Duke over NC State

The Duke Bluedevils outlasted the NC State Wolfpack, and then some. The final score was 92-72. NC State had a 9 point lead going into halftime. The Duke Bluedevils came out of the half firing on all cylinders and outscored the Wolfpack by 29 in the second half.

NC State will face Wake Forest on Sunday (2/3) and the Virginia Tech on Tuesday. The Duke's next opponent is Miami on Saturday, followed by an 8 mile trip to North Carolina on Wednesday night. It is no coincidence that Dick Vitale will make his return courtside to call the game for ESPN.

Carolina vs. Boston College

North Carolina improved its record to 20-1 tonight. This is Coach Williams' 18th season with 20 or more wins. The Tarheels defeated a very young, but good Boston College team. All five Tarheel starters finished in double figures. North Carolina led the entire game, with the exception of 26-25 at the 9:15 mark in the first half, when John Oates banked in a three pointer. A wholesale substitution followed soon after and the Tarheels never looked back. The final score was 91-69.

For more game highlights, click here.

Who will be in, Who will be out?

Rivals.com has released their March Madness projections! How many of these will come true? Only four teams from the ACC? Surely the ACC will have a better showing than that?

Another Tough ACC Match-up

Wake Forest, with a jump shot for Ismael Smith with :03 seconds left on the game clock, beat Miami 70-68. The Demon Deacons also got a solid performance from Freshman Jeff Teague with a career high 27 points. Wake Forest is now 3-3 in the ACC and 13-6 overall. With the win over the Hurricanes, they were able to continue a 16 game winning streak at home. Miami was led by guard Jack McClinton with 16 points. Next up for the Deamon Deacons is a trip Sunday to North Carolina State, while the Hurricanes will travel to Durham to face the ACC's top team the Duke Bluedevils.

Terps vs. Heels - Ladies' Turn

When the Carolina Tar Heels and Maryland Terrapins met last weekend for an ACC Men's Basketball showdown, the Terps handed the Heels their first loss of the season. This weekend was the ladies' turn on the hardwoods. Could the Lady Terps repeat what the men accomplished and beat the Heels?

In Chapel Hill, #4 Maryland's women's basketball team battled the 3rd ranked Lady Heels for two halves and two overtimes this afternoon. At the end of regulation through the beginning of the 2nd OT, it looked like the Turtles would come out on top. But the Lady Heels kept battling and broke away mid way through the 2nd Overtime to end a 12 game Maryland winning streak and their first loss in the ACC.

Final Score: 86-97 UNC.

Tar Heels Fear the Turtle.

Conference opponents Maryland Terrapins defeated the University of North Carolina Tar Heels today 82-80, giving Carolina its first loss this season. ACC Football might have been less than desired this past season, but there is no question ACC Basketball is in a class by itself. Congrats to the Terps for beating the unbeatable. From this Pack fan's perspective, its always a good day when UNC takes a loss... even if it does come at the hands of someone else.

900 for Bobby Knight

Congratulations to Bobby Knight on his 900th win last night. Texas Tech topped Texas A&M 68-53. Bobby Knight has done wonders for Texas Tech basketball and even more for the University as a whole. But for me, it is a shame that he is not eclipsing this mark at Indiana.

Lucky and Good

The saying goes, "I'd rather be lucky than good." Last night, the North Carolina Tarheels were both lucky and good. The Tarheels traveled to Atlanta to face the Ramblin' Reck of Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech was looking to defend its home court, which is so important in ACC conference play. By doing so, they would be one of only three teams that has been able to hold serve with the Tarheels four times in a row. Duke and Virginia are the two teams that have been able to do this.

It was an up and down, run and gun, fast paced basketball game. North Carolina was certainly on pace to meet or exceed their scoring average of 92 on the road. The problem for the Tarheels was that Georgia Tech was playing and scoring at the same pace. From the games that I have seen, and this was echoed by the commentators last night, a game with North Carolina is a game of attrition. North Carolina will continue to fly up and down the court, they will "trap" after a made basket. Often times causing a steal, resulting in another made basket. This played out a couple of times last night. But Georgia Tech kept pace. In fact, Georgia Tech had two opportunities, inside of 12 feet in the closing seconds to win the game. The shots would not fall and Carolina came out on top with an 83-82 win.

There is no doubt that the North Carolina Tarheels are good, in fact they are very good. But without luck last night, Georgia Tech would have added their name to a list that only Duke and Virginia sit on today.

Here is the Associated Press' take courtesy of Foxsports.

In other ACC play from last night, Duke went into Tallahassee to play a Florida State Seminole team that always give Duke a tough time. Last night was no different. With 3:56 seconds left in the game, Florida State held a 55-54 lead. Duke managed to finish out the game by making 16 of the last 18 points. The final score was 70-57.

Here's more information on the game.

Virginia Tech outlasted the Virgina Cavaliers in a 70-69 overtime win. A.D. Vasallo led the Hokies with 22 points and 5 rebounds. The Cavaliers were led by Sean Singletary with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Game Recap.

Tobacco Road is the Most Valuable

Tobacco Road does not only offer the best college basketball in the country, but according to a study by Forbes magazine, is also the most valuable.

See the entrie article.

Welcome Back Dickie V

ESPN's Dick Vitale has been cleared to return courtside after successful surgery to remove lesions in his throat. His first game back, a shock, the Duke vs. North Carolina game on February 6th. Welcome back Dickie V, it has not been the same with out you.

See ESPN's press release here.

Two Games to Watch [UPDATE]

Check out the games in the Big 12 and the Big East tonight. Both promise to be very good games. First in the Big 12, it is the 16-0 Kansas Jayhawks hosting the 12-4 Oklahoma Sooners. Kansas is currently ranked No. 3 in the country behind North Carolina and Memphis. The Jayhawks are led by Junior Guard Brandon Rush. The unranked Sooners are led Freshman standout Blake Griffin. The 6 foot 10 freshman most recently put up 27 points pulled down 14 rebounds in a loosing effort to Kansas State. This game tips at 9:00 and can be seen on ESPN

The game of the night is probably the first game on ESPN schedule. It will tip at 7:00pm in Pittsburgh. The No. 18 Pitt Panthers will host the No. 8 Georgetown Hoyas. The Panthers are 14-2 overall and 2-1 in conference. Georgetown is perfect in conference play with three wins and 13-1 overall with their only loss of the season to the No. 2 ranked Memphis Tigers. Georgetown is led by 7 foo 2 center Roy Hibbert with 12.6 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Both games will definitely prove to be worth watching.

UPDATE: Kansas had little trouble with Oklahoma. The Jayhawks beat the Sooners 85-55. Kansas had four players in double figures. Oklahoma Center Longar Longar led the Sooners with 21 points. Kansas faces Missou on the 19th and Oklahoma will face Bobby Knight and Texas Tech.

The game of the night was definitely Georgetown/Pittsburgh game. The Pitt Panthers upset the Georgetown Hoyas 69-60. Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin both scored 18 points for the Panthers. Roy Hibbert turned in an admirable performance with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Check out all the Division 1 scores last night.

Duke Wins Conference Opener

Duke won its ACC opener with an 87-65 win over Virginia. Duke was on fire from behind the 3-point. That proved to be a huge factor in Virginia's defeat. Virginia never could seem to get on track from behind the arc. Duke is now 13-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Duke travels to Tallahassee to play a Florida State team that has been know to give them trouble. Virginia falls to 0-1 in conference play and 10-4 overall. The Cavaliers will host Virginia Tech on Wednesday, January 16th.

Don't Throw The Record Books Out Yet.

After starting as a defensive contest with the score 9-9, the North Carolina Tar Heels went on to score 34 more points before the half, while State missed 18 straight shots and only put up an additional 4 points before the break. So much for throwing the record books out for this rivalry match, NC State couldn't hit a shot and didn't play much like a team. The second half proved better, in-part because of adjustments made by Coach Sidney Lowe, but probably also due to the large lead and lack of urgency felt by Carolina.

State went on to score 49 in the second half, but Carolina scored 50, so the 30 point margin from half was actually increased by 1 at the final buzzer.

Its time for the red coat to go back in the closet for a while and for Coach Lowe and the boys to regroup. I certainly hope we make a better game of it when the Heels come to Raleigh... it can't be much worse.

Tobacco Road: The Red Coat Returns.

Whether you believe the rivalry has renewed or never left, you can't question that its in full force now. The last time rivals NC State and North Carolina met was last year's ACC Tournament. As happened then, you can throw records and stats out the window... these two rivals play each other hard, with the winner often determined by heart as much as ability.

Today State heads to the Dean Dome (or Smith Center for all my Tar Heel friends). And even Jones Angell will have to admit that this first ACC contest is a big game. We might be out matched on paper, and we might not be wearing dark blue like your other Tobacco Road rivals, but we're going to put up a fight until the last whistle blows.

Forget UNC's 16-0 start... this is a historic battle. Its the 212th meeting between the Wolfpack and Tarheels, and like the 211 contests before, it will be a good one. Tip-off is at noon.

Go Pack!

Wins by all of the Big Three

All three Triangle schools won non conference games last night. NC State beat North Carolina Central University 57-29 to win their seventh straight contest. The Duke Bluedevels beat Temple 74-64 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA. This was Coach K's 787th victory, making him sixth on the all time career win list. Duke is currently ranked No. 9 with a 12-1 record overall. North Carolina also won, defeating UNC Asheville 93-81. UNC Asheville has the country's tallest player, Kenny George who is 7 foot 7. George had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. North Carolina is still ranked No. 1 in the polls with undefeated Memphis and Kansas on their heels.



NC State travels to the Dean Dome this Saturday for what promises to be a typical high energy, high intensity, throw the records and rankings out the door Tobacco Road battle.



For information on NC State, click here. For Duke, click here. And for North Carolina, click here.

Time To Celebrate: LSU Tigers Championship Merchandise.

LSU Tigers 2007 Championship merchandise is now available at FavoriteU! From official logo watches to golf gifts and household items, they have a little bit of everything to commemorate the Tiger's historic 2007 BCS Championship.

Link: LSU Tigers 2007 Championship Licensed Merchandise.

Congratulations to LSU!

LSU became the first two-loss team to win the BCS National Championship Game, much less play in the game. Congratulations to LSU! Apparently Les Miles made the right decision to stay at Louisiana State University.

Is A College Football Playoff Coming?

Yesterday, the University of Georgia President Micheal Adams made his pitch for an NCAA Football playoff system. I could not agree with this gentleman more. But I do have to wonder if he would be proposing this had Georgia not finished their season so strong. Georgia was in the conversation because they were playing football as good as anyone was at the end of the season. As I heard someone on sports radio say yesterday, "where was Mr. Adams when Auburn was one of three undefeated teams who got left out of the National Championship game?"

Read Mr. Adams proposal in more detail by clicking here.

LSU Wins National Title!

The Louisiana State University Tigers, after having two losses this season, captured the BCS National Championship by defeating Ohio State 38-24. For the second straight year, The Ohio State Buckeyes made it to the final game only to come up short, last year losing to the Florida Gators, and tonight to LSU.

If Ohio State deserved to be there, LSU certainly did. After ending the first quarter down 10-3, LSU scored 21 unanswered points before the half and controlled the rest of the game.

Congratulations Louisiana State, 2008 BCS National Champions!

Kansas Still Undefeated

Kansas visited Boston College on Saturday, coming away with an 85-60 victory. Darnell Jackson led all scores with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Boston College was led by Rakim Sanders with 20 points.

For more information, click here.

No. 9 Duke picks up another win

Cameron Indoor Stadium was the site of another Bluedevil win. Duke topped Cornell 81-67. DeMarcus Nelson led the Bluedevils with 23 points and 8 rebounds. The Bluedevils improved to 11-1.

For more information on Duke's win, click here.

North Carolina Eaks Out An Overtime Win at Littlejohn

The North Carolina Tarheels began their conference schedule last night by traveling to Clemson's Littlejohn Colesium, taking on the number 18th ranked Clemson Tigers. This game, in my opinion, is the epitome of ACC basketball and why ACC basketball is so special. It was a track meet; up and down the court, back and forth. Clemson held a 41-38 lead at the half. Both teams had managed 81 points at the end of regulation.

In the overtime period, Clemson pulled ahead with 13.9 seconds left when Freshman sensation, Demontez Stitt made two free throws, giving the Tigers an 88-87 lead. Following two timeouts by North Carolina, the ball was put in Wayne Ellington's hands. He nailed a three pointer with 0.4 seconds left on the game clock.

It was an outstanding game for both programs. North Carolina picked up a key conference road win and proved that they could win without a dominating performance from Tyler Hansbrough. Wayne Ellington showed up big with a career high 36 points, hitting 11-19 (5-8 from behind the three point line) from the field and 9-9 from the line. And Clemson, in my opinion, really validated there place in the top 25. Their were questions as to whether Clemson was for real, given their 17-0 start last year, and then failing to make the NCAA tournament.

For more information about North Carolina vs. Clemson, click here.

The ACC's Horrible Bowl Appearances Contiued

Virginia Tech continued the ACC's dismal showing in this year's bowl games. Virginia Tech lost to Kansas 24-21. Unfortunately, I missed the game last night. The Iowa Caucus coverage held my attention.

For a complete breakdown of the FedEx Orange Bowl, click here

Interim Coach Finally Siezes The Opportunity

With the exit of Rich Rodriquez to Michigan, it was thought that West Virginia would be hard pressed to compete with Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It was widely thought that with the uncertainty of the coaching staff at West Virginia, would the assistant coaches have the opportunity to stay at West Virginia, would some of them have an opportunity to follow Rodriquez to Michigan, or worse yet would some of the coaches be left without a job. With the assistant coaches having so much "up in the air," how could they possibly prepare a team like Oklahoma?

Not only did they prepare for Oklahoma, but they won. And won convincingly! The coaching staff put their team, the kids that they recruited and the University first (much like Rodriquez claimed to do last year when he turned down the Alabama job to stay "home" at West Virginia). And in a classy move by the University, Bill Stewart will be named the Head Coach this morning. Coach Stewart is the only interim head coach (that I am aware of) to capitalize on their opportunity and lead their team to a bowl game victory. Fortunately, Bill Stewart is getting rewarded for his efforts. Congratulations to Coach Stewart and the rest of the Mountaineer coaching staff!

Disappointing Bowl Season for the ACC

The ACC has once again proven that it is not a power football conference. Eight teams out of the ACC made, or as of tomorrow night, will have made bowl appearances this year. The participates included, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson and Virginia Tech. All the games have been decided except for the Orange Bowl between Virginia Tech and Kansas. The ACC's has managed to only 2 of the 7 that have been played thus far. Football in the ACC has a long way to go in order to considered in the same conversation as the SEC.

A Good Listen

The Capital One Bowl, Michigan vs. Florida. I must start this post by stating that I would be hard pressed to tell you which team, Michigan or Florida, that I dislike more. The truth, I can't stand either one. But I was looking forward to watching this game, purely as a fan of good college football. Unfortuntely, or so I thought, I was unable to see the game in person. I did have the opportunity to hear a good portion of the game on the radio. Man, what a game! And what an exciting way to be a spectator. Admittedly, I was initially irritated that I could not see the game, but truthfully, it was nice to picture it through someone else's eyes. Try it sometime, I don't think that you will be disappointed.

Michigan won 41-35.

For more information on the Capital One Bowl, click here.