ACC play kicked off on December 6 with North Carolina State
defeating Wake Forest by a 13 point margin. While both N.C. State and Notre
Dame sit atop the conference standings with one win a piece the real conference
play begins today with a six game slate. In the past two years, the ACC
champion not only struggled during November and December but the two teams were
not given any consideration in the pre-season. In 2012, Miami dominated the
league going 15-3 and last year Virginia did the same going 16-2. Will a
surprise team emerge this year? Probably not, but with the addition of
Louisville there will be a plethora of interesting match-ups.
Tier 1 Teams:
Duke:
The Blue Devils enter ACC play undefeated with neutral court
victories over Michigan State, Temple, Stanford, and Connecticut to go with a
road win over Wisconsin. Last year Jabari Parker led the Blue Devils while
finishing runner-up in the ACC POY voting. This year Jahlil Okafor, is the
front runner for national player of the year averaging 18.8 points and 8.8
rebounds a game.
? Mark: The bench
Duke’s freshmen trio has surpassed expectations, but will
their legs get heavy in March? Right now, Coach K only trusts three players off
his bench and only junior Rasheed Sulaimon can be counted on consistently.
Toughest Test:
At Louisville (1/17), At Virginia (1/31)
Playing in front of the Cameron Crazies, Duke has gone
undefeated at home the past two years. It looks like they could go three in a
row with their toughest match-up coming against UNC on Feb. 18.
Virginia:
Top Wins: at Maryland, at VCU
What a year for the Cavaliers. After winning the ACC regular
season title (16-2) and the ACC tournament title, the Cavs are sitting pretty
with an undefeated record. This time last year they entered ACC play after a 35
point dismantling in Knoxville, but used their home-court and overall
experience to capture an unexpected title. Everyone expected Malcolm Brogdon to
excel this year, but junior Justin Anderson has captured the headlines with his
60% shooting from behind the arc and junior Anthony Gill might be the least
talked about star in the nation considering he sits in 3rd place for
Ken Pomeroy’s player of the year.
? Mark: Daunting 3
game stretch
While Duke’s home court advantage is widely publicized, the
Wahoo’s also have not lost a conference game in the past two years at the John
Paul Jones arena. This year they face a daunting three game stretch with games
against Duke (home), UNC (Away), and Louisville (Home). If they make it through
this stretch UVA could be looking at a repeat and another number one seed.
Toughest Test:
Not including the three game stretch above, UVA starts its
ACC play with Miami (1/3) and also heads to South Bend on 1/10. Last year, UVA
beat the Irish by 15, but this is not last year’s Notre Dame squad.
Louisville:
Top Wins: Indiana (N), Ohio State (H)
The Cardinals basketball team should open up conference play
like their football team did, with a win. Rick Pitino’s squad jumps up a level
of play from the American conference and gets two games with UNC, but just one
with both Duke and UVA. They only lost one game out of conference, but played a
relatively weak slate. Point guard Chris Jones has been a source of criticism
for fans given his play of late, but Terry Rozier and Wayne Blackshear will
need to continue to step up and provide help to Montrezl Harrell.
? Mark: Go-to scorer
Terry Rozier is the team’s leading scorer at 17.1 points per
game, but will he be the one to take the place of Russ Smith when it comes time
for clutch baskets?
Toughest Test:
At Miami (2/3), At Virginia (2/7)
After welcoming UNC to the Yum! Center on Saturday, January
31, the Cardinals go down to Miami for a weekday road game and then head up to
Charlottesville. Could the Miami game be a letdown / sandwich game?
All ACC Team:
Jahlil Okafor (Duke)
Montrezl Harrell (Louisville)
Jerian Grant (Notre Dame)
Marcus Paige (UNC)
Anthony Gill (Virginia)
All Freshmen Team:
Jahlil Okafor (Duke)
Tyus Jones (Duke)
Justise Winslow (Duke)
Donte Grantham (Clemson)
Xavier Rathan-Mayes (FSU)
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