ACC Basketball UPDATE

The North Carolina Tarheels escaped with a win over a very good Virginia Cavalier. Last nights game at Virginia was by all accounts Virginia's best showing of the year, even in a loss. Unfortunately for Virginia, they are now the only team in the ACC with a record below .500 (11-12 overall and 1-9 in the ACC).

The Tarheels play is again noticablely handicapped without Ty Lawson. The injuries continue to mount. Marcus Ginyard continues suffers from a painful toe injury and Deon Thompson, who continued to play, suffered an apparent knee injury early in the first half of last nights game. The Tarheels also continue to miss back up Point Guard Bobby Frasor.

The Maryland Terrapins will visit Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight. The Duke Bluedevils continue to play excellent basketball and remain undefeated in conference play. The Terrapins are also playing inspired basketball. Look for a good game from Osby and Gist.

Thursday night, there are three games on the slate, NC State at Boston College, Georgia Tech at Clemson and Wake Forest at Florida State. The Wolfpack has been playing better of late, with wins over Wake Forest and Virginia Tech prior to a tough loss at Maryland. Boston College will be looking to rebound, having come off of six conference losses in a row.

The Georgia Tech vs. Clemson game is critical to Clemson. Coming off an overtime loss at North Carolina, a place where they have never won in 53 tries, how will they respond? In my opinion, this is a chance for Clemson to prove that they belong in the top of the ACC.

The Wake Forest vs. Florida State game also promises to be worth watching. Wake Forest has played well for coach Dino Gaudio, in his first year following the death of Skip Prosser. Florida State always plays well at home, recently taking North Carolina into an overtime period, before falling 84-73.

This week's schedule continues to prove that there is no better basketball conference in the country.

Duke Reigns Supreme in the ACC

With the absence of point guard Tywon Lawson, describing the Tarheels as "sloppy," might just be an understatement. The Duke Bluedevils went into the Dean E. Smith Center and quieted the crowd. Duke's defense was better and they were able to hit shots from behind the arc. Duke held North Carolina to under 41% from the field and only allowed 3-17 from behind the arc. In contrast, Duke shot almost 46% from the field, including 13-29 from behind the three-point line. Duke also had six players in double figures to Carolina's four. Wayne Ellington and Danny Green where pretty much absent offensively. Alot of that can be attributed to solid defense by Duke, but Ellington and Green where a combined 4-24 and 11 points. If the Tarheels are to have any hope of avenging this loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium some 30 days from now, these two guys are going to have to step up.



Here's what Jeff Goodman of Foxsports.com wrote.

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.

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!

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.

Wolfpack, One Up and One down

The NC State Wolfpack (8-3) men's basketball team got a much needed win for their program last night, defeating Seton Hall(8-3) 79-73. Seton Hall had been previously unbeaten at home. The NC State Wolfpack needed a big game from Gavin Grant, and they got it. Grant was 8 of 14 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line, leading all scores with 23.

The Nevada Wolfpack (7-5) , however, did not fair as well. They traveled to Chapel Hill to take on the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tarheels (12-0). It was a close game with the tarheels even trailing at one point during the first half. But the last twenty-three minutes of the game told a much different story. Defensive intensity by North Carolina became the story of the game. The final score was 106 - 70. North Carolina did suffer a huge loss in junior guard Bobby Frasor, who tore his ACL with 9:47 left in the second half.