ACC Roundup - NC State At UNC Is Probably Saturday’s Highlight...
...but there are some others that could be really great too.
In Saturday’s ACC Action, Florida State visits Georgia Tech, NC State buses over to Chapel Hill, Wake goes up to Blacksburg to challenge the Hokies, Pitt heads up to BC, Clemson takes on suddenly formidable Notre Dame and Syracuse drops in on Louisville.
The headliner is probably the Triangle rivalry. Well, it’s more of a rivalry for State than it is for UNC, but they probably haven’t forgotten what happened in Chapel Hill last year. We’re not saying they’re going to retaliate, but c’mon. They haven’t forgotten.
It’s going to be a tough out for State but impossible? No. The Pack can heat up and UNC is just not playing as well as it was earlier in the year. This could become a great game.
What to make of FSU-Georgia Tech?
Neither did well in February with FSU going 2-6 and Tech 2-5. But it is at home and Tech has on occasion played brilliantly. So we’d roll the dice and take the Jackets here.
Cassell is a very tough place to play, but the Hokies are weak up front and Wake Forest is not. Plus we like their guards just as much as Tech’s. Efton Reid is a load inside. He’s not really agile but he’s fundamentally sound and can get shots off. Who's going to stop him? And if you double team him, the other guys will make you pay. He’s not an immense talent, but he is a perfect fit for that team.
It’s an interesting matchup. We could imagine Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor going off and Lynn Kidd has had his moments. They have a huge home court advantage but Wake has the talent. And it’s hard to bet against talent.
We love what Earl Grant is doing at BC. He’s building a program around underrated dogs who bust their butts every time. They love to find a team that’s not playing to its potential and sticking it to them.
And Pitt is very capable of a let down.
Yes, they should win. But if they fool around and give BC a chance, they might pull the upset. And an upset would be deadly for Pitt’s NCAA hopes. We’d call this one a tossup.
On the other hand, Blake Hinson is probably due a big game. He has been getting lots of attention after putting up a 27 point game at Virginia and then a 41 point outing at Louisville. Clemson held him to six last time so you know he’s ready to go off.
Do you think Clemson can contain a surging Markus Burton? He’s been phenomenal lately which frees up fellow freshman Braeden Shrewsberry, who can be absolutely deadly from outside. Toss in a rapidly improving Tae Davis and yes, this is a very dangerous team.
But Clemson will mug you. We mean that as a compliment. They’ll get after the young Irish and make them earn it. Plus the Tigers don’t want to tank right before the tournament. This one could be really fun.
Louisville is now 8-20 and closes out with three straight home games. Unfortunately, Syracuse seems to be on the uptick lately and while Louisville nearly won in the Dome, since then the Orange have gone 5-2 with three straight wins. And for whatever reason, Kenny Payne has not been able to convince his team to defend.
Sadly, he doesn’t have many defenders left either and he may be down to his last four games at his alma mater, counting one tournament game. It just doesn't seem to be in the Cards.
Saturday’s ACC Action
- Florida State @ Georgia Tech || 12:00 || ESPN2
- NC State @ UNC || 4:00 || ESPN
- Wake Forest @ Virginia Tech || 5:30 || CW
- Virginia @ Duke || 6:00 || ESPN
- Pitt @ Boston College || 6:00 || ACCN
- Clemson @ Notre Dame || 7:45 || CW
- Syracuse @ Louisville || 8:00 || ACCN
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