The ACC, Simply Amazing

There were three Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball games that looked by the start of the second half, in each case, to be blow outs. The outcomes proved to be far from blow-outs. Saturday Duke traveled to Raleigh to face NC State. The Wolfpack had dropped six in a row and by games end, they would have dropped their seventh straight, based on conventional wisdom. But, as they say, that is why you play the game. NC State was 3 points ahead at the half. They extended that lead to 13 points with 10:22 left to play in the game, with no signs of looking back. The Bluedevils made a few stops and battled their way back. Poor free throw shooting down the stretch made made it impossible for the Pack to pull the game out. The Wolfpack missed three of their last six free throws after going 22 for their previous 23. The final score was Duke 87 and NC State 86.

Later Saturday afternoon, the UNC Tarheels traveled to Chestnut Hill, MA to take on the Boston College Screaming Eagles. It was a cold and snowy day outside, but the Tyrese Rice was on fire. He scored 34 points in the first half and 46 for the game. The second half opened with Boston College making the first two baskets of the half to extend their lead to 18 points. Shortly thereafter, Coach Roy Williams sent in the "blue team," replacing all five starters. That lit the spark that the Tarheels needed. They battled back to win the game by 10 points. Also a contributor in this game was Tywon Lawson, seeing his first action in six games.

The Duke and North Carolina comebacks were both special, but Clemson battling back from a 59 - 39 deficit with just 11:23 left was simply amazing. Both Maryland and Clemson were fighting to be the next team in the ACC, following Duke and North Carolina. They are also fighting for at large bids to the NCAA tournament. Clemson went on a tear. A 31-11 run brought the second half to a close. The game was tied at 70 coming out of a Clemson timeout. The play drawn up by coach Oliver Purnell was designed to get the ball into James Mays in the closing seconds. Unfortunately, Maryland did not cooperate and the Tigers had to settle for long three from Terrence Oglesby. The shot fell and Maryland had 2.3 seconds to get the ball in bounds and get off a three point shot of its own. Maryland had to settle for a shot from just short of the half court line, which came up well short.

This past weekend hammers home the point, at least to me, that year in and year out, the ACC has the best basketball conference in America.

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.

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.

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!

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.

In other Tar Heel News: 3 UNC Football Players Assaulted (by Women)

Its almost too disturbing and weird to recap, so I'll just link to the N&O article here. Definitely not your typical story of college athletes in trouble. Its sad, really.

Are the Tarheels Vulnerable?

Last night, Carolina improved their record to 9 -0. They beat Nicholls State 88 - 78. Nichols State was able to keep the game much closer than it should have been because they were able to make shots from behind the three point line. Carolina was not! Nicholls State shot a combined 14 of 28 from behind the three point line, whereas Carolina only made 3 of 12. I know that I am stating the obvious, but until Carolina is able to capitalize from behind the arc, they will continue to be vulnerable to a consistent three point shooting team.