After a relatively successful aggregate performance during the Feast Week tournaments, the ACC turned in another disappointing result in last week’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge, failing to win the inter-conference event for the seventh consecutive year. It wasn’t all bad last week, though, as North Carolina secured an elite home win against #2 Maryland, and Miami showed some resiliency in responding to its disappointing loss to Northeastern with an overtime win at Nebraska. This week’s Stock Watch zeroes in on a pair of players critical to the fates of two of the league favorites, a school navigating the rest of the non-conference season without its leader and a unit in Raleigh that is struggling to replicate its postseason success of a year ago.

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Brandon Ingram Wonders Why Anyone Doubted Him (USAT Images)

• Brandon Ingram, Duke: After a painfully slow start to his freshman campaign, some wondered if the hype surrounding Duke’s freshman McDonald’s All-American was more bluster than substance. Those folks can stop wasting their time. Ingram had arguably the best week of any player in the nation, scoring a career-high 24 points against Indiana on Wednesday followed by a 23-point performance against Buffalo on Saturday. Most notably against the Hoosiers, Ingram came out with an assertiveness we had yet to see from the lanky wing, scoring eight of his team’s first 10 points, including a pair of three-point field goals. Some may give pause to the opposition — Indiana’s defensive issues are well-documented — but sometimes a player as talented as Ingram just needs to have a few shots go in to gain confidence that this level of basketball isn’t too big for him. Last week was certainly a step in the right direction for the Blue Devils’s star freshman.

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Coming off a surprising trip to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago and returning a promising young nucleus, there was a lot of optimism surrounding NC State as it tipped off its 2015-16 campaign in Raleigh last evening. So positive were the feelings around how head coach Mark Gottfried had reinvigorated the program during his four-year tenure, the school rewarded him with a lucrative contract extension on season’s eve. And that is exactly where all the good news came to an end. The Wolfpack proceeded to get blitzed by William & Mary, allowing 51 first-half points before falling by a score of 85-68 in a very disappointing performance. The Tribe shot 52 percent from the floor while holding the Pack to a 38 percent clip, racing out to a big early lead that eventually extended to 23 and controlling the game from tip to buzzer. It was an awful start to the season for a team that has made the NCAA Tournament in all four of Gottfried’s years at the helm, and the news has since worsened.

Mark Gottfried Celebrated His Contract Extension With a Horrific Opening Performance

Terry Henderson, the presumptive replacement for Trevor Lacey on the perimeter, suffered torn ligaments in his right ankle during the loss and is now expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. The 6’5” junior guard, who was seeing his first official Wolfpack action last night after transferring from West Virginia, was held scoreless in seven minutes. In his two years in Morgantown, Henderson proved to be a fearless and capable sniper, connecting on 89 three-point field goals despite never being a focal point of the offense. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.7 points per game as the third wheel in a dynamic backcourt alongside Juwan Staten and Eron Harris. Gottfried, who is looking to replace Lacey as well as Ralston Turner from last year’s club, was counting on Henderson to replace a significant portion of their departed production. The Raleigh native seemed to be the perfect fit to complement a point guard in Cat Barber who excels at beating the defense off of the bounce.

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The NCAA Tournament is here and there’s more news, commentary and analysis than any of us can possibly keep up with. To make things a little easier, we’ll bring you a list of daily links gathered about teams in each of the four regions all the way through the Final Four.

Midwest Region

• The USF Bulls are still riding high after their win in Dayton over California Wednesday, even after an early-morning flight to Nashville. Tournament experience is not so new to the Temple Owls, who make their fifth consecutive Big Dance appearance.
• USA Today provides a crash course on the Vermont Catamounts as they get ready to battle North Carolina.
• President Obama tabbed N.C. State as a surprise Sweet 16 squad, but head coach Mark Gottfried is doing his best to stay grounded.
• Close rivals Kansas and Missouri are sharing a facility in Omaha, despite residing in different regions on the bracket. There haven’t been any incidents between players, but fans have traded some barbs with both schools only a four-hour drive away.
• Chase Tapley and Xavier Thames will try to stop N.C. State. Tapley is the lone significant holdover from last season’s veteran-laden San Diego State squad, while Thames is in his first season since transferring from Washington State.

West Region

• CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander believes Long Beach State‘s early exit at the hands of New Mexico shouldn’t cloud the legacy of the outgoing 49er senior class. Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson, Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps came to LBSU one season after the 49ers won six games and beat Xavier and Pittsburgh in this season.
• Also in Portland, behind a strong game from Peyton Siva, Louisville handled Davidson and now must prepare for the Lobos. Any chances of a deep run by Louisville hinge on Siva stringing together strong performances instead of his on-again off-again style that’s drawn criticism this season.
• A matchup of contrasting styles pits Florida against Virginia this afternoon. Expect the Gators to push the tempo on both ends with run-outs, quick threes and defensive pressure to try to throw the Cavaliers out of sorts.
• The Missouri Tigers have won over 1,500 games in their history, but none of them have come in the Elite Eight. Mizzou’s quest to end that streak begins today when it takes on Norfolk State.
• They may be seeded three spots better, but Marquette will be in a de facto road environment for Saturday’s tilt with Murray State, as the KFC Yum! Center hosts the third round game 3.5 hours away from the Racers’ campus.

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