the continuing solid play from Kenny Kadji. Kadji, once a top recruit at IMG Academy, is finally starting to reach his potential. He’s developed a solid jumper in addition to solid post skills (that will certainly be improved with some more weight). Keep an eye on the Miami little-big man going forward.

Speaking of North Carolina and Miami, I failed to notice something about the game. Fred Black, a contributor at Chapelboro, thought the North Carolina crowd has been “boorish” the last couple of games. I was at one of those games and the last thing I would’ve described the crowd as is “boorish.” Also, I love the vague “school up the road” (coughDUKEcough) with a reputation for “boorish” fans [Author’s Note: For the record, some people think he’s referring to NC State, which could be true and would be equally funny.].

The middle of the ACC is so muddled that honestly I don’t know what to make of last night’s results. Of course, after all my talk, Alex Len was barely a factor in the Terrapins victory over Wake Forest, while forwards James Padgett and Ashton Pankey grabbed six offensive rebounds apiece, enough to make up for a lousy shooting night all around for Maryland. It’s a nice performance for the under-heralded freshman Pankey, but for Padgett, we really should have seen this coming. Somehow this willowy, 6’8″ junior continues to lead Division I in offensive rebounding percentage. I don’t know how he does it, but the Terrapins owe at least one win to him.

The Terps and Len Snuck Past Wake Forest Last Night in College Park (AP)

Meanwhile in Raleigh, the ever-promising Wolfpack took a slide backwards in a loss to Georgia Tech. While North Carolina State showed moxie on offense and won the possession battle, Mark Gottfried‘s team lost the war by allowing a truly mediocre shooting team to score at will. Now, will the Yellow Jackets go 9-for-15 from three-point land in any other game this season? Probably not. Whether you want to chalk this win up to hot shooting or not, it’s becoming increasingly clearer that NC State needs to start taking defense seriously or more embarrassing losses are soon to follow.

The Heavyweight Bout

• Virginia at Duke at 9:00 PM on ESPN

I can’t help but be deliriously and feverishly excited about the beginning of intraconference play, but before we get down to brass tacks, there are a few things that we should probably be talking about before we settle up the conference pecking order. Let’s go over a few suggested topics of conversation before actual basketball begins.

1. Virginia is for real. The Cavaliers’ national ranking is totally deserved and barring injuries or collapse, this team is poised to make some noise in March. Mike Scott is the flavor of the week amongst the college basketball stat-erati because, well he is kind of killing it, but Virginia’s slow pace means that he’s not getting enough credit for it. The Cavaliers are certainly capable of taking down Duke or North Carolina and the team’s consistency is something that every other team in the conference envies.

Mike Scott Is Really Good

2. Scheduling is a double-edged sword. Both Maryland and North Carolina State have the talent to make the NCAA Tournament, but both also have some scheduling issues that might get in the way of these aspirations. Maryland has a daunting conference schedule that includes two shots apiece at Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke, as well as a non-conference tilt with Temple. That gives the Terrapins plenty of chances to register signature wins, but it also means that there are seven games on the schedule that are more likely to be losses than not. Conversely, the NC State Wolfpack has two games apiece against Wake Forest, Boston College, and Georgia Tech. Mark Gottfried’s team is likely to rack up plenty of wins, but they have far less opportunities to make an impression with a certain tournament selection committee.

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The final score doesn’t reflect it, but in a night full of close games, the most exciting game of the night was probably between Miami and UNC Greensboro. Yes, seriously. Competitive until the final fourth of the game when Miami pulled away, this match-up featured some spectacular highlights and dueling 30-point games. Greensboro’s Trevis Simpson scored 36 points in a nearly unstoppable performance that included a ridiculous reverse alley-oop. Fortunately, Miami had a ready response in… Kenny Kadji? Yes, the transfer from Florida put up 30 points and 12 rebounds, scoring 10 of those points from the line in a game that saw the Hurricanes make 30 of 38 free throws.

The Southern Conference, however, got revenge in Winston-Salem. With C.J. Harris in street clothes, Wake Forest didn’t have the fire power to put away a feisty Wofford team that got its second big win of the year knocking off the Demon Deacons. It’s a good win for Wofford and a sharp reminder that Wake Forest really needs Harris to play and play well if they expect to have any success. Also upset at home? Boston College. The hapless Eagles gave Rhode Island their third win of the year in a game that could have provided the Eagles with some much needed momentum heading into a tough Atlantic Coast Conference schedule that starts in Chapel Hill on Saturday. Leave it to Boston College to finally manage to shoot 48.1% while holding their opponent to 30.9% and still lose.

In less dramatic news, Virginia rolls on against a resilient LSU team. Quietly, the Cavaliers are going to enter ACC play riding an 11-game winning streak.

The Gut Check

• Alabama at Georgia Tech at 9:00 PM on ESPNU

Georgia Tech showed some promise early in the season with commanding victories over Virginia Commonwealth and Georgia. Yet after disappointing back-to-back losses to Mercer and Fordham, the Yellow Jackets have something to prove. Unfortunately for Brian Gregory‘s crew, a game against Alabama followed by an ACC opener against Duke is a pretty tough slate for a team looking to bounce back. While Alabama is certainly beatable, the Crimson Tide is one of a few elite defensive teams in the country, even with star JaMychal Green potentially sitting the game out with a shoulder injury. A win against Alabama would be a big win for Georgia Tech, but even at “home” (Philips Arena, at least for this game), only an extraordinary performance is going to get the job done.

The ACC-Ivy Challenge Finale

• Cornell at Maryland at 8:00 PM on ESPN3.com

Okay, so the ACC-Ivy Challenge isn’t a real thing, but if it were, it would be tied up. The Ivy League’s wins come from Harvard‘s wins over Florida State and Boston College as well as Princeton‘s victory over Florida State. The Atlantic Coast Conference can claim a narrow Wake Forest victory over Yale, a NC State win over Princeton, and a dominating performance by Duke over hapless Pennsylvania. Tonight’s tilt between Maryland and Cornell will be the deciding game in the inter-conference series. Fortunately for ACC fans, Maryland has a pretty good chance of defending the conference’s honor. The Terrapins haven’t lost since November and have been playing at a higher level with the return of Pe’Shon Howard and the introduction of Alex Len. Meanwhile, though Cornell has some nice victories over Lehigh and Albany, the team has yet to win on the road. This is by no-means a gimme for Maryland, but if the new-look Terrapins can keep their December momentum going, I like their chances.