Duke has the talent of an elite team.

Duke has the most successful coach in Division I history.

But Duke doesn’t have a chance of going much further than the first couple rounds of the NCAA Tournament unless the Blue Devils figure out how to play better defense. In fact, I’m officially putting Duke on upset alert starting with the first game they play in the tournament.

Unlike past Duke teams, this year’s version of the Blue Devils doesn’t generate a ton of turnovers to spark easy baskets on offense. For the first time in 10 years, Duke is forcing turnovers on less than 20 percent of opponents’ possessions. That MIA Duke pressure has been a hallmark of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s teams for years. But it’s nearly nonexistent this season, as Seth Curry is the only player with more than one steal per game.

Because the Blue Devils aren’t forcing mistakes, opponents have been able to take advantage of the plodding defense of the Plumlee brothers and Ryan Kelly. This team lacks the interior shot blocking presence of Shelden Williams or sheer man-size of Brian Zoubek. Miami pretty much showed everyone exactly how to beat Duke in the 78-74 overtime win yesterday: spread out the defense, isolate a defender off a screen, and let a speedier guard go to work. If Duke’s help defense can recover, which it didn’t for much of the loss to the Hurricanes, a shooter should be open on the wing or in the corner.

Of course, Coach K didn’t surpass 900 wins on sheer luck. This team will make adjustments. It was about this time two years ago that Coach K made Brian Zoubek a full-time starter, and the Blue Devils lost only once for the rest of the season en route to a national title. The Blue Devils don’t have anyone with the size of Zoubek to step and make a difference. But it wouldn’t shock me to see more playing time for sophomore guard Tyler Thornton.

In his post game interview after the Miami loss, Coach K bemoaned his team’s effort, which is something he never has to worry about from Thornton. The sophomore from Washington, D.C, plays with a ton of energy, like he’s cherishing every second that he’s on the court. Thornton is not a great shooter, but if he can become the spark plug that helps Austin Rivers, Andre Dawkins, Ryan Kelly and the rest of the crew reach they’re full potential, he’ll fill a critical need for Duke.

In other words, Thornton could become the team’s emotional leader, a role that has rarely been hard to find on Duke but isn’t clear this season. With so much talent in the backcourt and enough Plumlee muscle in the post, a shot of energy in this lineup could be enough to help Duke get back on track.

But if the Blue Devils don’t respond, this team could lose to just about any upset-minded team that executes a precise game plan to exploit Duke’s defensive gaps. With a few weeks remaining before March Madness, Coach K and the Blue Devil nation are eagerly searching for someone to fill those cracks.

The Seminoles have one of the worst turnover percentages in the country, based on Ken Pomeroy’s stats. Florida State gives the ball away nearly once every four possessions. That’s brutal for an offense that shoots fairly well but has a tendency to go into slumps.

The result of such inconsistency is an occasional five- or six-minute scoring drought. In the NCAA Tournament, that could spell disaster against a team that catches fire, especially from long range.

But the Seminoles had been improving until Saturday’s ugly win vs. Virginia. Since the calendar turned to 2012, Florida State had kept the turnover percentage to less than 25 percent in all but one game. Against the Cavaliers, Florida State regressed by committing 19 turnovers in 63 possessions, a 30.1 percent turnover rate. That’s just not going to get it done in most games.

Just imagine how good Florida State would be if the Seminoles could somehow trade for North Carolina’s Kendall Marshall. The ACC’s best point guard has a ridiculous 4-to-1 assist to turnover ratio while playing for one of the fastest-paced teams in the land. Under Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles also like to get up and down the court, and Marshall would turn an average offense into a very good one.

The Seminoles’ defense already ranks as one of the best in the country, anchored by Bernard James, a former Marine who turns 27 Feb. 7. The intelligent, tough senior is wired for defense, and he blocks more than two shots per game and intimidates shooters more than stats will show. Although James’ defensive contributions are the hallmark of Hamilton’s recent Seminoles teams, they aren’t always enough to make up for the offensive inefficiency.

Five Seminole players commit at least two turnovers per game, which is especially concerning when only one of those players logs 30 minutes per game. If Florida State could take better care of the ball and lower the team’s turnover percentage to just the Division I average, Florida State’s offense would jump from ranking around No. 90 in efficiency to the top 50. That shift in balance would make the Seminoles even more dangerous, and the team would start to look like a legitimate Final Four contender.

As North Carolina and Duke have discovered, the Seminoles can beat any team in the country anywhere on any given night. The problem is that Florida State could lose to just about any team if the Noles start getting sloppy with the ball and run into hot shooters. Improve ball security, and the team can better withstand a lucky shooting streak and make some serious noise in March.

With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, the biggest event in U.S. sports will command the attention of tens of millions of viewers, generating tens of millions of dollars for everyone associated with the event.

A few weeks later, the NBA All-Star game will show the NFL how exhibition weekends should be run. In my opinion, the NBA All-Star weekend festivities are the best of any pro sport, with baseball coming in a close second. Did anyone actually watch the Pro Bowl last weekend?

We don’t have any winter Olympics this year, but that’s a February event, too.

And then we have college hoops. To casual fans, March is the month of joy. But February is the month that sets the table for March. Dozens of teams are jockeying for position right now, fighting for a better seed and location or merely a bid to the Big Dance.

The schedule-makers know what they’re doing, too. Next Wednesday — just days after the Super Bowl — the top rivalry in college hoops will go down for the first of two meetings in a month when Duke visits North Carolina. That’s a nice way for the NCAA to tell America: “Guess what? Football is over. It’s time to set your sights on the hardwood.”

And of course, as we work through the thick of conference play, we’ll have the rush of bracket projections to feed the hoops addiction. Hoopville will join the fray as usual, starting this Friday. We choose to wait until February because it just feels right. By now, we have a large enough sample size to judge teams’ résumés and make projections that have a good shot of standing up during the final few weeks before Selection Sunday.

We take you coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

Get ready for more technical fouls and a shorter leash on players or coaches who act out. Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog reports that John Adams, the NCAA’s national officiating coordinator, sent a notice to all officials that implored them to clamp down on bad behavior.

Clemson has indefinitely suspended junior Milton Jennings, a former McDonald’s All-American, because of academic reasons, according to the Associated Press. Jennings averages 8.9 ppg and 5.4 rpg.

Arizona will finish the season without junior Kevin Parrom, who broke his foot in a loss to Washington last weekend, according to a CBS Sports.com report. He averaged 4.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 1.7 apg this season.

Iona is looking to remain one of the premier programs in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and the university extended the contract of coach Tim Cluess to help make that happen, according to a CBS Sports.com report.

Don’t mess with a player’s routine. North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes shared some of the details of his routine with Andrew Jones of Fox Sports to explain why he changed his shoes at halftime of the Tar Heels’ win against Georgia Tech. Like the rest of the team, Barnes started the game with pink shoes to help promote breast cancer awareness. But he went with his usual Kobes in the second half.

VCU coach Shaka Smart stirred some commotion in the commonwealth during a teleconference Monday, writes Myron Medcalf for ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog. Smart asserted that Virginia’s best schools reside in the CAA. He didn’t call out the ACC teams in Blacksburg or Charlottesville by name, but Smart felt compelled to give UVA coach Tony Bennett a call to clarify his comments.

The NCAA won’t be seeking any further action against Connecticut freshman guard Ryan Boatright regarding an investigation into his eligibility because of money and benefits that he and his mother received, according to the Associated Press. But the AP reports that the Boatrights’ lawyer isn’t finished with his actions against the NCAA, lambasting the organization for releasing private information.

The only coach to ever lead Canisius to an NCAA Tournament win died Saturday, according to the Associated Press. Joseph Curran, 89, passed away in Mystic, Conn. He led the Golden Griffins to a 76-66 record in six seasons, which included a shocking four overtime victory against No. 2 North Carolina State in the 1956 NCAA Tournament.

“I thought our guys stayed very poised,” said Larranaga, currently in his first season at the school. “Early in the season, we tended to go our own way and tried to do it on our own. Tonight, I thought we stuck with some things and were able to fight through it, and our defense got better as the game progressed. They were at 49 for a long time.”

In fact, Boston College went over three minutes without scoring, and never got another field goal. They shot 35 percent in the second half after shooting over 42 percent in the first half, and turnovers were once again a problem. In the meantime, Miami turned the ball over just five times on the afternoon, the second straight game with a single digit figure in that column.

Miami was a mixed bag early in the season. They won their first four games, then lost four of the next five in part from playing tougher opponents and having to go on the road a few times. At 5-4, they got back big man Reggie Johnson, who suffered a knee injury last summer, and he has certainly made a difference.

“Reggie’s made a huge difference for a number of different reasons,” said Larranaga.

Johnson hasn’t been a dominant force at either end of the floor, nor has he posted eye-popping numbers. But since he has returned, a lot of the Hurricanes have benefited. Alongside him, Kenny Kadji is perhaps the biggest beneficiary, averaging 17.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game since Johnson’s return. Larranaga noted that Johnson now guards the biggest opponent, which allows Kadji more freedom at both ends. On the perimeter, Durand Scott and Rion Brown have seen their percentages make a big jump, with Scott shooting just over 30 percent before his return and over 51 percent since.

Most of all, the team has benefited as they are 7-3, and have gone from being out-rebounded to out-rebounding opponents. Johnson isn’t all the way back physically as of yet. While he’s healthy, he’s still not in the kind of game shape most players are by this season, and he wasn’t in the best shape even before the injury. But the effect his return has had is clear.

Another player who has helped others is freshman point guard Shane Larkin. The son of baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin, he has moved into the starting lineup and made life easier for Scott and Malcolm Grant. Larkin is a good defender as well, and putting him alongside Scott and Grant gives them three ball handlers to start the game. Scott admirably played the point for a lot of his first two years for a guy who isn’t natural at the position, but Larranaga likes making his and Grant’s life easier.

“Quite frankly, ball handling wears you out,” said Larranaga. “Having three ball handlers sharing the ball, sharing the responsibility, definitely helps.”

“We really don’t go by positions. We just go out there and try to play,” said Scott, who had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists on Sunday. “Coach knows what’s best, he put him at the point for a reason, and I trust him putting him at the point and me at the 2. The last couple of games, we got wins, so how can I complain about that?”

There’s a lot of room to maneuver in the ACC aside from what appears to be a clear top four teams. Based on play thus far, the top four looks to be some combination of Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia. After that, though, there’s a drop-off, and places 5-12 in the standings could go a number of ways. In the mix are teams like Clemson, Maryland, Miami, NC State and Virginia Tech. All of those teams have things to like about them, but none will bowl you over. Based on how Miami has played since Johnson’s return, they would be as good a pick to get into the top half as anyone.

Of the Hurricanes’ remaining 10 ACC contests, six are at home. That’s a plus, and of the four teams that project to be at the top, they have as many games on the road against them as at home (two each). If they continue to buy into the ideas of defense and taking care of the ball, Sunday’s decisive run may turn out to be a microcosm of the season. They certainly have the personnel with which to do that.

The 49ers loaded up their nonconference slate with the likes of Kansas, North Carolina, San Diego State, Louisville and Xavier. The team struggled through many of those games, ending up with a 7-6 record heading into Big West play.

But don’t be fooled. The 49ers were more than competitive against the big boys, with single-digit losses on the road at San Diego State, Kansas and North Carolina. Plus, the 49ers beat Pittsburgh, Xavier and Auburn. None of those are particularly outstanding — the Xavier win came during the Musketeers’ tailspin following the brawl against Cincinnati. But in short, Dan Monson’s team learned how to win and how to believe in itself.

This team has taken that lesson and applied it well through the first seven games of Big West play. Long Beach State sits atop the conference standings with a 7-0 record, and only Cal Poly stayed within 10 points of the 49ers.

If Long Beach State can continue to plow through the Big West and claim an automatic to the NCAA Tournament, the 49ers should be a popular first-round upset pick. Their lack of hefty wins will prevent the team from earning a seed much higher than a No. 12 or 13 spot. But that just makes this team a sound pick to upset any No. 4 or 5 seed from a major conference on a neutral court.

The benefits of such a tough schedule might not show up in the win-loss columns immediately. But if Long Beach State goes 1-1 or 2-0 during the first weekend of March, that tournament success will be partially due to the team’s preparation early in the season.

We take you coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

Murray State will get back leading rebounder Ivan Aska, who grabs 6.0 rpg and scores 12.6 ppg, for the team’s game against Eastern Illinois Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

Michigan could have big Jon Horford back for the Wolverines’ game against Purdue Tuesday, coach John Beilein told Wolverine Nation’s Chantel Jennings for ESPN.com. Horford has been out with a stress fracture since early December.

Arguably the most intense and spite-filled rivalry in the ACC, Maryland and Duke will clash for the first time this season Wednesday night in College Park. And the Terrapins will likely have freshman 7-footer Alex Len, even though he twisted his ankle during the Terps’ loss at Temple last weekend, according to the Washington Post’s Liz Clarke.

Of course, that’s no disrespect to the North Carolina vs. Duke rivalry. And this year, coach Roy Williams won’t have his best defender, Dexter Strickland, who tore his ACL in the team’s win against Virginia Tech Thursday, according ESPN.com’s Robbi Pickeral.

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson is considering adding a hometown hero to the Razorbacks squad, according to the Associated Press. Former Oklahoma State guard Fred Gulley has enrolled at Arkansas and plans to play for Anderson as a walk-on or scholarship player. He was a star high school basketball player in Arkansas before leaving the state to play for the Cowboys.

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan railed against the rule that allows graduated players to transfer and play immediately during a news conference Monday, writes Benjamin Worgull for Badger Nation.com.

“This is another big step for us in our journey to be the type of team we all want to be,” said head coach Jeff Bzdelik.

Added forward Travis McKie: “I think it’s very good for our confidence, seeing that for many of us, it’s our first ACC road win. I think it builds our confidence up a lot and helps us continue to believe in our system and each other. As long as we play together for 40 minutes, we can play with anybody in this league.”

On several occasions in the second half, the Demon Deacons fended off rallies by Boston College. The Eagles never awakened in the first half, and while they played better in the second half they never got closer than three. Each time they did, Wake Forest had an answer at both ends, at times forcing turnovers and other times getting stops. The consistent result was a basket to open the lead up again.

Boston College started the second half well and got within 38-35 before the first media timeout. They would trade baskets, then later BC got within 44-40 on a three-pointer by Matt Humphrey. The Demon Deacons responded with eight unanswered points, and led by double digits for most of the remainder of the game.

Bzdelik said the team moved on to focus on Boston College as soon as Thursday night’s loss at Duke was over. That seemed apparent from the outset, as Wake Forest looked much more hungry than Boston College, who appeared to sleepwalk through much of the game. It was clear the Demon Deacons wanted to put an end to a three-game losing streak and a stretch where they had lost four of five.

There are plenty of areas where Wake Forest could use improvement. They shoot over 43 percent from the field, which is eighth in the ACC, and struggle from long range. They have more turnovers than assists and get out-rebounded by about four per night, the latter stat a bad one for a team not lacking size up front and having a solid rebounding small forward in McKie. It all adds up to them having the second-worst scoring margin in the conference, including the worst by a good margin in ACC play.

With the offensive issues, the Demon Deacons will need to keep up the defense they showed against Boston College. They held the Eagles to just over 31 percent shooting and blocked ten shots, and big men Ty Walker and Carson Desrosiers formed a presence that BC tried to steer clear of on several occasions. Walker blocked six shots and hauled down 11 rebounds, continuing to give them a presence they missed in the first nine games while he sat out due to a university suspension for violating the student code of conduct.

“It gives the guards confidence to get up into a guy, knowing that (Walker) is back there to help out,” said C.J. Harris.

The Demon Deacons don’t have much of a bench, which speaks to the talent shortage in the program at the moment. Part of that is a result of off-court issues, and it’s hurting this team right now. The bench has scored six or fewer points in five games this season, and part of that is inexperience since the three primary reserves are a pair of freshmen and a sophomore. In those five games, the Demon Deacons are 2-3.

On Saturday, it was basically freshman Chase Fischer and Desrosiers who produced, but that was enough. Both gave them different things, and just what they needed, as Fischer came in during the first half and hit a couple of three-pointers en route to 13 points, while Desrosiers had eight rebounds and gave them a presence BC didn’t want to drive inside against when Walker wasn’t in the game.

“I think our bench came up huge,” said McKie. “We’re not a deep team, and it’s well-documented. We’ve got to continue to fight, we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. If everybody contributes in their own special way, we can be a good team.”

Wake Forest is still a relatively young team despite five seniors. The core of the team is found in the younger classes with McKie, Harris and point guard Tony Chenault. Walker is the only senior who plays significant minutes.

Saturday’s win won’t make Wake Forest an NCAA Tournament team by a long shot. At this point, the only way that happens is if they win on Selection Sunday in Atlanta. But it will help them continue to try to improve on last year’s nightmare of a season and contend for one of the other postseason tournaments, something that would provide a boost to their rebuilding efforts.

Before the season, and even recently before conference play started, the question was being asked: will BC win an ACC game this year? The easy answer was “yes”, especially since the ACC is not a great conference this year. After Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, there’s a noticeable drop-off. And as the Eagles progress over the course of the season, chances are they might knock someone off at home. It’s already happened, and with two straight wins they have likely surprised just about everyone except for the people in their locker room.

There’s only so much on can take from this start. After all, the Eagles did get blown out by North Carolina in the conference opener before rattling off the next two. They won at home and against two teams ripe to be knocked off in up-and-down Clemson and a Virginia Tech team that was a bit offensively challenged even with Erick Green (who missed the game with a sprained LCL in his left knee) healthy. But the wins, following the loss at North Carolina, also show that, as head coach Steve Donahue noted, that they are getting better at responding to adversity. That’s going to be a big plus for this team.

The young Eagles have bought into the offensive system Donahue wants them to play. They are generally moving the ball well offensively, although they have been turnover-prone. But when they’ve run the offense right, it has worked well and at times they have executed it wonderfully. More importantly, they have defended better than last season’s team, with the defense carrying the team at times. That was unthinkable last season.

“It’s been a fun group to coach,” said Donahue. “Everyone comes ready to play, and they do things consistently.”

You can see the development all across the team. Dennis Clifford is getting more consistent and is proving more and more to be a nice player to run the offense through. Lonnie Jackson is clearly a better player than he was in the first few weeks and is a legitimate shooting threat. Jordan Daniels continues to get better at the point, and Gabe Moton continues to fit the reserve role there. All of the freshmen still have plenty of room to improve, but seeing improvement now gives reason to believe more is to come.

There’s no question the Eagles haven’t suddenly become a team that looks like they’ll finish in the top four and wait until Friday to play in the ACC Tournament. A lot of basketball remains to be played and this team is still very inexperienced. They still turn the ball over more than 15 times per game (they had 19 on Saturday) and are getting out-rebounded by nearly six per game (they were out-rebounded 30-28 on Saturday). Their leading scorer, Matt Humphrey, is shooting below 33 percent from the field on the year and below 30 percent from long range.

Still, this 2-1 start can only help, and with it the team may be on their way to some over-achieving. A confident team is more dangerous than one lacking confidence, especially a young team that will basically be playing with house money all season long. Come February, when BC could be in a position to play spoiler against a contending team, they could develop into a team no one wants to play.

It didn’t help that the Hokies were without their top player, point guard Erick Green, who missed the game with a sprained LCL in his left knee. The Hokies had a pretty good idea that he might not be able to go, although he wound up being a game-time decision. That left them with Marquis Rankin as the only point guard and left players like Dorenzo Hudson and Robert Brown to have to handle the ball more than they are accustomed to. It showed, as Virginia Tech struggled mightily to score in the halfcourt offense with 17 turnovers and poor shooting for much of the second half.

Given the offensive struggles, it would seem that the Hokies need to get points from the defense. That was something echoed by players and coach alike after the game.

“We’ve got to be much better in transition,” said Greenberg. We need to get our bigs involved in the break, we need to get out and run better.”

Added freshman Robert Brown: “We just have to play with more confidence and at a faster pace offensively. I think we played good defense, but I think we struggled, one not having our point guard, but two, not moving as fast as we needed to.”

In the first half, Virginia Tech was able to do that, as they had 13 points off nine Boston College turnovers. Still, BC had a 29-27 lead as they shot well when they didn’t give the ball away and Virginia Tech struggled out of the gates. As the Hokies struggled to do anything offensively in the second half, they gradually fell behind by as much as 11 before a late rally fell short.

As has been the case in some past years, Virginia Tech’s non-conference resume isn’t full of wins against teams that are sure to make the NCAA Tournament. They have two wins over Oklahoma State, but right now the Cowboys aren’t looking like an NCAA Tournament team, especially after losing by 41 at Baylor on Saturday. In light of that, the Hokies came into ACC play likely needing to get some wins against the upper echelon of the conference, and an 0-3 start puts them even more behind the eight-ball.

It would seem that the Hokies are at what could be a turning point in the season. They host North Carolina on Thursday, then head to arch-rival Virginia and host BYU before heading to Maryland to play a Terrapin team that is playing well of late. After that, Duke comes to town. For Greenberg, moving on to that stretch means doing what they have been doing, but better.

“We’re not going to reinvent ourselves. It would be foolish,” said Greenberg. “Eight days ago, we thought we were pretty good. We’ve just got to continue to work.”

Hudson echoed the sentiment, adding: “Throughout the game, we just need to be ready to play each and every possession. My message is to stay the same, stay positive, and try to gut out a win.”

The Hokies have good depth, which was thought to be a concern before the season. But that isn’t translating into much at the offensive end, and as long as they’re without Green they may continue to struggle. That means the emphasis on playing faster and scoring off defensive stops and turnovers will be paramount. The Hokies are shooting just over 35 percent in ACC play thus far. Defense isn’t nearly as big a concern, as opponents are shooting below 40 percent against them on the season.

Virginia Tech can certainly turn the page successfully from their 0-3 start in ACC play. They’ll have to do it soon given what’s in front of them, and it will start with offensive improvement and getting points off the defense. They have done it, but will have to do it more.

Clemson hasn’t been able to put together a three-game winning streak all season thus far. They came into Chestnut Hill hoping to do that for the first time all season, and had their chances to do it. But in dropping this one, they lost a chance to have some real momentum in the midst of a home-heavy stretch. Three of the next four are at home as part of a stretch where they play five of seven in Littlejohn Coliseum, including the next game against Duke.

“We definitely took a big step forward starting ACC play, and here we dropped the ball and took another big step back,” said senior guard Andre Young. “We have to look inward, we have to look at our team and ourselves and our game. We just need to do better at the end of the day.”

Clemson started the second half strong, going up by six in the early going. But rather than continuing the momentum and possibly putting the young Eagles away, they slowed down offensively and allowed Boston College to get right back in it. That alone went a long way toward losing this game. So did allowing the Eagles to shoot over 61 percent in the second half, while they shot just 36 percent.

“We didn’t play well enough defensively,” said head coach Brad Brownell. “We had a six-point lead in the second half and let our guard down for a minute, they threw in a couple of threes, and they feel like they’re going to win the game.”

Clemson had a good advantage in length on the Eagles, and at times they used it well. They consistently thwarted the Eagles in the first half when they got close to the basket and had a 33-23 edge on the glass for the game, allowing just one offensive board. But BC adjusted and came alive in the second half, and once they weathered the early storm it was largely a back-and-forth game.

The Tigers had their ups and downs in non-conference play. They didn’t get a quality win as far as their NCAA Tournament resume is concerned, but they did have home losses to College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina that will hurt. Near the end, they went to Hawaii and took sixth place in the Diamond Head Classic, losing to UTEP and host Hawaii while needing overtime to beat struggling Southern Illinois in the middle game. It looked like they came out of Hawaii in a better place, as they won their next two, including the ACC opener over Florida State. Then Thursday night came and put the brakes on any momentum they had gained.

Clemson has some upperclassmen, led by Young and classmate Tanner Smith, but there are no sophomores on the team, so after that there are only freshmen. They have shown some promise along the way, including Thursday night as T.J. Sapp started and scored 11 points on 3-6 shooting, while Rod Hall gave them a lift off the bench in 15 minutes. Devin Coleman didn’t do much in the stat sheet but looks like he can help this team.

“They’ve been getting better and getting more experience with every game,” said Young. “They’re getting a lot of experience now that we’re in ACC play. Obviously, if we want to be playing late in the season, we’re going to need them.”

At this point, the Tigers can go one of two ways. They can remain an inconsistent team, and likely wind up in the NIT or CBI, or they can get it together and make a good run in the ACC, and beating Duke on Sunday wouldn’t be a bad way to start that. An intangible issue could stand in the way, as Brownell indicated that confidence has been more of an issue than one might expect with this group.

“Our confidence goes up and down too quickly for having some older players,” said the second-year Tiger head coach. “That’s a hard thing to coach.”

What also doesn’t help is that there doesn’t appear to be a clear go-to guy when things get tough. Young leads the team in scoring, but he and Smith look more like glue guys than go-to guys. Different players looked good in spurts on Thursday, and that seems to be how the season has gone thus far.

The ACC isn’t as good as it has been in some other years this time around, so the opportunity will be there to put forth a good record. After North Carolina, Duke and Virginia, the ACC is teeming with ballclubs that are a notch below but could play their way into NCAA Tournament consideration. Clemson is one of those teams, but they will likely need a better run in conference play than most of the others. Entering the week, their RPI was 164.

It’s early in ACC play, and as wide open as the conference is Clemson may be at a key point in their season. The home games, including the quality win opportunity against Duke, give them a chance to get started on the run they need to have. Their chance is right in front of them.

Entering Tuesday night’s game, Miami figured to pose some problems for a North Carolina team that occasionally forgets to play fundamentally sound perimeter defense. With talented shooters like Malcolm Grant, Durand Scott, Shane Larkin, Rion Brown and Trey McKinney Jones, the Hurricanes had plenty of options to use. But North Carolina shut them all down.

The Tar Heels executed a well-orchestrated game plan in which perimeter defenders jumped passing lanes to knock away passes, disrupting the timing of Miami’s offense. Equally important, Tyler Zeller, John Henson and even Justin Watts capably guarded the Canes’ big men, Reggie Johnson — all 300 pounds of him — and Kenny Kadji.

At one point, Watts, a 6’4” guard, was left alone to defend the 6’10” Kadji. The Canes big man didn’t get to touch the ball in the possession, which is partially the fault of Miami’s guards and also a tribute to the intense work Watts put in to maintain good position. And that’s the kind of smart, effective play that North Carolina applied all night to grind out a 73-56 win.

The offense wasn’t always pretty for North Carolina, but the Tar Heels kept possessions alive by grabbing 15 offensive rebounds, including six by Zeller, and avoiding turnovers. Jim Larranaga’s squad was able to slow the Tar Heels down a little bit, keeping the pace to 72 possessions for the game, which is down from North Carolina’s season average of about 75 possessions per game. However, the Tar Heels still got plenty of transition opportunities, which feeds into the strengths of this team.

North Carolina’s high-octane offense gets plenty of opportunities to run because the Tar Heels are among the best in the nation at grabbing rebounds and avoiding fouls. Based on Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency stats, the Tar Heels allow opponents to collect only 27.1 percent of their missed shots, ranking among the top 25 in Division I in defensive rebounding. And North Carolina is tops in D-I when it comes to not fouling opponents, allowing opponents to get one free throw attempt for every six shots from the field.

Critics might argue that the Tar Heels are the beneficiary of referees’ deference to the name on the jersey. We won’t go there. Instead, we’ll focus on what we see in games, namely smart defensive play by guys like Zeller, Henson and Dexter Strickland, who know how to defend their men without fouling. For Henson and Zeller, who rely on their height to deter shots — or swat them into next year, in Henson’s case — precise footwork and timing are critical.

All those skills were on display against Miami, as the Tar Heels finished with only 11 fouls to Miami’s 17 and 44 total rebounds to Miami’s 27. The vaunted Canes’ backcourt made only 3 of 16 3-point attempts, and Scott was the only guard to reach double figures, with 12 points.

Keep that up, and the Tar Heels should be able to fend off the curse of slow-paced, 3-point-happy, upset-minded lower seeds in the NCAA Tournament.