BUZZKETBALL CENTRAL: ACC Basketball Round Up

Hey there Hokies round ball fanatics. As we close in on the end of an era in football, I thought it was a good time to do an initial look at the ACC now that we have some actual games to balance all the preseason hype with. So far this season the ACC is a combined 45-8. It seems like a respectable number, especially considering no team in the conference has a losing record at this point. The number is a bit deceiving though. I would argue that the most important story line so far for the ACC unfortunately is TERRIBLE LOSSES. Most of you are probably aware of Tech losing to Alabama State, but let's get into how bad the rest of the conference has been doing so far.

TERRIBLE LOSSES

#1 UNC loses to Northern Iowa – While Northern Iowa is no pushover anymore, there is no excuse for UNC to have lost this game even with Marcus Paige sitting out the game with an injury. They essentially looked like they were sleepwalking. These are the kind of losses that later in the season could mean the difference between a 1 and a 2 seed in the tournament.

#6 Virginia loses to George Washington – GW is another respectable mid major but for a team with National title aspirations amidst all the talk about how strong defensively they are, to have given up 73 points to GW is not the way to start the season.

Florida State loses to Hofstra – The last time Hofstra beat an ACC opponent was 1998, and had lost their last 14 games against major conference opponents going back a decade, yet the Seminoles could not seem to get out of their own way in handing this game to the Pride. The biggest reason FSU lost this game was terrible perimeter shooting in a game that didn't require it. They went 6 of 25 from behind the arc.

Georgia Tech loses to East Tennessee State – This is the latest greatest loss for the ACC, as the Yellow Jackets succumbed to a three point from about forty feet away in the waning moments of the game. That said, it never should have come down to Tech being that close. Tech got embarrassed in the paint against a somewhat small lineup, being outscored 36-22.

North Carolina State loses to William & Mary – No excuses, this game never should have happened, yet the Wolfpack not only lost but lost by 17 points to the Tribe. They were never really in the game, allowing the Tribe to get out on a 23-5 run to start the game and they never looked back.

Virginia Tech loses to Alabama State – High 200's RPI beats a major conference opponent for the first time in almost 10 years. We have lamented this game enough on here.

BAD but not TERRIBLE Losses

Duke loses to Kentucky – This is a battle of top teams early in the season, so while it was not good to see Duke get beaten by Kentucky, it isn't the end of the world and wont keep them from a top seed if its their only loss. It definitely was not the way we would have preferred the season to start out on such a national stage that this game had though. This coupled with the fact that Duke struggled in beating Georgetown, who had a terrible loss to Radford, makes for a less than stellar week for the Blue Devils.

Wake Forest loses to Richmond – This loss was teetering on being included in the Terrible loss column but considering where Wake is as a program (very similar to us) and that Richmond is a much more respectable opponent with their recent history of success and the fact that they have a ton of experience returning, I thought this was just a bad loss. That said, its not a loss that many other ACC programs could have had without being in the Terrible group.

So there you have it folks, eight losses by the conference, six of which I would deem terrible, one more that is right on the edge and then an unfortunate loss on the big stage for Duke to Kentucky. The conference might be 45-8 but it definitely has some warts at this point. The biggest problem with these kind of losses early in the season is that rarely do you have an opponent scheduled early in your OOC schedule to counteract a bad loss so it sits out there as a sore thumb until you reach the conference slate.

ACC Standings
(Now #15) Miami (FL) 5-0 – If there has been a shining star for the ACC this year so far, it's definitely the Hurricanes. They have two top 25 upsets already under their belts through five games having beaten #16 Utah and #22 Butler in back to back games. They also have another major conference victory over Miss State. This is another Larranaga team composed of transfers and a lot of senior leadership so do not be surprised if their run of victories continues. This team is averaging 92 points per game so far, while only allowing opponents 71 per game, which is a crazy 20 point margin of victory on average and all five games have been won by double digits. I would expect at the release of the next rankings that the Hurricanes will be in the top 25.

Clemson 3-0 – Clemson sits at a respectable 3-0 having done nothing spectacular yet also having done nothing they shouldn't have. They have beaten three low tier teams by an average of 29 points per game. Their first couple of tests should come in the next week with games against UMASS and Minnesota.

Boston College 3-0 – Supposedly a team that is finding its way, much like Tech and Wake Forest but no hiccups yet for this squad. All three wins are by double digits including a 13 point win over Harvard and two 25 point margins over lesser teams. They have Michigan State up next so don't expect the clean slate for the Eagles to last much longer.

Louisville 3-0 – Three games, three minor schools, three wins by at least 28 points. The Cardinals have a minor test in Saint Louis coming up but their next major challenge is Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The one thing this team has that will challenge most teams is size. Louisville currently has five players 6'10 or taller. This team is relatively inexperienced though, having lost a large senior class last year. Louisville is just outside the Top 25 right now so there is a chance they could move up in the next released rankings.

#18 (Now #17) Notre Dame 3-0 – Another team that has just done what it needed to do. Three wins against inferior opponents. Notre Dame will likely continue to be undefeated until they are 7-0 and reach the challenge of playing Indiana on December 19th. They drew a weak Illinois team in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this year. This is a pretty established group of upperclassmen in the starting rotation.

Syracuse 3-0 – The Orange are off to their normal strong start, beating three teams with under 250 RPIs. They face a weak Wisconsin team in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and could go undefeated in the OOC if they can get past Georgetown on 12/5. I am not sure what is going on with their roster, as ESPN shows them having 18 men on the roster right now. The Orange feature three senior starters along with one of Chris Clarke's biggest challenge for Freshmen of the Year in the ACC, in Malachi Richardson. Richardson is currently averaging 14 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 SPG while shooting 76% from the charity stripe.

Pittsburgh 2-0 – Two double digit wins against teams they should have beaten. We unfortunately didn't get a better feel for where the Panthers sit because their outdoor game against #9 Gonzaga was cancelled due to weather. Pitt drew the tall task of trying to beat #21 Purdue (3 Seven footers) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. That game appears to be their only remaining challenge before conference play begins.

#5 Duke (Now #6) 4-1 – Loss to Kentucky, survived Georgetown. Definitely not a complete team and arguably their best player is their sixth man, guard Grayson Allen, who is playing lights out. Some would even argue that this team struggled against VCU, finally pulling it out in the last couple minutes. Duke still has #14 Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and #16 Utah left on their OOC slate.

#6 Virginia (Now #12) 4-1 – Other than the bad loss to GW, UVA has done exactly what they needed to do. Four bad teams led to four victories. They even get a weaker Ohio State team than normal as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. They also have a game against pesky William & Mary, who put NC State to shame, along with games against WVU, #11 Villanova, and #15 Cal in their OOC slate. UVA likely has the second toughest OOC slate in the conference this season.

Florida State 3-1 – Florida State initially sat around 30th in the rankings so it will be interesting to see what happens with their loss to Hofstra. Their other three games aren't really enough to buoy them against that loss. Looking ahead, the Seminoles don't have any current ranked teams on their OOC slate, with only three games against major conference opponents in Miss St, Florida, and Iowa as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The top two leading candidates for Freshmen of the Year are both Seminoles, Dwayne Bacon is leading FSU in scoring at 19.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1 APG, shooting 57% from the field and 77% from the line. The scary part is that he is tandem with Malik Beasley, another freshmen averaging 19.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.3 SPG while shooting 58% from the field and 84% from the line.

Georgia Tech 3-1 – The Yellow Jackets scored a two point victory over Tennessee and then quickly gave that momentum back by losing to East Tennessee State. Both of their other wins saw them score more than 100 points in each game against lesser opponents. They have several other major conference opponents remaining on their OOC in Georgia and Arkansas as well as mid major games against VCU, Duquesne and Tulane. This is a team loaded with upperclassmen with nine.

#1 (Now #9) North Carolina 3-1 – A very bad loss to Northern Iowa puts a blemish on a team thought to be the best in the country coming in. They will quickly get another chance to prove themselves as they drew #2 Maryland in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge while also playing Northwestern, UCLA, and Texas in their OOC slate. The Tarheels starting rotation features three Juniors, one Senior and one Sophomore. Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson are both averaging double doubles so far with essentially the same stat line of 14.5 PPG and 10 RPG.

NC State 2-1 – I almost decided to stop with this one at Terrible loss to W&M by 17, enough said. That covered, they do have three major conference opponents left on their OOC slate to hopefully wash that game away. They play Arizona State, Michigan, and Missouri starting with the Sun Devils tonight in a Thanksgiving tournament at the Barclays Center in NYC.

Wake Forest 2-1 – I will give Danny Manning credit. He isn't messing around when it comes to scheduling. His team will either be ready or be a pin cushion by the time the OOC slate is over. The Demon Deacons have games against #13 Indiana, Rutgers, Arkansas, #23 Xavier, and #22 LSU remaining on their OOC slate, definitely by far the strongest schedule of any ACC team. It could be an ugly month of December as I don't think this team is ready for that level of prime time.

Virginia Tech 2-1 – We all know where we stand. Going forward our toughest OOC slate comes against #4 Iowa State, Northwestern as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and WVU. If we don't play better than we have, games like Radford and St Joes become all that more challenging.

This should give you guys an idea of where the conference is right now. We saw the top of the conference fall and some middle teams rise but overall I would say we are treading water. There unfortunately is not a ton of talent left on our OOC slate across the conference to really improve our position other than to just keep winning games against bad teams. The ACC really could use a big boost this year by dominating the ACC/Big Ten Challenge but I am not sure I see that happening.

Let me know if you have any questions about the conference and I will look to address them in the comments.