ACC Roundup – State Rising, Virginia Surviving, Deacs And Jackets Fading

Published 3 hours ago
Source: sports.yahoo.com

Tuesday’s ACC Action went about as we expected, but it was a close-run thing. NC State and Virginia Tech won, as expected, but Wake Forest was knocked off by Pitt and Notre Dame took Virginia to double-overtime before falling just short.

NC State added to Syracuse’s misery, winning 88-68. The Pack shot 51% to 39% for the Orange. State dominated the boards too, 45-33. Donnie Freeman was the brightest spot for the ‘Cuse with 24 points and 10 rebounds. JJ Starling had 17 points.

Darrion Williams had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for State. Ven-Allen Lubin racked up 18 and 9 while former Syracuse player Quadir Copeland had 19 points, 9 assists and 4 steals against his old team.

Adrian Autry was already getting some heat coming into this one and a 20-point loss where his team didn’t really defend won’t help.

You have to feel for the Irish. Notre Dame was up 19 on a really good Virginia team but gave it all up and the game went to double OT where the ‘Hoos won, 100-97.

All of Notre Dame’s big men fouled out, basically trying to guard Thijs De Ridder, who hit 14-15 from the line. He finished with 32 points and 8 rebounds.

Sam Lewis had 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and impressive freshman Chance Mallory ended up with 17 points.

The way this game is being framed is that Notre Dame blew it but that’s not really fair. The Irish played way over their head and simply couldn’t sustain it, as the foul situation indicates. It was a game effort and deserves respect, not mockery. Better question: what’s going on with Virginia? They couldn’t keep up with UNC and it took two OTs to beat a team that is missing their best player and that couldn’t defend against them inside. What’s up with the ‘Hoos?

Like Virginia, Pitt fell behind early and came back to in in overtime, 80-76. As noted previously, Wake’s inside woes are tough to overcome. Cooper Schwieger had 7 points but did grab 11 boards, Tre’Von Spillers had 8 points and 3 boards and Omaha Biliew had 1 point and 1 board.

The perimeter carried the day, again. Juke Harris had 17 points and 5 boards, Myles Colvin had 18 and Nate Calmese finished with 10.

You can win with minimal front court production, but your backcourt has to be really good, a la Georgia Tech’s Lethal Weapon 3 offense of Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver. Wake’s is good but not that good, plus Tech had Matt Geiger and Malcolm Mackey, solid if unspectacular bigs.

Roman Siulepa continues to improve and finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds but Omari Witherspoon was the hero of the day. In overtime, he got a key steal, deflected a three and then hit a clutch three of his own with 15 seconds left. Great effort by the freshman.

Both teams had lost three straight. Pitt is 9-12 and Wake is barely over .500 at 11-10.

Virginia Tech cleaned up on threes and at the line in a 71-65 win over the Yellow Jackets. The Hokies outscored Georgia Tech 24-6 on threes and won free throws 19-12.

Tobi Lawal is back in the starting lineup for Virginia Tech and their lineup now is pretty impressive: Lawal, Amani Hansberry who has really excelled, Neoklis Avdalas, who has certainly had his moments, Jailen Bedford and Ben Hammonds, who finished with 20 here.

Georgia Tech made a nice comeback but it wasn’t quite enough to pull off the upset.

With the win, Virginia Tech is 16-6 and an NCAA bid is certainly on the table if they continue to play well.

On Wednesday, the Florida schools make the West Coast swing. Cal hosts Florida State while Stanford welcomes Miami.

Wednesday’s ACC Action

  • Florida State at Cal || 7:00 || ACCN
  • Miami at Stanford || 9:00 || ACCN

ACC Standings

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