The ACC is one wild conference.
Not Dead Yet: Among the teams that were thought to be in serious trouble and took steps to rectify the situation were: Maryland, NC State, Wake Forest and Virginia. All four grabbed huge wins over the weekend. Maryland played the role of giant killer in taking down #1 UNC and in doing so raised their RPI some 40 spots. NCSU finally showed for a game and played with heart which incidentally coincided with Brandon Costner spending most of the second half and OT on the bench. Virginia and Wake Forest clocked surprising deficits against Boston College and FSU.
What The Heck Happened: On the flip side UNC, Miami, BC and FSU are all left a little stunned. Miami turns out to be the biggest loser having been fully exposed for their weak OOC schedule by losing two road games in the ACC. UNC should get a wake up call with losing to Maryland. BC is not hurt that badly by the loss since UVa is a tough place to play and FSU is a good team on paper but the 1-3 start says otherwise.
Clemson Wilts: Clemson was in the game midway through the second half and fell apart. One key play in the sequence was a tremendous bit of acting by Greg Paulus who collapsed to the floor when Terrence Oglesby ran out to defend the three point shot. It went downhill from there as Clemson basically became a turnover machine and Duke got a transition game running.
Jackets Do Better With Wednesday's Game Than UNC Did: GT handled VT at home with 30 from Matt Causey.
Upcoming Schedule: Three games that could start distinguishing teams with Wake at Clemson, Virginia at FSU and Georgia Tech at NCSU. FSU and NCSU are still in must win situations if they want to raise their season up the NCAA Tournament level. Wake would love to steal one at Clemson. UNC at Miami will be a huge test for both teams. Should Miami lost they are basically toast and if UNC loses they same might be true but in a different way. Duke travels to VT which is always entertaining.
Tuesday, January 22nd
Wake at Clemson, 7 PM
Wednesday, January 23rd
UVa at FSU, 7 PM
GT at NCSU, 7 PM
UNC at Miami, 9 PM
Thursday, January 24th
Duke at VT, 7 PM