Percolating hoops intrigue makes February a fantastic month for sports

It’s February — one of the most underrated sports months of the year.

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.

Clemson may already be at a key point early in the season

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – It’s only two games into ACC play, but already Clemson may be nearing a key point in their season. A 59-57 loss at young Boston College on Thursday night makes the questions with this team a little more urgent.

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.

… Continue Reading

Plenty of great games on tap for this weekend

We’re entering the second weekend of heavy conference play. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the best match ups on the menu, starting with tonight’s action. The NFL playoffs are quite compelling, but be sure to check out some of these games, which promise to be just as entertaining.

Friday:

• Creighton at Illinois State
• Cleveland State at Butler
• Missouri State at Northern Iowa
• Seton Hall at South Florida

Saturday:

• UNLV at San Diego State
• Alabama at Mississippi State
• New Mexico at Wyoming
• Kentucky at Tennessee
• North Carolina at Florida State
• Rutgers at West Virginia
• Texas at Missouri
• Colorado at Stanford
• St. Bonaventure at Xavier
• Connecticut at Notre Dame
• Kansas State at Oklahoma
• NC State at Wake Forest
• Oregon at Arizona
• Ohio at Akron
• UCF at Marshall
• La Salle at Dayton

Sunday:

• Indiana at Ohio State
• Cleveland State at Valparaiso
• Youngstown State at Butler
• Loyola (Md.) at Iona
• Georgia Tech at Maryland
• Washington State at Washington

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

In case you missed it earlier this week, Pitt kinda struggled against Rutgers. And by kinda, we mean the Panthers totally stunk. According to ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nationg” blog, the Panthers had their worst home performance in more than 60 years, scoring only 39 points in the 23-point embarrassment against the Scarlet Knights.

Texas Tech’s Terran Petteway will miss tomorrow’s game against Texas A&M because coach Billy Gillispie suspended Petteway for elbowing Kansas’ Connor Teahan, earning himself an ejection, according to an Associated Press report.

Chairs, beware. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said he has no regrets for slamming a chair on the court to motivate the Hawkeyes during a 28-point beatdown at Michigan State, according to an Associated Press report.

Fresh off a national championship in football, Alabama fans got to stick it to LSU once again Wednesday night when the Tigers came to Tuscaloosa. One of the more creative Bama fans brought a sign that mocked the Tigers football team’s struggle in getting past midfield in the BCS Championship Game, writes USA Today’s Nicol Auerbach. Check out the Tide fan’s cheeky taunts here.

Former Clemson guard Cory Stanton hopes he’s found a basketball home in Knoxville after walking on to the Volunteers, according to an Associated Press report. Stanton arrives at Tennessee via Lipscomb after playing one season at Clemson.

Clemson Tigers 2011-12 Preview

Clemson Tigers (22-12, 9-7)

Projected starting five:

Sr. G Andre Young
Sr. G Tanner Smith
Sr. F Bryan Narcisse
Jr. F Milton Jennings
Jr. F Devin Booker

Important departures:

Demontez Stitt: 14.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg
Jerai Grant: 12.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.8 apg

Percent returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 57.7 percent
Rebounding: 66.1 percent

Additions:

Bernard Sullivan, No. 83 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman power forward from Davidson, N.C.

Schedule highlights:

Best non-conference game: at Arizona
Toughest conference stretch: Jan. 31-Feb. 4 (at Virginia, at Virginia Tech)

Outlook:

Clemson returns a very talented lineup and faces a relatively favorable conference schedule that should help the Tigers return to the NCAA Tournament this season. The Tigers must replace the contributions of Demontez Stitt in the backcourt and Jerai Grant in the frontcourt. However, their absence will give Tanner Smith and Milton Jennings a chance to shine this year.

In addition to Jennings and Smith, coach Brad Brownell will count on Devin Booker to anchor the Tigers’ offense. Booker was second on the team in rebounds last year, and he’ll need to continue to grab six to eight rebounds per game while boosting his 8.1 ppg closer to 12 or 13 ppg.

Prediction: Fourth

Next: Duke Blue Devils

Back to ACC preview

2010-11 ACC Preview

For the second consecutive year, an ACC team will open the season as defending national champ. And Duke has a real shot at delivering back-to-back titles for the second time in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s illustrious career. At least, the Blue Devils have a far better chance than North Carolina did last season after the Tar Heels were overhyped and then overmatched en route to coach Roy Williams’ worst season in a couple of decades.

Although critics poke the ACC for lacking the quantity of elite teams that the Big East boasts, the ACC has once again proven that its best teams are legitimate title contenders every year. Duke managed to fly under the radar last season as the media fawned over veteran-laden Kansas and John Calipari’s freshmen sensations at Kentucky. But in the end, a ruthlessly balanced team stormed through the post-season and beat Cinderella, aka Butler, in a thrilling championship game. The two will reprise that battle in December when they meet in New Jersey. … Continue Reading

2010 ACC Post-Mortem

Although several ACC squads had disappointing final results, Duke emerged as the national champ to reaffirm that the conference’s best is always a title contender.

When the season started, we expected Duke to emerge as a national championship contender if the Big Three – Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith – could lead the Blue Devils night in and night out without wearing down.

In November, that seemed like a tall order because the Blue Devils just didn’t have much depth behind those perimeter players. But Scheyer, Singler and Smith fulfilled their potential by carrying Duke to its fourth national championship under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

In the past, Duke has earned its reputation as one of the most hated teams in the country because the national media dwell on every game – much like the media painfully did this season with North Carolina as the Tar Heels crumbled without Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. But for some reason, there was no hype surrounding this Blue Devils squad. Somehow, Coach K’s team flew under the radar while Kansas, Kentucky and the entire Big East captured the majority of the national coverage.

In the end, Duke proved that its regular-season success wasn’t only the product of a down year in the ACC. The Blue Devils weren’t just the conference’s best team; they were the nation’s best team. Duke had to take down Cinderella – aka Butler – to claim that title. And in the process, the Blue Devils and Bulldogs delivered one of the most thrilling national title games of the past decade.

Few people seriously expected North Carolina to repeat as national champions. But they almost did – if you count the NIT winner as a national champion. After an utterly disastrous regular season that saw the Tar Heels fall apart because of injuries and inexperience, North Carolina pulled things together in the NIT to make a run to the championship game, which the Tar Heels lost to Dayton.

With North Carolina falling from the ACC’s elite, Maryland moved up the conference’s caste system. Fiery guard Greivis Vasquez sparked the Terrapins to a share of the regular-season title. Unfortunately, Maryland peaked about two weeks too early when the Terrapins won a thriller against the Blue Devils in College Park in early March. After that, Maryland failed to win two consecutive games, ending in a second-round defeat to No. 5-seed Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.

Four other teams joined Duke and Maryland in the NCAA Tournament: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Like Maryland, none of them won more than one game in the tournament.

Outside Duke, the conference lacked a second legitimate powerhouse. If that’s your definition of a down year, then yes, the ACC was down. But the bottom of the conference proved to be better than the cellar dwellers of nearly every other conference, as demonstrated by unlikely ACC Tournament runs by Miami and North Carolina State.

Here’s a recap of the 2009-10 season for ACC teams.

Final 2009-10 Standings

ACC Tournament

The ACC Tournament was a harbinger of the NCAA Tournament, with five major upsets in 11 games. But at the end of the tournament, Duke was cutting down the nets.

The Blue Devils won their second-consecutive conference title and ninth since 1999 by beating No. 7-seed Georgia Tech 65-61. Duke’s difficult run against seemingly overmatched opponents – No. 9-seed Virginia, No. 12-seed Miami and the Yellow Jackets – prepared the Blue Devils for a hard-fought run to the national title in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Tech sealed its bid to the NCAA Tournament with an impressive run that included an upset of No. 2-seed Maryland.

No. 11-seed North Carolina State and No. 12-seed Miami provided the biggest upsets of the conference tournament. The Wolfpack opened the tournament by nipping No. 6-seed Clemson 59-57 and then beating No. 3-seed Florida State 58-52. The Hurricanes overcame a bad ACC regular season by upsetting No. 5-seed Wake Forest and No. 4-seed Virginia Tech. Duke was the only team seeded No. 6 or better to win even a single conference tournament game.

Hoopville’s All-ACC Awards

Player of the Year: Jon Scheyer, Duke

Rookie of the Year: Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech

Defensive Player of the Year: Solomon Alabi, Florida State

Coach of the Year: Gary Williams, Maryland

First-Team All-ACC:

Jon Scheyer, Duke

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

Kyle Singler, Duke

Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest

Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

Second-Team All-ACC:

Sylven Landesberg, Virginia

Nolan Smith, Duke

Tracy Smith, North Carolina State

Trevor Booker, Clemson

Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech

Third-Team All-ACC:

Joe Trapani, Boston College

Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech

Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech

Ed Davis, North Carolina

Solomon Alabi, Florida State

Season Highlights

8 Things We Saw Coming

1. Duke won a share of the regular season championship and then dominated the conference tournament.

2. Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Maryland joined the Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament.

3. But none of those four advanced far in the tournament.

4. Virginia struggled under new coach Tony Bennett, who put the brakes on the Cavaliers’ pace to one of the slowest tempos in the conference.

5. Miami dropped toward the bottom of the conference with an influx of young talent, such as Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant.

6. Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez went head-to-head with Duke’s best player, Jon Scheyer, for the conference’s Player of the Year award.

7. Virginia Tech established one of the best backcourts in the country with Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson – and the juniors look ready to dominate next season if Delaney backs out of the NBA Draft.

8. Florida State’s defensive prowess was remarkably better than the team’s offensive prowess, and it was just enough to carry the Seminoles to an NCAA Tournament bid.

8 Things We Thought We’d See

1. North Carolina was supposed to compete for second place in the conference, but instead finished tied for second worst.

2. The Tar Heels seemed ready to compete with seniors like Marcus Ginyard in the lineup. But Ginyard couldn’t stay healthy for a second consecutive season, and injuries helped derail the Tar Heels’ season.

3. We expected Duke’s highly-touted freshman recruit Mason Plumlee to be a factor. He ended up with 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game.

4. Likewise, Clemson’s Milton Jennings saw even less time, averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.

5. Wake Forest is usually an offensive juggernaut. But the Demon Deacons struggled on offense despite the presence of a veteran point guard, Ishmael Smith, and talented post players like Al-Farouq Aminu, Chas McFarland and Tony Woods.

6. Georgia Tech point guard Iman Shumpert focused on playing under more control. But the Yellow Jackets couldn’t significantly cut down on their turnovers, committing 16.4 turnovers per game this season compared to 16.8 last season.

7. Usually tough and consistent Boston College remained tough but was anything but consistent, losing five ACC games by double digits.

8. The ACC is traditionally a showcase for electric offense. But only three teams finished in the top 40 in offensive efficiency.

8 Things We Didn’t See Coming

1. Once again, North Carolina stunk. Yes, expectations were too high. Yes, injuries always hurt. But this team looked lost and occasionally apathetic, which utterly baffled coach Roy Williams.

2. Wake Forest exceeded expectations on defense, which had been the team’s bugaboo for several years.

3. Despite the strong defense and a return to the NCAA Tournament, the Demon Deacons axed Dino Gaudio because of his lack of post-season success.

4. Clemson and Boston College also had to find new coaches after Oliver Purnell shockingly bolted for DePaul and the Eagles parted ways with Al Skinner.

5. On the court, the midseason maturation of Duke’s Brian Zoubek was the unlikely catalyst for the Blue Devils’ ascension from contender to champion.

6. Virginia Tech once again proved that you cannot discount a Seth Greenberg-coached team, which finished third in the conference.

7. Quite a few ACC teams – namely, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech – channeled their inner Big 10 spirit and devoted far more energy to defense than offense.

8. Maryland jumped from the middle of the pack to near the top of the ACC thanks to another dominating season from Vasquez and just enough support from the rest of the team to consistently beat down ACC foes.

Teams of the Rise

Virginia Tech

We should just leave the Hokies in this category each season, unless Greenberg take another job.

Virginia Tech finished third in the ACC this season and just missed the NCAA Tournament because of a weak non-conference schedule and lack of quality wins. If Greenberg lines up more worthy non-conference foes, the Hokies will build a stronger résumé for the 2011 tournament. They certainly will have the lineup to do so.

The Hokies lose only Lewis Witcher to graduation. A veteran lineup anchored by Delaney – assuming he doesn’t stay in the NBA Draft – Hudson, Jeff Allen, J.T. Thompson and Terrell Bell could become the favorite to challenge Duke for next season’s conference championship.

Florida State

The Seminoles remain here as long as Alabi decides to return to school instead of entering the NBA Draft. If he comes back to Tallahassee, the Seminoles will remain one of the best defensive teams in the country. And they have to get better on offense, right?

Florida State was just abysmal offensively for much of the season, committing nearly 17 turnovers per game. The Seminoles struggled as a team to hit shots when they didn’t turn it over. From three-point range, Florida State shot only 33.5 percent, and from the free throw line, the Seminoles were only 64.4 percent.

North Carolina

Thanks to a run to the NIT championship game, the Tar Heels salvaged a disastrous season and inspired hope for next season.

In particular, Larry Drew II finally looked capable of running the Tar Heels’ offense, which should be more powerful next season. Freshmen Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland must become better long-range shooters. If they don’t, incoming freshmen Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall will challenge them for playing time. One reason the Tar Heels struggled this season is teams didn’t need to respect their outside shooting. That shouldn’t be true next season, which will open the lane for Ed Davis (if he returns, as he declared for the NBA Draft), Tyler Zeller, the Wear twins and John Henson.

With so much talent on this roster, it’s hard to imagine that North Carolina won’t be on the rise from a 10th-place finish.

Teams on the Decline

Maryland

The Terrapins took advantage of their window of opportunity. With the implosion in Chapel Hill, there was a gaping void after Duke at the top of the standings, and Maryland stepped up to fill it.

But with the graduation of Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne, the Terrapins will lose three players who averaged at least 30 minutes per game and accounted for 54.7 percent of the team’s scoring and 67.3 percent of the team’s assists.

Coach Gary Williams has been reluctant to trust his bench in recent seasons. He won’t have a choice next season when those bench players become starters.

Virginia

Coach Tony Bennett will get a fresh start after his first season with the Cavaliers because seven players who began the season are leaving the program.

Although Bennett has an opportunity to shape this team as he desires, it’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers improving significantly without Sylven Landesberg, who averaged 17.3 points per game for a team that struggled to score. He accounted for more than one-quarter of the team’s points.

Besides Landesberg, Bennett will need to replace the production of Calvin Baker, Jerome Meyinsse, Soloman Tat, Jeff Jones and Tristan Spurlock.

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons shocked everyone by firing Dino Gaudio and replacing him with Jeff Bzdelik. Yes, Gaudio had failed to win an NCAA Tournament game despite having three NBA first-round draft picks pass through Winston-Salem, assuming Aminu goes early in this year’s draft.

But Gaudio was attracting great high school players and winning many of the in-state recruiting battles. His teams peaked too early in the season twice. But at least they found a way to the top.

Bzdelik prefers a slower pace than Wake Forest is accustomed to playing. And the Demon Deacons will need to find a new point guard to learn that offense because Ishmael Smith is graduating. He’s taking several key teammates with him, as Chas McFarland, David Weaver and L.D. Willams have also finished their playing careers as Demon Deacons, while Aminu is bolting the team for NBA money.

Despite some talented young players, this team figures to go through at least one season of growing pains under a new coach.

Next Season

Entering this season, many experts figured that Duke and North Carolina would contend for the conference title, but they were likely a year away from challenging for a national championship. Duke proved the experts wrong by taking the national title this year. And they might be the front-runner to do it again next season.

The Blue Devils return Singler and Smith, in addition to talented young big men like Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Sharpshooter Seth Curry will be eligible after transferring from Liberty, and Andre Dawkins will step into the point guard role. If he struggles, Krzyzewski can turn to freshman Kyrie Irving, who is an electric recruit out of New Jersey. The Blue Devils also are adding Joshua Hairston and Tyler Thornton to a solid recruiting class.

Besides Duke, Virginia Tech and Florida State should build on their success from this past season to fill out the conference’s elite. Wake Forest and North Carolina will have plenty of talent on their roster to possibly join those three, but both teams have plenty of issues to overcome.

In Raleigh, coach Sidney Lowe must elevate the Wolfpack to the top half of the conference or he almost certainly will be looking for a new job after next season. Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt might also be on the hot seat if the Yellow Jackets significantly regress – a likely scenario with the losses of Favors and Lawal to the NBA.

If you want a very early sleeper pick to reach the NCAA Tournament, assuming its only 65 teams and not 96, look south to Miami. Coach Frank Haith has reloaded that roster with talented young guards who figure to make their mark next season.

And if the NCAA Tournament expands to 96 teams, look for the ACC to place every single team in the tournament unless expansion includes a rule that teams must have at least a .400 winning percentage in your conference – or something like that.

Bracket Breakdown: How the ACC Will Fare

The ACC has had a down year. It’s hard to argue that point when only two teams receive seeds better than No. 7 in the NCAA Tournament. And Maryland’s No. 4 seed is probably a little generous. The skeptics think Duke isn’t worthy of a No. 1 seed.

With all that negativity, the ACC enters the NCAA Tournament looking to re-establish its position as one of the top power conferences. Duke has an excellent shot at making that happen as one of the best teams in the country that nobody wants to love. Maryland has an outstanding squad that seemed destined to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament — until the committee placed the Terrapins in Kansas’ region.

The rest of the ACC teams in the tournament play great defense but have suspect offenses. A couple of them have favorable match ups, while a couple others look destined to start the off-season before this weekend. Here’s a complete preview of the ACC’s representatives in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke Blue Devils (Overall: 29-5, ACC: 13-3)

No. 1 seed, South Region

The Blue Devils enter the tournament facing criticism because they received a No. 1 seed instead of West Virginia. The naysayers are further enraged that the selection committee awarded Duke a better No. 1 seed, placing the Blue Devils in the South Region, on the S-curve than Syracuse, which would play its regional semifinal and final games in Salt Lake City. With all this talk about the Blue Devils not being worthy, they have plenty to prove.

But let’s be the Devils’ advocate for a moment. Duke has played like one of the two best teams in the country all season, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency statistics. In fact, based on offensive and defensive efficiency, Duke should be the favorite to win the national championship, not Kansas. Swallow that, critics!

Of course, a team’s performance on the court often contradicts their profile on paper. For Duke to reach the Final Four, the Blue Devils will need to remain ruthlessly efficient on offense. Duke is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, anchored by sharp-shooting Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. Each of those three shoots better than 38 percent from behind the arc and has made at least 49 three-pointers so far. Duke’s offense runs like a well-oiled machine because the team makes the most of its possessions. Duke is one of the best teams at avoiding turnovers and grabbing offensive rebounds.

Defensively, Duke simply makes it hard to score. The Blue Devils force turnovers during more than 20 percent of opponents’ possessions. Teams that don’t turn it over still struggle to score against a defense that allows opponents to only shoot 44.3 percent from inside the arc and 28.2 percent behind it. Duke’s ability to shut down opponents’ long-range shooters is critical to making a deep run in March. Three-pointers can be the great equalizer for seemingly overmatched underdogs. But Duke won’t let someone win that way.

Based on Duke’s draw, the Blue Devils should reach the Final Four. But they will encounter resistance as early as the Sweet 16. No. 5-seed Texas A&M and No. 12-seed Utah State could challenge Duke’s Final Four aspirations in that round. In the Elite Eight, Duke could face No. 3-seed Baylor in Houston in front of a hostile crowd. But the Blue Devils are accustomed to hostile crows at every road game. Look for Duke to reach the championship game before running into the unstoppable force out of Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks simply have too many weapons for a shallow Duke team that otherwise matches up favorably against Kansas.

Maryland Terrapins (Overall 23-8, ACC: 13-3)

No. 4 seed, Midwest Region

If Maryland were seeded as a No. 5 or 6 seed in any region outside of Kansas’, the Terrapins would be a trendy pick to wreck some brackets and knock off better seeds. But alas, the Terrapins are a No. 4 seed and would likely face top-seeded in the Sweet 16 of the Midwest Region. Maryland possesses the firepower to hang with Kansas, but the Terrapins don’t have enough defense to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

Maryland enters the NCAA Tournament with the No. 6 most efficient offense. Senior superstar Greivis Vasquez is the catalyst for the offense, which puts up nearly 80 points per game. Vasquez contributes almost one-quarter of that scoring, averaging 19.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. He’s not the best shooter in the tournament, making about 43 percent of his attempts, but he is one of the most fiery leaders. Fueled by Vasquez’s leadership, a trio of experienced players will be ready to contribute. Landon Milbourne, Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley will need to continue to score in double figures to help the Terrapins advance past No. 13 Houston in the first round and then No. 5 Michigan State or No. 12 New Mexico State.

Against Houston, the Terrapins will face the nation’s leading scorer in Aubrey Coleman. Look for Maryland to give up plenty of points to Coleman but limit the production of any other Cougar. The Terrapins would likely obliterate the defensively challenged Aggies. Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans would provide a more formidable match up, but the Terrapins will win that one on the strength of clutch performances by Vasquez and Hayes. But Kansas will end Maryland’s hopes. In all, the ACC co-champions should be happy with a run to the Sweet 16. It would mark their best season in nearly a decade.

Clemson Tigers (Overall: 21-10, ACC: 9-7)

No. 7 seed, East Region

As the No. 7 seed in the East Region, Clemson has a tough draw. The Achilles’ heel for the Tigers has been a downright ugly turnover rate. More than 20 percent of the team’s possessions end in a turnover. That’s a problem when facing No. 10-seed Missouri, which is one of the three best teams in the country at forcing turnovers. The Tigers desperately need guards Demontez Stitt and Andre Young to take care of the ball. The two combine to average 4.4 turnovers per game and only 5.6 assists per game. That’s not a great ratio for the team’s primary ball-handlers.

However, if Clemson can cut down the turnovers, senior Trevor Booker will have a huge day. He leads the team with 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, with about one-third of those rebounds coming at the offensive end. Missouri is one of the worst teams in the country at keeping opponents off the glass.

On defense, the Tigers from Missouri might play right into the strength of the Tigers from Clemson. Missouri likes to jack up lots of three-pointers. But Clemson allow only 29.4 percent three-point shooting this season, ranked tenth-best.

Clemson will win a wild one against Missouri that should see plenty of turnover-induced scoring runs. But the Tigers will run into trouble against West Virginia. That game could start as a blowout for West Virginia and end with Clemson making it interesting before falling short at the end.

Florida State Seminoles (Overall: 22-9, ACC: 10-6)

No. 9 seed, West Region

Based on their offensive inefficiency, the Seminoles have no business beating anyone in the tournament. But Florida State’s defense manages to make games ugly enough to give the Seminoles a chance. As the No. 9 seed in the West Region, Florida State will face a stiff challenge from No. 8 Gonzaga. In the end, Gonzaga’s balance will undo another strong defensive performance by Florida State.

The Seminoles are among the 15 worst teams in the country at protecting the ball. All those turnovers will lead to defeat against Gonzaga. And if they fall behind, the Seminoles will struggle to rally because they shoot only 33.5 percent from three-point range. Center Solomon Alabi will deliver another strong performance in the paint, but he could easily finish with more blocks than the team has three-pointers. Barring an epic defensive performance, that’s not a good recipe for success in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida State’s best chance at victory is to keep the score under 60 points and maintain at least a two-possession throughout the second half. The Seminoles are a bad free throw shooting team and will need as large of a cushion as possible in the closing moments to stop a late rally. Gonzaga probably won’t even need that, though.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Overall: 19-10, ACC: 9-7)

No. 9 seed, East Region

Wake Forest, the No. 9 seed in the East Region, has a veteran lineup with three senior starters and a future NBA Draft pick in sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu. But for the second consecutive season, the Demon Deacons are sliding at the end of the season as losers of five of their last six games. To avoid a second straight one-and-done NCAA Tournament performance, the Demon Deacons need to find a way past equally underwhelming No. 8 Texas.

With six wins against the RPI top 50, Wake Forest has the talent needed to beat the Longhorns and maybe even challenge top-seeded Kentucky. But it won’t happen. The team’s offense is floundering, primarily because of the two-headed monster of turnovers and bad shooting. Wake Forest ranks among the bottom half of Division I teams in protecting the ball, and the Demon Deacons shoot a dismal 31.3 percent from three-point range and 47.6 percent inside the arc. Even if Wake Forest has a lead, the team’s 66.0 percent free throw shooting could jeopardize the win.

Aminu will struggle against Texas’ superstar, Damion James. He might approach his average of 15.7 points per game, but if Aminu needs to guard James on the perimeter throughout the game, he won’t be able to grab as many rebounds as usual (10.7 per game). Likewise, James and Dexter Pittman have the size needed to box out Wake Forest’s big men and cut off one of the Demon Deacons’ strengths: their ability to grab offensive rebounds.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Overall: 22-12, ACC: 7-9)

No. 10 seed, Midwest Region

Like Wake Forest and Florida State, the Yellow Jackets are far better at stopping opponents than scoring. But in comparison to those two ACC peers, the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region is much better offensively. Georgia Tech will face an offensively oriented team in No. 7-seed Oklahoma State. Both teams have played inconsistently this season, and the Cowboys might rely too much on scoring sensation James Anderson. That would behoove the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech doesn’t let opponents shoot well from anywhere, and Anderson will struggle to find clean looks against the much taller Yellow Jackets. Forwards Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors will need to the difference makers for Georgia Tech. The two big men combine to average 25.6 points, 17.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. Collectively, they grab more than six offensive rebounds per game. In a game that likely will figure plenty of missed shots, rebounding will be critical, and Georgia Tech has an advantage.

Interestingly, Georgia Tech’s likely second-round opponent, No. 2-seed Ohio State, has a similar profile to Oklahoma State, with Evan Turner dominating the offense and the rest of the team coming along for the ride. But the rest of the Buckeyes are much better than the rest of the Cowboys. Ohio State will take advantage of Georgia Tech’s proclivity to commit critical turnovers to win a closer than expected game.

In summary, the ACC figures to have mostly expected results. As a No. 1 seed, Duke is supposed to reach at least the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils will deliver on that promise en route to a championship game appearance — and loss — to Kansas. Besides Kansas, only Maryland will reach the Sweet 16. Wake Forest and Florida State will fail to win a game, while Georgia Tech and Clemson will advance one round before losing to No. 2 seeds.

However, the ACC will likely surprise critics with Duke’s success and close losses to presumably far superior teams.

Bracket Breakdown: ACC’s Offensive Woes Will Limit Tourney Success

Yes, North Carolina represented the ACC well last season by winning the national championship. But the other six ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament bowed out in ugly performances. Four of them failed to put up 60 points in their final game, and four teams lost by at least 15 points. Offensive inconsistency was the downfall of ACC teams last season, and the top teams’ performance this season indicates that history might repeat in March.

As of Feb. 2, the ACC has six teams in the RPI top 50: Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, Clemson and Maryland. All of those teams except Georgia Tech played and lost in last season’s NCAA Tournament. So each team entered this season with hopes of another trip to the Big Dance, but each knew it needed to improve to last longer in the tournament.

Of those six teams, only Duke can feel confident that it is on pace to make a lasting impact in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are one of only four teams that rank in the top 20 for offensive and defensive efficiency, as measured by Ken Pomeroy. In the past six NCAA Tournaments, 17 of 24 Final Four participants have met that profile. In addition, Duke is one of the best teams in the country in defending the perimeter, which makes the Blue Devils less susceptible to the machinations of a hot-shooting dynamo. Plus Duke avoids giving teams extra possessions, committing only 12.0 turnovers per game. More importantly, the Blue Devils have a pair of sound ball-handlers in Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer, who commit fewer than two turnovers per game.

Based on efficiency numbers, Maryland would appear to be poised to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins rank No. 20 for offense and No. 21 for defense. However, Maryland also has some concerning statistics to overcome. Despite having a guard-oriented lineup, the Terrapins are porous on the perimeter. Opponents get more than 30 percent of their scoring from behind the arc. And when they miss, they grab offensive rebounds nearly 36 percent of the time. When Memphis stomped Maryland in the NCAA Tournament last season, the Tigers hit 10 three-pointers and out-rebounded the Terrapins 33-23.

Maryland wasn’t the only ACC victim sniped down by long-distance sharpshooters in the last NCAA Tournament. Florida State lost in overtime largely because Wisconsin hit nine three-pointers. The Seminoles also committed 14 turnovers to the Badgers’ nine. Superstar point guard Toney Douglas single-handedly accounted for that differential by committing five turnovers. This season, the Seminoles are one of the worst teams in Division I in protecting the ball, averaging about 17 turnovers per game. Florida State tries to overcome that sloppiness with the No. 1 defense, based on efficiency. Although the Seminoles make it hard to score, they are vulnerable on the perimeter, allowing opponents to make about seven three-pointers per game. Opponents get 35.2 percent of their points from three-point territory. Frequent turnovers, a sluggish offense — ranked No. 105 in efficiency — and lackluster three-point defense are key ingredients in the recipe for a first-round NCAA Tournament upset.

Like its ACC brethren, Wake Forest gave up some untimely three-pointers in its major first-round upset to Cleveland State in last year’s NCAA Tournament. But the Demon Deacons lost mostly because they failed to play under control, committing 18 turnovers and forcing only six. All-ACC guard Jeff Teague ushered in the disaster with seven turnovers. Although the Demon Deacons’ offense has regressed this season — from No. 43 in efficiency last season to No. 88 this season — Wake Forest has tightened its three-point defense, with opponents managing only 23.7 percent of their points from behind the arc. Wake Forest’s tournament hopes this season will depend largely on the Demon Deacons’ ability to stop three-point shooters. And it also will rely on point guard Ish Smith controlling the tempo and limiting turnovers.

Clemson looks like a mirror image of Wake Forest, and the two won’t meet until the final game of the regular season March 7. The Tigers lost to Michigan in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament by giving up 10 three-pointers and struggling on offense. Unlike Wake Forest, which gave away the ball too often, the Tigers simply couldn’t hit shots. For a team ranked No. 16 in offensive efficiency, Clemson looked inept against Michigan and coach John Beilein’s 1-3-1 zone defense. The Tigers have work to do on offense this season and are ranked only No. 92 in efficiency. But they should be better prepared to handle a perimeter-oriented team because opponents get only 22.2 percent of their points from behind the arc, the 39th best rate in Division I. The Tigers play suffocating defense that forces turnovers, so Clemson figures to match up well against many teams defensively. The question the Tigers must answer is whether they can muster enough offense to get past one or two tournament opponents.

Of the ACC’s best teams based on RPI, Georgia Tech figures to be the lone newcomer to the NCAA Tournament. But Georgia Tech might face a familiar fate. The Yellow Jackets have a solid defense, ranked No. 8 in efficiency, but a mediocre offense, ranked No. 64. In addition, they give up a significant percentage of opponents’ points (29.5 percent) from behind the arc. And they turn the ball over more than 16 times per game. Point guard Iman Shumpert is guilty of playing carelessly too often, averaging 3.3 turnovers per game. For a young team with no NCAA Tournament experience, the Yellow Jackets could run into trouble in the first round if they play a fundamentally strong team that has been to the NCAA Tournament one or two consecutive years — think Cornell or Siena.

By the end of the season, the ACC could look back at the 2010 NCAA Tournament with a sense of deja vu. Duke could easily make a run to the Final Four, with only one or two other ACC teams making it past the first weekend of play and a couple of highly seeded teams going down in first-round upsets. Outside Duke and Maryland, all of the ACC’s powerhouses need to find a way to avoid offensive slumps — the kind of lackluster performances that can lead to March Madness melancholy.

Quick Hitters – January 29, 2010

Quick hitters as we head into another weekend, the first full weekend of Ivy League play:

• Boston College is suddenly relevant again after knocking off Clemson 75-69 on Tuesday night.  The Eagles looked dead after a 1-3 start in ACC play, with all three losses being by double digits, and a tough loss at Virginia Tech on Saturday didn’t help.  But the Eagles took over Tuesday’s game with the press – something that has more often killed the Eagles when other teams have done it – and played their best game in a while.  Reggie Jackson sparked the Eagles as soon as he came off the bench, and led the way with 18 points and seven assists.
  While he’s the second-youngest player on the team (Brady Heslip has displaced him as the youngest), Jackson clearly has a keen sense of where his team stands in the grand scheme of things.

  “We figured, we want to win to be a contender in this league and make the NCAA Tourney,” Jackson said.  “Also, I preached to the team when we came out at halftime that if we want (the fans) to keep showing up, we’re going to have to get W’s, because this is basically a professional city.  With the Red Sox, the Patriots and Celtics, if we want people to show up, we’re going to have to put up more W’s and stop letting people down.”

  The Eagles still have a lot of work to do to reach the NCAA Tournament, but knocking off Clemson makes the case that a run by them can’t be counted out just yet.

• Clemson was without junior point guard Demontez Stitt due to a sprained foot, but that wasn’t why the Tigers lost.  In the first half, after running out to an 8-3 lead they simply didn’t look like they were in the game.  The offense didn’t have much life to it, and Oliver Purnell hasn’t had quite the depth he’s had in the past as his freshmen don’t appear to be as good right now as those he’s had in past years were as freshmen to help spell the starters for a few minutes.
  “For whatever reason, I thought we were a bit flat in the first half – flat-footed, we weren’t tough with the basketball, missed layups, and just weren’t sharp and tough,” Purnell said after the game.

• Purnell added that while Stitt still played over 30 minutes in games since the injury, he turned it over again in each game and got to the point where it would be more prudent to hold him out given the time in between games.  The Tigers don’t play again until they host Maryland on Sunday.

• One had to wonder how Providence would bounce back from the meltdown against South Florida.  In their first game after it, the Friars showed no ill effects in beating Connecticut 81-66.
  “I couldn’t have dreamed that we’d bounce back like this,” said head coach Keno Davis, after what he called “our best game of the year.”

• Bryant stayed with Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday for a while, but the Knights had too much in the backcourt with Terence Grier and Sean Baptiste, who combined to go 7-9 from long range.  The Bulldogs, who remain short-handed due to injuries as Cecil Gresham is done for the season, aren’t far away but that first win is still proving elusive.
  “I can’t fault our effort in any way,” said head coach Tim O’Shea.  “I said in the locker room, they really are a much better team than they were a few months ago, it’s just a matter of trying to get over the hump here.”

• Santa Clara made a pretty good bid to knock off Gonzaga, but the Bulldogs played like a conference leader in coming back to basically win the game going away on the road.  There might not be a player more valuable to his team than Matt Bouldin is to Gonzaga, and Thursday night marked the eighth straight game in which he played at least 37 minutes.  With Demetri Goodson having some growing pains at the point, Bouldin has had to handle a lot of responsibility, but he just keeps winning games.

ACC Notebook – Starting the Conference Grind

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As we begin to enter the grinding two months of conference play, the ACC appears to be one of the top conferences in the country. The conference has two undefeated teams remaining – and neither one is named Duke or North Carolina. Four teams are ranked in national polls, with Boston College likely to make an appearance soon after a huge win at Chapel Hill.

With just two months to Selection Sunday, ACC squads begin jockeying for position in the conference in earnest. Several teams need to make a strong run to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Several others figure to earn tops seeds in the tournament, while the conference’s bottom feeders hope to spoil everyone else’s plans.

As of the beginning of January, the ACC looks like it could easily earn six or seven NCAA Tournament invitations. North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest look like locks to be in the tournament. Clemson is a strong team that does not have a lot of meaty wins. But the Tigers should make plenty of noise in the ACC – especially if they can end an 0-for-forever losing streak in Chapel Hill Jan. 21. Clemson plays the type of tough defense that can frustrate the Tar Heels, as Boston College demonstrated.

Speaking of Boston College, the Eagles have only two losses to their name and one monster victory against North Carolina. Right now, that would put them in the tournament. In fact, preseason ACC darling Miami is in a more tenable position than the Eagles are because they have two home losses in addition to a third loss at a neutral site. And the Hurricanes best win is at a schizophrenic Kentucky team. Miami has a favorable ACC schedule – but that also means the Hurricanes have fewer opportunities to prove their worth. They can ill afford to go 0-5 against Clemson, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest in the five meetings against those squads.

Meanwhile, teams like Florida State, Maryland and North Carolina State are off to a strong start even though they lack many high-profile wins. The Terrapins possibly have the best win of the three thanks to a blowout of Michigan State in Orlando. However, each of those teams needs to win nine or 10 conference games to have a legitimate shot at the NCAA Tournament. The odds are that at least one of them will come through.

Toward the bottom, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech each have five losses already. However, they play hard and have plenty of talent to remain competitive. If these are the worst teams in the conference, the ACC promises to be a slugfest, with no team guaranteed victory. Already, two road teams have stolen conference wins from their hosts. Even North Carolina is not immune.

By the time the conference season is over, the ACC could produce a slew of teams stuck at 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9 with only one or two teams with 12 wins or more. Let the fun begin.

Clemson Tigers (14-0, 1-0)

Of the three remaining undefeated ACC teams, Clemson gets the least respect. The Tigers’ best wins are against Illinois and Miami – both of which were on the road. Clemson has won all but four games by at least 10 points. The Tigers hold opponents to barely 42 percent shooting from the field, while the Tigers shoot nearly 50 percent on offense. Opponents turn the ball over more than once every four possessions under the Tigers’ unrelenting defensive pressure. Junior forward Trevor Booker averages 2.5 blocks per game, one of three Tigers who block at least one shot per game. In short, the Tigers are a rock-solid defensive team, and they are ready to take on the rigors of the ACC.

As impressive as Clemson’s defense is, the Tigers’ offense is even more efficient. Clemson boasts a top 10 offense, according to Ken Pomeroy’s statistical ratings. The team’s shot selection has been excellent, reflected by the team’s 49.9 percent field goal shooting and 37.5 percent three-point shooting. Even the team’s free throw shooting has improved after being an Achilles’ heel in past seasons. Senior swing man K.C. Rivers is the leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. But coach Oliver Purnell has nine players who can step in and contribute at both ends of the court, and he rotates them freely throughout the game. The Tigers are built for success, and they will quickly find out if they can hang near the top of the ACC after they play Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke in a two and a half week stretch at the end of January and early February.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 6 vs. Alabama
• Jan. 10 vs. North Carolina State
• Jan. 17 vs. Wake Forest

Duke Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0)

The most noteworthy roster change in the early season is the promotion of sophomore guard Nolan Smith to the starting lineup. He took senior Greg Paulus’ position, giving the Blue Devils possibly the best sixth man in the conference. The Blue Devils’ offense has featured more motion, which takes advantage of Duke’s guard-heavy lineups. None of Duke’s guards averages more than 2.6 assists per game, but as a team, the Blue Devils are dishing out 15.5 assists per game.

Duke is cruising along this season at 12-1 while remaining a highly ranked team. However, with the Tar Heels attracting all the attention, the Blue Devils have an opportunity to play spoiler during conference play. Duke has one of the most efficient offenses and defenses and is cruising following an early December setback at Michigan. In that game, the Blue Devils jacked up 33 three-point attempts and hit only seven. For a team that does not shoot the ball particularly well from beyond the arc (32.1 percent) or rely on the long shot for scoring (just 22.6 percent of its total points), the Michigan loss appears to be an instructive aberration for Duke. In a 92-51 beating of Loyola, Md., Duke was again cold from three-point range, shooting only 8.3 percent. However, the Blue Devils attempted only 12 three-pointers and finished with a 54.5 percent overall shooting percentage.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 7 vs. Davidson
• Jan. 10 at Florida State
• Jan. 14 at Georgia Tech
• Jan. 17 vs. Georgetown

Boston College Eagles (13-2, 1-0)

Boston College’s non-conference run might not have produced any résumé-building wins, but the Eagles’ first ACC win was a dandy. The Eagles traveled to Chapel Hill as massive underdogs and left with a fairly easy win. Coach Al Skinner simply convinced his team to outmuscle the Tar Heels for 40 minutes. Led by senior superstar Tyrese Rice, who is averaging 16.7 points, 6.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game for the Eagles, the Eagles denied North Carolina easy shots. They also took care of the ball, committing only 10 turnovers.

As Boston College enters the ACC slate, the Eagles are playing solid basketball after losing two in a row in November to Saint Louis and Purdue by a combined 10 points. The Eagles don’t beat themselves, committing only 12.7 turnovers per game. They attack the glass, averaging better than 40 rebounds per game and shoot well, at 46 percent from the field. Transfer Joe Trapani has been a boon for Skinner and has become the team’s second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game. He also adds 6.6 rebounds per game, one of three Eagles to average more than six rebounds per game.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 7 vs. Harvard
• Jan. 10 vs. Miami
• Jan. 14 vs. Wake Forest
• Jan. 17 at Virginia Tech

Virginia Cavaliers (6-5, 1-0)

The youth movement is in full effect in Charlottesville, with three freshmen and sophomores receiving at least 28 minutes per game. The ring leader is freshman swing man Sylven Landesberg, who is quickly sewing up ACC rookie of the year honors. Landesberg is averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and better than 80 percent from the free throw line. Landesberg helped give the Cavaliers an 88-84 overtime win against Georgia Tech to open ACC play. He scored 26 points in 41 minutes, including six in overtime.

Despite the exciting future of Landesberg, the Cavaliers do not figure to fare well in the grind of ACC play. Virginia has struggled against the likes of Radford, Liberty, Auburn and VMI, winning two and losing two. Although Sammy Zeglinski, Mike Scott and Landesberg form a solid nucleus for coach Dave Leitao to build around, they account for more than 55 percent of the team’s scoring this season. In addition, the team commits too many turnovers, nearly 15 per game. In conference play, the lack of experienced scorers and ball handlers figures to cause problems for Virginia.

Upcoming schedule:

• Jan. 6 vs. Brown
• Jan. 10 at Virginia Tech
• Jan. 15 vs. North Carolina

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-0, 0-0)

A schedule featuring only one ranked team has helped the Demon Deacons run to an13-0 start. The team’s best win is an 87-74 victory against Baylor in the 76 Classic championship in Anaheim. However, the Demon Deacons’ play justifies their top 10 ranking. Wake Forest ranks in the top five in rebounding and shooting percentage and in the top 10 in scoring. Sophomore guard Jeff Teague leads the Demon Deacons’ attack with 19.6 points and 4.2 assists per game. On a team that does not rely on three-point shooting, Teague is shooting better than 50 percent from beyond the arc.

The key to Wake Forest’s success is shot selection. The Demon Deacons are shooting better than 51 percent from the field, and the team gets more than 62 percent of its scoring inside the arc, according to Ken Pomeroy’s statistics. Wake Forest has three monsters in the post: junior Chas McFarland, sophomore James Johnson and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu, who combine to average 36.7 points and 23.6 rebounds per game. All three players shoot at least 50 percent from the field.

The only loss Wake Forest has suffered this season is junior forward Jamie Skeen, who opted to transfer. Skeen was declared academically ineligible for the fall semester, and he decided to transfer. He averaged 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last season, but he likely would not get as much playing time this season.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 11 vs. North Carolina
• Jan. 14 at Boston College
• Jan. 17 at Clemson

Florida State Seminoles (13-2, 0-0)

The young Seminoles are an enigma entering conference play. Offensively, the lineup filled with freshmen and sophomores frequently struggles, scoring only 67.1 points per game and committing 16.6 turnovers per game. However, coach Leonard Hamilton has this group playing great defense. Only three opponents have scored more than 70 points, and the Seminoles won two of those games. Nine opponents failed to reach 60 points, including six of the last seven. If Florida State can continue to hold most opponents to 40 percent shooting or worse, the Seminoles have a chance to win some ugly games against the conference’s high-powered offenses.

When Florida State needs points, the Seminoles usually turn to senior guard Toney Douglas. Hamilton’s senior leader is averaging 18.4 points per game, the only Seminole to average double figures. He also averages 35.2 minutes per game. Douglas likely must continue to carry the load until Hamilton’s latest star-studded recruiting class progresses on offense. Freshman Chris Singleton and sophomore transfer Derwin Kitchen have been the most consistent players from that recruiting class, combining to average 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Singleton is becoming a reliable long-range threat, shooting 40.5 percent from three-point territory, while Kitchen is deadly inside the arc, shooting 59.4 percent from the field.

Upcoming schedule:

• Jan. 10 vs. Duke
• Jan. 13 at North Carolina State
• Jan. 17 vs. Maryland

Maryland Terrapins (11-2, 0-0)

Last season, Maryland’s lack of depth left the Terrapins exhausted at the end of games and down the final stretch of the season. The starting five played 76.9 percent of the game and accounted for 85.6 percent of the team’s scoring. Cliff Tucker was the No. 1 reserve, averaging 4.1 points in 15.8 minutes per game. The Terrapins are off to an 11-2 start this season partially because junior guards Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes don’t have to do everything for coach Gary Williams. This season’s starting five plays 66.9 percent of the game and scores 77.7 percent of the points. Tucker remains a top reserve, but he is more efficient when he’s in the game, averaging 5.2 points in 12.8 minutes per game.

Williams must hope that his youngsters on the bench can improve throughout the season to help Maryland avoid another late-season fade, which has been a trend in recent years. Sophomore reserves Braxton Dupree and Dino Gregory offer tough interior play. Each player averages 3.5 rebounds per game in about 15 minutes per game. Freshmen Sean Mosley and Jin-Soo Kim have struggled on offense. Each freshman shoots worse than 38 percent from the field. However, they are talented athletes who promise to make a significant impact on the court at some point during their career. Vasquez and Hayes hope that happens sooner rather than later.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 7 vs. Morgan State
• Jan. 10 vs. Georgia Tech
• Jan. 14 at Miami
• Jan. 17 at Florida State

North Carolina State Wolfpack (9-3, 0-0)

North Carolina State has battled injuries to several backcourt players in the early stages of this season. Sophomore Javier Gonzalez has been out for the past two weeks with a sprained ankle, and junior Trevor Ferguson is out until late January with a broken finger. Ferguson leads the Wolfpack in three-point shooting, making 41.5 percent of his shots from long range. Another junior, Farnold Degand, returned to action in early December after recovering from tendonitis in his left knee, which he injured last season.

Despite the injuries, North Carolina State is off to a solid 9-3 start partially thanks to the resurgence of junior forward Brandon Costner. In a sensational freshman season, Costner averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range and 47.4 percent from the field. However, last season, Costner struggled throughout the entire season. His shooting dramatically declined, as he shot only 30.5 percent from beyond the arc and 36.2 percent overall. As a result, his scoring average dipped to 8.5 points per game.

Costner’s confidence also took a hit last season, and his rebounding suffered, as he averaged only 4.6 rebounds per game. So far, Costner appears to have channeled his freshman form and is once again a dominant player, averaging 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game with 37.0 percent three-point shooting and 50 percent overall shooting. In a thrilling 68-66 loss at Florida, Costner scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and he was 9-of-11 from the field.

Upcoming games;

• Jan. 10 at Clemson
• Jan. 13 vs. Florida State
• Jan. 17 vs. Georgia Tech

North Carolina Tar Heels (13-1, 0-1)

Early in the season, North Carolina looked unbeatable despite dealing with several injuries. Senior forward Tyler Hansbrough missed four games because of a stress condition that required rest. He also twisted an ankle in a win at Santa Barbara. In addition to missing their All-American, the Tar Heels played without freshman center Tyler Zeller and senior defensive specialist Marcus Ginyard. Zeller broke his wrist late in the Nov. 18 game against Kentucky when he was fouled from behind on a breakaway layup.

Despite winning every non-conference game by at least 15 points, the Tar Heels could not find any offensive consistency in their first ACC game of the season, losing an 85-78 shocker to Boston College in Chapel Hill. The Eagles frustrated North Carolina’s offense throughout the game, limiting transition opportunities and harassing Hansbrough. The All-American finished 6-of-15 from the field. As a team, the Tar Heels shot only 38.4 percent from the field and 55.6 from the free throw line. North Carolina’s success has been based on high percentage shooting and a pressure defense that forces turnovers. Boston College showed that if a team can deny those elements, the Tar Heels can be beaten, even at home.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 7 vs. College of Charleston
• Jan. 11 at Wake Forest
• Jan. 15 at Virginia
• Jan. 17 vs. Miami

Miami Hurricanes (10-3, 0-1)

The Hurricanes enter ACC play with a solid record and high expectations. However, Miami has whiffed on its few opportunities to make a statement with a high-profile victory. In three losses to Ohio State, Connecticut and Clemson, the Hurricanes have struggled to find offensive consistency, scoring less than their 75.9 points per game average. Against Connecticut and Ohio State, the Hurricanes shot less than 40 percent from the field. Against Clemson, the Hurricanes could not handle the Tigers’ defensive pressure, committing 22 turnovers and failing to convert free throws (12-of-27).

The Hurricanes sport solid efficiency numbers, according to Ken Pomeroy’s ratings, as the No. 28 offense and No. 30 in defense in efficiency. However, five blowouts with at least 20-point margins of victory help mask some of Miami’s deficiencies. Specifically, Miami’s offense almost entirely relies on strong games by senior guard Jack McClinton and junior forward Dwayne Collins. They are the only players averaging more than 20 minutes per game who shoot anywhere near 50 percent from the field. Collins is an effective post scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game on 62.3 percent shooting from the field – which is the best shooting percentage in the conference. McClinton remains the star, averaging 17.1 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting, including 45.9 percent from three-point range. But no other Hurricane is a reliable scoring threat. If you take out McClinton and Collins, the rest of the team shoots 39.8 percent from the field. That’s not going to get the job done in conference play.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 5 vs. Florida Atlantic
• Jan. 10 at Boston College
• Jan. 14 vs. Maryland
• Jan. 17 at North Carolina

Virginia Tech Hokies (9-5, 0-1)

Like last year, the Hokies enter conference play needing to win 10 or 11 games to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament after a lackluster non-conference run. Virginia Tech missed opportunities to pick up big wins against Xavier and Wisconsin. Before losing by 25 points in Durham to the Blue Devils, Virginia Tech had not lost by more than four points, continuing last season’s trend of struggling to win tight games. As usual, coach Seth Greenberg’s team plays tough defense and has held 12 opponents to 70 points or fewer.

However, unlike past Hokie teams, this Virginia Tech squad is not forcing as many turnovers. And they continue last season’s trend of making more turnovers on offense, averaging 14.5 turnovers per game. Senior swing man A.D. Vassallo, sophomore guard Malcom Delaney and sophomore Jeff Allen have been the only consistent offensive contributors so far. They combine to average 49.6 points per game, or nearly 70 percent of the team’s 71.4 points per game. Greenberg uses a 10-man rotation, but he just can’t rely on anyone outside the big three to deliver consistent offense. Until the Hokies find a more balanced offense, they’ll struggle to avoid long scoring droughts.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 10 vs. Virginia
• Jan. 14 vs. Richmond
• Jan. 17 vs. Boston College

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-5, 0-1)

Georgia Tech has struggled early in the season mostly because of a depleted backcourt. The Yellow Jackets lost senior guard D’Andre Bell before the season started because of a spinal injury that required surgery. Senior guard Lewis Clinch missed the first seven games because he was academically ineligible for the first semester. And most recently, sophomore point guard Maurice Miller missed seven games after suffering a concussion and nasal fracture in Georgia Tech’s 66-60 loss to Illinois-Chicago.

With struggles in the backcourt, Georgia Tech has predictably struggled in several critical areas. The Yellow Jackets commit nearly 16 turnovers per game while shooting only 30 percent from three-point range and 58.6 percent from the free throw line. However, sophomore forward Gani Lawal has emerged as a stud for coach Paul Hewitt. Lawal averages 17.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while contributing more than a steal and block per game on defense. Senior forward Alade Aminu teams with Lawal in the post and contributes 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. However, for Georgia Tech to succeed in the ACC, the team needs Miller to recover quickly, Clinch to get up-to-speed on the court soon, and freshman Iman Shumpert to reduce his 3.5 turnovers per game.

Upcoming games:

• Jan. 6 vs. Georgia
• Jan. 10 at Maryland
• Jan. 14 vs. Duke
• Jan. 17 at North Carolina State