Results
UNC 104 Wake Forest 67
Virginia Tech 84 Virginia 57
Miami 80 NC State 65
Georgia Tech 65 UConn 52
Boston College 68 Florida State 67
Maryland 72 Duke 60
Analysis
- Welcome back to earth NC State. A week after shocking Virgina Tech and UNC en route to garnering more national attention than schools who actually have a fighting chance at winning the ACC, the Pack turned out to be exactly who we thought they were by losing to Georgia Tech(not really that bad) and Miami(really quite bad all things considered) So at this point I assume we can move on from these lofty notions that NC State might make the NCAA Tournament.
- Duke has lost four in a row and could make it five at Chestnut Hill against a hot Boston College team. Greg Paulus had another one of his signature games by commiting seven turnovers, of course he did have 12 points and at one point had scored nine of the Blue Devils first 11 points. Let's be real here. Duke has no offense nor do they have anyone who can take the offense on his shoulders. If they are aggressive and try to play uptempo they wear down far too easily or are unable to take care of the ball well enough to keep it running. The half court offense is far too unreliable because they do not have an option #1 or #2 for that matter. They are a team of complimentary players all trying to figure who should be the #1 offensive option. They have been saved by their defense but with no depth and no clear offensive efficiency the rest of the season is going to be more like the past four games than the first 21.
- Boston College continues to get by despite struggling against Miami and trailing most of the way versus Florida State. BC will give Duke plenty of trouble this week and then have a showdown with UNC Saturday night on ESPN which could be for first place outright should UNC get by Virginia Tech at home as expected.
- Virginia stumbled at Blacksburg which was not unexpected though the margin of victory was a somewhat greater than most people anticipated. The schedule for the Cavs is still very favorable with two road games against Miami and Wake Forest plus home games against no one currently above .500 in the ACC with the exception of VT.
- In terms of NCAA Tournament chances this is how I see it:
- Locks: UNC, Virginia, Boston College
- Should Be In: Virginia Tech, Duke, Clemson
- Hard Bubble: Florida State
- Soft Bubble: Maryland, Georgia Tech