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.

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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.

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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.