Three coaching legends lose on the same day

It’s not every day that three of the greatest coaches ever lose a game on the same day. Yet that’s what happened on another Saturday full of noteworthy games, as Syracuse suffered its first loss on the season, Duke lost at home to put an end to a long home winning streak and Connecticut lost as well.

And it all happened, ironically, on the day that a football coaching legend appeared close to losing his life. On Saturday night, there were conflicting reports about former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, but we did not learn for sure that he had passed until about 10:30 this morning. We send our condolences to Joe’s family and friends at this time.

The last time Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun and Mike Krzyzewski lost a game on the same day was January 18, 2003. The three coaches have combined for over 2,600 wins, so they have won a little more than they have lost, and one might even be surprised that this wasn’t the first day all three lost.

It started in the middle of the afternoon, with two of the games. Connecticut took on Tennessee in Knoxville, a return of a game played last year. The Volunteers got a double-double from freshman Jarnell Stokes and fended off a late Husky rally for a 60-57 win. Turning the ball over one time in the second half certainly helped, especially as taking care of the ball had been a problem for Tennessee of late. Connecticut shot just 36.4 percent from the field.

Around that same time, Florida State looked like they had a shot to end Duke’s 45-game home winning streak, as they were right there with the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They had leads late in the game as well. And finally, with the game tied at 73 in the final seconds, the Seminoles got the ball up the floor to Michael Snaer in front of his own bench, where he hit a three-pointer just as time expired to give Florida State their second big win in as many Saturdays, a 76-73 decision over Duke.

Not only had Duke not lost at home since North Carolina knocked them off in February 2009, but they also had a longer (64 games) home winning streak against unranked opponents. They had a chance to tie their own ACC record of 46 straight home wins, set between January 13, 1997 and February 9, 2000.

Florida State is now looking more and more like the team some thought they would be this season. In the preseason, a good number of prognosticators thought they might be the third-best team behind Duke and North Carolina. Virginia had emerged as that team, and probably still is, but now the Seminoles look like another formidable team in an ACC that is not looking much better than last year. They are in a three-way tie atop the ACC at 4-1, along with the two teams they have knocked off the past two Saturdays.

By the time the evening came around, one already had a sense that Syracuse could suffer its first loss of the season. The team announced earlier in the day that sophomore center Fab Melo would not make the trip to Notre Dame and Cincinnati and that junior forward Mookie Jones had left the school for personal reasons. The Orange are so deep, it would not have been a shocker if they came away with two wins, but if they dropped one it would not have been a surprise. Sure enough, a Notre Dame team that knocked off Louisville a couple of weeks ago beat Syracuse 67-58 in South Bend.

Notre Dame led throughout the game and beat a No. 1 team for the eighth time, which ties for the fourth-highest total. They did it led by junior big man Jack Cooley, who went for 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Fighting Irish out-rebounded Syracuse 38-25. While Melo’s absence hurt there, it wasn’t a big factor in the Orange’s offensive struggles on the night.

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

With Syracuse losing, that left just one team undefeated: Murray State. The Racers were 82-65 winners at SIU-Edwardsville to improve to 20-0 on the season.

Missouri got perhaps its most impressive win yesterday, going on the road to beat Baylor. That’s two in a row now for Baylor, and it seems that at the moment, Baylor is close, but not there when it comes to the top of the Big 12.

Georgetown got all they could handle from Rutgers, and needed to score the game’s last seven points to eke out a 52-50 win in the nation’s capital.

Louisville continued Pittsburgh’s misery as they went into the Peterson Events Center and left with a 73-62 win over the Panthers, who are now 0-7 in the Big East and have lost eight straight.

UNLV convincingly won a key matchup with New Mexico, the second straight loss for the Lobos as they took on the two favorites in the conference this past week.

Mississippi State won an overtime thriller at Vanderbilt in a key matchup among teams chasing Kentucky in the SEC.

Todd Bozeman returned to the bench at Morgan State, but his team’s struggles continued as they lost for the fifth time in seven games by dropping a 62-61 decision against visiting North Carolina A&T.

Late Saturday night, Long Beach State picked up a key road win at UC Santa Barbara. That makes the 49ers 7-0 in conference play, a full two games ahead of three teams in the loss column.

Is NC State better than Duke right now?

In theory, a credible player rating system should allow you to begin to compare teams. After all, a team is the sum of its parts, right?

Well, it’s not that simple, as evidenced by the fact that North Carolina State’s players produce a Total Impact Quotient sum of 133.7 in comparison to 109.9 for Duke. Are the Wolfpack really substantially better than the Blue Devils right now? Is that possible even though NC State dropped to 5-3 today after losing at Stanford while Duke is 7-1?

In short, no. But the Wolfpack sure look better than Duke on paper. … Continue Reading

Big Ten rises to the Challenge

The Big Ten has the look and feel of the best conference in the country.

From top to bottom, the Big Ten has the most quality, and those teams were on display Tuesday as the conference grabbed a 4-2 lead in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Among the premier teams, Ohio State thumped Duke 85-63 as the Buckeyes tore through the Blue Devils’ Swiss cheese defense. Four of Ohio State’s five starters scored at least 17 points, led by Jared Sullinger’s 21. As a team, Ohio State shot nearly 60 percent from the field and from 3-point range. When they did miss, they collected the rebounds nearly 30 percent of the time, which is actually off their season average of about 34 percent, according to Ken Pomeroy’s stats. But when you’re already shooting 60 percent, any second chances at all could be devastating for your opponent.

Although the convincing victory is excellent, it’s not altogether shocking. Duke entered a hostile environment in Columbus coming off a tough trip to Maui last week in which the Blue Devils battled tooth and nail three straight days to claim the EA Sports Maui Invitational title. Yes, they had nearly a week off, but Duke looked tired, as several players launched air balls from deep throughout the game. With eight days off until their next game, look for the Blue Devils to rest up and rebound well.

Perhaps the best win of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge last night was Northwestern’s 16-point victory at Georgia Tech. For a team searching for its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history, the Wildcats had to win this one. Georgia Tech does not figure to be competitive for the ACC title this year, but the Thrillerdome remains a tough place to play. Northwestern was on its game, shooting 55 percent from the field, with John Shurna leading the way with 25 points. The Wildcats’ win is impressive because it’s not like the team is totally unfamiliar to the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory was an assistant to MIchigan State’s Tom Izzo for several years, including in 2003, Bill Carmody’s first season in Evanston. And it’s not like his style of play has changed much in eight years, according to Pomeroy’s stats.

The Big Ten will look to continue its strong play tonight, highlighted by a huge match up in Chapel Hill between North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Here are some other news and notes from across the college basketball nation.

North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes is expected to play in that clash with the Badgers tonight after spraining his ankle in the Tar Heels’ loss to UNLV last weekend, ESPN reports.

Bernie Fine is out at Syracuse after new and more troublesome allegations of sexual abuse emerged during the past week. However, the Associated Press’ John Kekis writes, Orange coach Jim Boeheim isn’t worried about his own job security, despite vehemently defending Fine when the allegations first appeared, going as far as to call the accusers liars. The investigation continues in this case, so Fine is innocent until proven guilty. But there apparently was enough smoke for Syracuse to find cause to ditch the veteran assistant before a raging fire broke out.

USC forward Dewayne Dedmon, averaging 7.7 ppg and 6.0 rig, will miss about a month because of a stress injury in his right foot, the Associated Press reports. The Trojans have been struggling already this season with one of their big men in the lineup. This certainly won’t help the cause.

Eamonn Brennan notes for ESPN’s College Basketball Nation blog that Florida coach Billy Donovan picked up win No. 400 in his career when the Gators dismantled Stetson 96-70. At age 45, Donovan is one of the few coaches in the game who have the early success that could put him in position to challenge Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s record for Division I wins — whenever Coach K calls it a career.

Picking out some early season turkeys – and sweet performances

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and that means we’re cooking up something for the holiday.

For the main course, we’re serving a few turkeys that have crept up in the college basketball nation. These conferences, teams, players and — in one case — an entire city’s judicial/law enforcement institution just aren’t getting the job done for one reason or another.

Some of these look tastier than others, but all will be heading to the chopping block if they don’t shape up soon. Some much-needed improvement could save these proverbial turkeys from the fate awaiting their avian namesakes across the country.

After the entrees, we’ve got a delicious spread of all-American winners that are worth saving room for — just like that pumpkin or apple pie. In the Protos household, my mother has added a German chocolate pie to the mix that is as mouth-watering as its more traditionally American pastries. Perhaps we need a new name for the pie. Or maybe not, as one of the coaches that we name has a distinctly Central European flavor.

Let’s get to the tryptophan-inducers first.

J’Covan Brown

How can someone putting up more than 26 ppg be on a list of turkeys? Well, when you get kicked out of a game for swearing and your young teammates subsequently choke up a double-digit lead in a few minutes, you become a turkey. Brown is absolutely essentially to a Longhorns team dominated by freshmen. After picking up a fourth foul midway through the second half against NC State, Brown protested the call with a vulgarity en route to his bench during a timeout. The referee took offense and gave Brown at technical and fifth personal, thus ending his night and beginning the Wolfpack’s comeback.

Colonial Athletic Association

The CAA isn’t exactly off to a great start, just months removed from sending VCU to the Final Four. The conference’s preseason favorite, Drexel, dropped a game to Norfolk State and then scored only 35 points in a loss to Virginia. George Mason has two overtime losses already, to Florida International and Florida Atlantic. Every team except Northeastern has at least two losses already, and five teams haven’t won more than one game.

UCLA

It’s messy out in Westwood. Heading into tonight’s game against Michigan, the Bruins are still looking for their first win against a Division I team after losing to Kansas in Maui and Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State — by 20 — at home. The team can’t hit anything right now, and Reeves Nelson earned a suspension for sulking during the team’s opening loss to Loyola Marymount. There’s time to turn it around, but if they don’t, Howland might take much of the blame for this sloppiness.

The Syracuse edition of law & order

There’s no bigger turkey in college basketball right now than the attorneys and police officials in Syracuse, N.Y. They’re not even related to Orange basketball, but they have been thrust into the spotlight by accusations that Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine molested two ball boys over a span of more than a decade. The sordid story has devolved into people calling one another liars, and we need a functional investigation to get even close to realizing justice and revealing the truth. But the Syracuse district attorney’s office and police chief are too busy blaming each other for bungling the original investigation last decade. The DA has accused the police chief of hiding information while the police officers are calling the attorneys incompetent and unresponsive.

And now let’s enjoy some good stuff.

Coastal Carolina

The Chanticleers are back in business after injuries and suspensions derailed a promising season last February. Coastal Carolina already has knocked off power conferences foes LSU and Clemson — with the victory against the Tigers coming on the road. Besides a road game at East Carolina and a home date with Charleston, the Chanticleers look setup to post another gaudy record, which could earn this team an at-large bid if needed. That’d be a major accomplishment for the Big South.

Cleveland State

It’s certainly far more common for the Horizon League to get some extra love in the NCAA Tournament than the Big South, and the conference is certainly on the basketball nation’s radar after Butler made two consecutive trips to the title game. But with Norris Cole gone this season, the Vikings didn’t appear to be the team to beat in the conference. They certainly are playing the part after taking out Vanderbilt and Kent State on the road and a strong St. Bonaventure team at home by Lake Erie.

The cream of the crop

The top teams in the country have looked strong thus far, as North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio State, Syracuse, Connecticut and Duke have performed well against some stiff competition. As mentioned plenty of times, the top teams are returning an unusual amount of top talent, thanks in large part to the NBA lockout. We should be in store for a fantastic season with plenty of epic match ups, especially come March and April.

Coach K

Speaking of Duke, coach Mike Krzyzewski notched one of the sweetest accomplishments in sports in 2011 by surpassing his mentor, Bob Knight, for the most Division I wins in NCAA coaching history. Coach K has Duke in contention for ACC and NCAA titles nearly every season, a testament to his ability to adapt to a changing game and remain in the forefront for multiple generations of ballers.

Missouri Valley

The MVC might be the new CAA, which had been the new MVC anyways. Creighton, Wichita State, Indiana State, Northern Iowa and even Missouri State look like they could be in NCAA Tournament contention by the end of the regular season. Creighton annihilated Iowa on in Des Moines, while Wichita State dispatched Colorado and looked strong against Alabama and Temple.

Norfolk State

A week after losing to Marquette by 31 points, the Spartans regrouped to win three straight — including games against Drexel and TCU — before taking Marquette to the final possession in a rematch in the Paradise Jam title game in the Virgin Islands.

Coach K closes in on D-I record, passing his mentor en route

From the hallowed hardwood in Madison Square Garden, a pupil could surpass the master tonight.

When Duke takes on Michigan State in the Champions Classic in New York City, coach Mike Krzyzewski will have an opportunity to pass his mentor, Bob Knight, for the most Division I wins in NCAA history. The Blue Devils beat Presbyterian Saturday to give Coach K win No. 902. A third consecutive victory to open the season would be the record-setter.

In a press conference Monday, Coach K said that “somebody asked me this morning about where would this be in a list of things that you feel really good about, and I said, ‘It’s behind every championship. And not just national championships but league championships.’”

That doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal. Krzyzewski, who turns 65 in February, has been one of the top coaches in the game for several decades after a slow start to his career in Durham. His perseverance and determination are a model of leadership that extends far beyond a basketball arena. In a sport filled with unsavory characters and frequent recruiting violations, Coach K keeps Duke on the up and up. He takes pride in his players’ high graduation rate, and he cares more about the accomplishments of specific Blue Devil teams than his own accolades.

“You want to win a championship with the team that you coach that year, and those are the things that you remember are championship moments — whether they be league championship moments, regular season, ACC,” Krzyzewski said. “Obviously the biggest thing that you can remember easily is national championships. But championships are things that I look back on because that’s a real accomplishment.”

Another coaching legend, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, won’t make it easy for Coach K to celebrate his record-breaking victory. But whenever Krzyzewski gets No. 903, it will be one of the major highlights of the entire 2011-12 season.

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

• Louisville junior guard Mike Marra will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL against Lamar Sunday, according to an Associated Press report. Marra’s loss is significant as he was an important member of coach Rick Pitino’s backcourt rotation, averaging 6.4 points per game last season.
• The good news for Louisville is that freshman guard Kevin Ware has his academics in order now and will be eligible to play for the Cardinals starting in mid-December, after the university’s fall semesters concludes, according to a Lexington Herald-Leader report.
• Arizona had to dig deep to rally past Ball State, which held a nine-point halftime lead against the Wildcats Sunday. With junior swingman Kevin Parrom back in the lineup just seven weeks after being shot in the leg and hand while visiting family in New York City and four weeks after his mother died, according to the Associated Press, the Wildcats found the will to lock down the Cardinals in the second half for a 73-63 win. Parrom contributed six points and four rebounds in 18 minutes to help get the Wildcats the victory.
• Instant replay might slow down the game in the NFL, but at least the officials get the calls right more often than not. Vermont probably wishes more stadiums had replay capabilities after falling victim to a lack of technology in a 61-59 loss to South Florida played at Division II University of Tampa. After calling a timeout, the clock ran for an extra second or two, but the referees couldn’t review the time on the clock because there were no available video feeds, writes ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan. The Catamounts hit a would-be game-tying tip-in on their final possession — just after the buzzer.
• Texas A&M will be without one of the best players in the Big 12, Khris Middleton, while the junior forward recovers from a knee injury suffered during the Aggies’ 81-59 win against Liberty, according to an Associated Press report.
• According to a CBS Sports.com wire report, Marquette will play its first three games without freshman Juan Anderson for a rules violation. The oftense? Accepting a free ticket to see the Milwaukee Brewers in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Duke Blue Devils 2011-12 Preview

Duke Blue Devils (32-5, 13-3)

Projected starting five:

Fr. G Austin Rivers
Jr. G Seth Curry
Jr. G Andre Dawkins
Jr. F Ryan Kelly
Jr. F Mason Plumlee

Important departures:

Nolan Smith: 20.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.1 apg
Kyrie Irving: 17.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg
Kyle SIngler: 16.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg

Percent returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 47.2 percent
Rebounding: 67.4 percent

Additions:

Austin Rivers, No.1 Rivals.com and ESPNU five-star freshman combo guard from Winter Park, Fla.
Michael Gbinije, No. 35 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman small forward from Richmond, Va.
Quinn Cook, No. 38 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman point guard from Washington, D.C.
Alex Murphy, No. 45 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman small forward from Southborough, Mass.
Marshall Plumlee, No. 79 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman power forward from Arden, N.C.

Schedule highlights:

Best non-conference game: at Ohio State
Toughest conference stretch: Feb. 2-8 (at Virginia Tech, vs. Miami, at North Carolina)

Outlook:

Coach Mike Krzyzewski has to replace a couple of veteran leaders in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler in addition to freshman sensation Kyrie Irving. Duke fans must feel shafted after Irving started on fire last season, then injured his toe and never returned to form. Duke faltered in the Sweet 16 last season, and the Blue Devils will have much lower expectations this season.

However, that might make the Blue Devils even more dangerous than last season. As usual, Coach K has a loaded recruiting class, headlined by Austin Rivers, Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinije. Add those talented youngsters to a lineup that already includes Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and the Plumlee crew, and you have a team ready to compete at the top of the ACC standings.

Prediction: Second

Next: Florida State Seminoles

Back to ACC preview

Updating the NBA Entry List and Honoring a Maryland Legend

BASELINE TO BASELINE

Go coast to coast with a roundup of news from across the nation.

Here’s a quick recap of all the major NBA decisions from the past week. The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to remain eligible required players to decide by May 8 if they wanted to remain in the NBA Draft or return to school.

Remaining in the draft:

• Boston College’s Reggie Jackson
• Butler’s Shelvin Mack
• Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert
• Kentucky’s Brandon Knight
• Kentucky’s DeAndre Liggins
• Louisville’s Terrence Jennings
• Maryland’s Jordan Williams
• Michigan’s Darius Morris
• Stanford’s Jeremy Green
• Tennessee’s Tobias Harris
• Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson
• Texas’ Cory Joseph
• Texas’ Tristan Thompson

Returning to school:

• Kentucky’s Terrence Jones
• Miami’s Reggie Johnson
• Missouri’s Laurence Bowers
• Missouri’s Kim English
• Northwestern’s John Shurna
• Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs
• West Virginia’s Kevin Jones
• Xavier’s Tu Holloway

1. The biggest news of the past few days is Gary Williams’ retirement at Maryland. The Terrapins’ coach unexpectedly decided to call it a career at age 66 after working at his alma mater since 1989. Maryland moved quickly to court Arizona’s Sean Miller, who passed on the the offer by signing an extension with the Wildcats, according to John Marshall of the Associated Press. That makes Notre Dame’s Mike Brey one of the top choices right now, according to the Washington Post.
2. In other Washington, D.C., area coaching news, George Washington picked Mike Lonergan to be the Colonials’ next coach, according to the Associated Press. Lonergan comes back to D.C. after working at Vermont for five seasons, compiling a 126-68 record. Lonergan coached Catholic University to a Division III title in 2001 and worked with Gary Williams as an assistant at Maryland for a few years.
3. Gonzaga needs to find a new starting point guard after Demetri Goodson announced that he’s leaving the team to play football, according to the Associated Press. Goodson averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 assists per game for the Bulldogs this past season.
4. Michigan State Tom Izzo returned the favor for Spartan fans last week. To help boost student morale during final exams week, Izzo joined other Spartan coaches in serving food at the university’s dining hall, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î That’s a nice way to thank the Izzone fans who help give Michigan State one of the toughest home court advantages in the nation.
5. Speaking of Izzo, the Spartans’ coach might be getting some much-needed backcourt help in Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood, according to the Associated Press.. The Horizon League’s No. 3 scorer is transferring to Michigan State after completing his undergraduate degree. Because of NCAA rules for graduate transfers, Wood might be eligible to play immediately for a team losing Kalin Lucas to graduation.
6. Jeff Capel has returned to a familiar sideline. The former Oklahoma coach, who was fired after this past season, accepted an offer to become an assistant coach on coach Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke, according to the Associated Press. Capel played four years in Durham and put up more than 1,600 points.
7. The Pac-10 can’t complain about an East Coast bias for much longer. The conference soon to be known as the Pac-12 signed an agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports worth $250 million per season, tops in men’s basketball, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
8. Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt has recruited his first big name as the Cowboys’ new coach. Larry Nance Jr., son of longtime NBA player Larry Nance, will arrive in Laramie this fall after averaging about a double double as a senior in Ohio this past season.
9. Looking ahead to 2012, Louisville might not have the services of Rodney Purvis, a top-rated shooting guard in the class of rising high school seniors who reopened his recruitment, according to Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î Louisville had received a verbal commitment from Purvis, partially thanks to the hard work of assistant Tom Fuller, who left Pitino’s staff recently to work for Frank Haith at Missouri.
10. Former Cyclone John Lamb, a walk-on who left Iowa State mid-season, was arrested last week and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and a violation of Drug Tax Stamp Act, according to the Associated Press.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

This section is aptly titled for a Washington, D.C., area writer looking to write a column honoring the importance of recently retired Maryland coach Gary Williams.

In his 22 years at Maryland, Williams helped craft the Terrapins into a perennial ACC contender. His continued success eased the path to the construction of the Comcast Center, which is one of the largest arenas in the conference and has one of the best home court advantages. The 20,000-plus fans who fill the Comcast Center haven’t always approved of the quality of the home team, but they consistently fill the arena with rowdy fans, giving Maryland one of the best home court advantages in the country.

After the turmoil of the late 1980s, it’s amazing that Williams was able to get this program back to the top of the ACC so quickly. Trouble started in 1986 with the death of Terrapin hero Len Bias, who seemed destined to become a national hero as a possible heir apparent to Larry Bird in Boston. However, his cocaine-induced death and the subsequent brouhaha in College Park derailed the program, leading to the ouster of coach Lefty Driesell.

Without Driesell, the team fell into mediocrity — and NCAA violations — during the tenure of Bob Wade. With the program on probation and lackluster performance on the court, Williams returned to his alma mater with a tough task at hand.

It took Williams five seasons, but once he got the Terrapins into the NCAA Tournament, they remained fixtures of March Madness until 2005. That includes a Final Four run in 2001 that ended mercilessly with the team’s fourth loss of the season to eventual national champion Duke. But Williams and Maryland vanquished those demons the next season when the Terrapins won the 2002 title.

The championship title was a turning point for Williams’ tenure at Maryland. Until then, the critics liked to talk about Williams as one of the greatest coaches to have never won a title — a fraternity no coach enjoys being part of. With that monkey off his back, Williams then had to deal with detractors who bemoaned that Williams failed to use the program’s success to attract the top recruits to College Park.

Recruiting is a touchy subject for Maryland fans. On the plus side, no one has even sniffed an NCAA violation during Williams’ years. But on the other hand, Williams drew the ire of many fans because he couldn’t keep a lot of the talented kids in Prince George’s County, Md., and Baltimore in-state. Highly touted recruits like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson, Rudy Gay, Nolan Smith and seemingly half of Georgetown’s starting lineup each season are all locals. That would be acceptable if Williams had a slew of talented recruits on a conveyor belt to College Park from across the country.

But after three NIT appearances in four seasons, the natives became restless. Williams had the misfortune of dealing with a few disastrous recruits, including the much-maligned post-championship class of Chris McCray, John Gilchrist, Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley. That core failed to meet lofty expectations, and the fans nearly revolted at the perceived inability of Williams to coach a great class. But the players just didn’t work out. It happens.

Williams got Maryland back on track with Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes. He helped Vasquez mature from a sloppy point guard and nearly out of control hothead to a dominant ACC player who was a threat to post a triple double nearly any night. The Terrapins returned to the NCAA Tournament three out of four seasons but never advanced further than the second round.

Heading into this off-seaosn, Maryland was at a cross-roads as another disappointing recruiting class — Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory — finished their collegiate careers. Jordan Williams, one of the top recruits in recent years to come to Maryland, figured to be the linchpin of next season’s team, but he is heading to the NBA instead.

At age 66, Williams was staring at a complete rebuilding project in an era that makes it increasingly difficult to run a clean and successful program. Williams refused to sacrifice one for the other. That makes now a great time for Williams to step down. To rebuild the Terrapins, Williams would need at least a couple of years to get the right guys around solid building blocks like Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin. Williams might be pushing 70 before the Terrapins have another legitimate shot at a deep run.

When I’m pushing 70, I hope have the energy to work more than 60 hours a week recruiting, strategizing and representing a major college program. After such a remarkable, program-defining coaching career, Williams has earned this respite.

ACC Player Ratings

A month into this season, it’s obvious that Duke is the class of the ACC by a wide margin.

The reigning national champs are off to an 8-0 start, and freshman guard Kyrie Irving is a major reason for the Blue Devils’ early season success against the likes of Kansas State, Marquette, Michigan State and Butler. He has a Total Impact Quotient of 14.3, which is exceptionally good for a guard and ranks No. 3 among ACC guards.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to Duke’s start is forward Kyle Singler’s diminished impact on the team’s success. How is that possible for a player averaging 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and shooting 89.3 percent from the free throw line? In short, Singler’s TIQ has dropped from a better-than-average 10.0 to a subpar 3.3.

The explanation for Singler’s drop in TIQ is straightforward: Duke really is a better team this season than last season. The Blue Devils are shooting 49.3 percent from the field compared to 44.3 percent last season. However, Singler is only shooting 43.9 percent this season, the only Duke starter to hit less than 50 percent of his shots. So Singler’s shooting struggle relative to his teammates’ success is costing the Blue Devils points. In addition, Singler’s stats for rebounds and assists have dropped. The drop in assists makes sense with the arrival of Irving, a supremely talented play maker.

What that all means is that Duke is better even though Singler is making less of an impact on each game. And that’s just scary.

For a complete introduction to the TIQ rating system, check out this list of frequently asked questions.

And now on to the ratings for the ACC, through games as of Saturday, Dec. 4.

TIQ position averages:
Centers: 13.9
Forwards: 9.2
Guards: 6.3
TIQ = Total Impact Quotient
PD% = Position differential in % difference from average

Player Rankings

Player Rankings for 2009-10

After the Feast

After Shaky Start, ACC Needs Holiday Tourney Joy

It might be early in the season, but the ACC is already entering a critical week.

After a bumpy start to the season, conference teams enter the holiday tournament season needing to win some statement games. And the outlook isn’t great.

In the first week and a half, Wake Forest has dropped two home games, and Georgia Tech got obliterated by Kennesaw State. The Yellow Jackets gave up 80 points to the Owls, who mostly played only five guys. Georgia Tech’s eight-man rotation floundered, shooting only 35 percent while committing 19 turnovers.

In Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons figure to have a long season ahead in coach Jeff Bzdelik’s first year at the helm. Stetson shot 46.4 percent against Wake Forest and, more revealing, out-rebounded Wake Forest 42-31. ACC teams shouldn’t get outworked in their own building to open the season, unless they’re facing a top 10 opponent. That’s just embarrassing.

But there’s plenty of time to change course. Although the conference ranks fifth in winning percentage of the six power conferences, there’s no shame in Virginia Tech losing at Kansas State or Miami losing at Memphis. Road victories for either team would have been a major upset for the conference.

The early season emergence of the ACC must start tonight, when Maryland plays Pittsburgh in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Terrapins are one of seven ACC teams playing in tournaments during the next 10 days. However, Maryland is one of the few teams with an opportunity to pick up crucial statement victories.

Against Pittsburgh, Maryland will be decided underdogs, and a strong showing, even in a loss, would give the Terrapins plenty to crow about. If the team can beat Pitt or their next opponent — either Illinois or Texas in the championship or consolation game — the trip to Madison Square Garden would be a success. The worst-case scenario for the ACC and Maryland is a two-game sweep in which the Terrapins don’t look competitive against some of the strongest teams from the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.

In San Juan, North Carolina is the highest rank team in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. That means the young, unproven Tar Heels are supposed to win the tournament, and anything short of a three-game sweep against a field that includes West Virginia and Minnesota would be a disappointment. We’ll quickly find out how this year’s Tar Heels handle the pressure of lofty expectations after last season’s squad fell apart.

Back on the shores of South Carolina, North Carolina State is one of the favorites in the Charleston Classic. The only way for the Wolfpack to pick up a quality win is to reach the championship game and beat Georgetown. A loss to anyone besides the Hoyas would be detrimental to North Carolina State’s résumé and the ACC’s credibility.

Georgia Tech and Boston College have the best opportunity to grab unexpected quality wins in the Legends Classic in Atlantic City and the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, respectively. Georgia Tech will face either Syracuse or Michigan in the championship or consolation game of the Legends Classic. However, the Yellow Jackets must first get past a tough UTEP team, which is perfectly capable of knocking off a shaky ACC team. The Eagles face a bunch of tough, unranked teams, with the exception of a possible match up with Temple. Boston College needs to represent the ACC well in potential games against Cal, Georgia, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.

On the West Coast, Virginia Tech finds itself in the same situation that North Carolina does in Puerto Rico: tournament favorite. The Hokies’ toughest opponents in the 76 Classic are Oklahoma State, UNLV, Stanford and Murray State. Unfortunately for Virginia Tech’s résumé, the Hokies won’t garner much more clout by doing anything less than stomping those teams, which won’t be easy, especially 3,000-plus miles away from Blacksburg, Va.

And then there’s Duke. The reigning national champs are No. 1, so they’re supposed to beat anyone, anytime. Despite those ridiculous expectations, the Blue Devils would have a great opportunity to assert themselves as the unquestioned favorites to win this season’s national title if they draw Kansas State and beat the Wildcats in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo. It’s practically a home game for the Wildcats, so a Duke victory would be huge for the ACC’s elite.

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: Your Complete Guide to the Final Four

On one side of the bracket that went busted a day into the NCAA Tournament, we have two Cinderella teams hoping that the crystal shoe will fit them at the end. On the other, we have two power-conference juggernauts trying to spoil the folk tale’s happy ending.

It’s not a good vs. evil story. It’s merely the Final Four, and its two No. 5 seeds (injury-riddled Michigan State and Butler) battling each other for one spot in the championship game while the ACC’s and No. 1 seed Duke combats the Big East’s and No. 2 West Virginia for the other. Two feel-good stories vs. two bracket-saving, household names.

It should be fun. Let’s take a look at those Final Four-ers.

Even though it’s a second consecutive Final Four trip for the Spartans (28-8), the state of Michigan should still be pleasantly shocked to find them there. Michigan State has walked on the borderline of survival in every round to reach these instances, having won its four games by an average of 3.25 points. Clutchness and healthy doses of guards Korie Lucious and Durrell Summers have done the trick. They have the Spartans feeling they can go from 2009 runner-ups to 2010 champions despite their major underdog status.

However, when it comes to underdogs, no team barks louder than the Bulldogs of Butler (32-4). Fans are growing either hopeful or tired of hearing about how this team’s run is not unlike that of the Hickory team from the “Hoosiers” movie, the story of a small-town Indiana high school squad that wins the state championship — my apologies if I ruined the movie for anyone.

The similarities are there. Butler is also from Indiana and plays in the mid-major Horizon League. Adding to that, the Bulldogs have pulled their set of upsets to get to the Final Four. They beat their region’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds — Syracuse and Kansas State, respectively — to get a shot at the title while playing in their home state.

As it’s been the case all tournament long, swingman Gordon Hayward will be key for Butler, not just because of his team-leading scoring but because of his rebounding. The sophomore will need to set a tone on the glass and hope his teammates follow. Michigan State is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and extra possessions could be the difference. The Spartans, for their part, must take Butler’s playing-at-home spirit out right off the bat. And they shouldn’t rely on their crunch-time skills. Butler, which comes into the game having won 24 consecutive games, has been just as good in those instances this tournament.

Whichever squad remains alive after the underdog-off will have to face a powerhouse in the championship game. Duke (33-5), thought by many to be the most vulnerable No. 1 Tournament seed, is the only No. 1 seed to make it to the Final Four. The “Big Three,” guards Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith and forward Kyle Singler, combine for about 70 percent of the Blue Devils’ total scoring and has carried Duke past every team it was supposed to beat. Now, however, Duke, a team that relies heavily on three-point shooting, will face its biggest offensive test against a lengthy West Virginia (31-6) squad that forced another No. 1 seed, Kentucky, into misfiring on 28-of-32 three-point attempts in their Elite Eight match.

The Mountaineers not only are long and effective zone defenders but also feature one of the most exciting players in the field: forward Da’Sean Butler. Butler hasn’t needed to hit any big shots this post-season as West Virginia hasn’t had any major scares during its run, but Butler is one bad dude when called upon, as proven by his two game-winners in the Big East Tournament. He and forward Devin Ebanks are the Mountaineers’ main offensive weapons.

Smith is the guy for Duke. His ability to break down defenses and create, along with his reliable jump shot, could have West Virginia scrambling out of their zone defense rather early. The Blue Devils are an outstanding shooting team, and the Mountaineers might not have a choice but to play them man-to-man. How West Virginia adjusts to Duke’s shooting ability will be the deciding factor. And it would also help the Mountaineers if they could make a couple of shots. Defense is what’s gotten them this far, but they’re the worst shooting team remaining. West Virginia has shot less than 42 percent in all of their tournament wins.

Because of its underdog of underdogs’ status, Butler is the team that seemingly everyone wants to win it all, especially because the Bulldogs are playing in front of their home crowd. Michigan State will be a tough rival, but these teams are evenly-matched. Meanwhile, on the other side, Duke will need a good shooting day to get past the Mountaineers, who will pray for an average shooting day to help them get back to the championship game for the first time since 1959. It should be fun.

Predictions that will probably be completely wrong: Butler and Duke advance. And Duke wins it all.

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.

Duke: Blue Devils Don’t Get Enough Credit

In recent years, the two teams that bookend Tobacco Road have garnered so much national praise that by March, many college basketball fans are reciting their ABCDs: Anybody But Carolina or Duke!

But this year has a different feel. North Carolina has suffered a full nuclear meltdown, and the ACC has only one representative in either poll: Duke. And for some reason, the Blue Devils don’t seem to be receiving much attention. However, in about six weeks in Indianapolis, the basketball nation will likely be wondering where in the world these Devils came from.

Entering the final week of February, Duke possesses the most potent offense in basketball with an efficiency rating of 123.6, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency statistics. To better appreciate Duke’s offensive prowess, consider that only 14 teams in the past six NCAA Tournaments have had an offensive efficiency rating of 123.0 or better. Nine of those 14 teams reached the Final Four, and four of them cut down the nets in the past five years. Of those 14 teams, only Wake Forest in 2005 failed to reach the Sweet 16, which can largely be attributed to a terrible defense that was ranked No. 72 in defensive efficiency.

The trio of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith runs Duke’s offensive juggernaut. As Ken Pomeroy’s team reports indicate, Scheyer is one of the most productive offensive players in the country. His statistics back up that rating: 18.9 points per game, 39.8 percent shooting from three-point range, 88.5 percent shooting from the free throw line and a better than 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Combined, the three lead Devils average 53.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, 10.6 assists and 3.9 steals per game. They each shoot better than 39 percent from three-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line.

Besides the big three, Duke has some key role players who can take the pressure off Singler, Smith and Scheyer. The Plumlee brothers, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek give coach Mike Krzyzewski more depth in the frontcourt than he’s had in years. The Blue Devils are perilously thin in the backcourt. But Scheyer and Smith show no signs of diminishing production despite averaging more than 35 minutes per game.

Duke also has a good shot at making a deep NCAA Tournament run because the team is  well balanced. Duke ranks No. 12 in defensive efficiency and is the second-best team in the nation at guarding the three-point line. That’s a critical skill to have in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, when many upset-minded teams use the three-point line to score in bunches.

The scary part about Duke is that the Blue Devils figure to be an even better, more balanced team next season. Duke has Stephen Curry’s baby brother, Seth, sitting on the bench as a sweet-shooting transfer from Liberty. Curry averaged 20.2 points per game and hit 102 three-pointers last season. In addition, Duke will add five-star recruit Kyrie Irving to provide more depth at point guard, and freshman guard Andre Dawkins will have one season of experience under his belt.

But these Blue Devils are focused on the present, with senior guard Scheyer prepared to lead Duke to the promised land of the Final Four for the first time since 2004. Unless this team runs out of steam in the next few weeks, only bad luck — meaning drawing Kansas in its bracket — will keep Duke out of Indianapolis.

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.

ACC Notebook – Starting the Conference Grind

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Arial Unicode MS”; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129279 0;} @font-face {font-family:”@Arial Unicode MS”; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129279 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; mso-hyphenate:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Arial Unicode MS”; mso-font-kerning:.5pt; mso-fareast-language:#00FF;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

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

Duke: Smith Ready to Go for Blue Devils

Sophomore point guard Nolan Smith will be available for Duke when the Blue Devils play Virginia Tech Jan. 4 in their ACC opener. Smith injured his knee while jumping for a rebound in Duke’s 92-51 win against Loyola, Md., on New Year’s eve. Smith averages 10.9 points and 2.3 assists per game for Duke

Blue Devils Blow Out Xavier in Return to New Jersey

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The last college basketball game in this building was played March of 2007. Even the name was different then; at the time it was Continental Airlines Arena. Currently, the arena goes by the name of Izod Center.

College ball returned on Saturday as Duke faced Xavier. Back on that March Sunday almost two years ago, we were treated to a game for the ages. Georgetown defeated North Carolina in overtime in the East Rutherford Regional championship. Leading up to Saturday’s clash, everyone expected a game of similar magnitude. It didn’t happen, as Duke triumphed 82-64 in convincing fashion.

Roughly two and a half minutes into the game, Duke had an 8-1 lead and Xavier coach Sean Miller called a time out to stop the bleeding and refocus his group. At the first media time outthe lead had expanded to 18-1.

“I told the team,” Miller said,” at this rate they’ll score 190.”

The Blue Devils didn’t continue scoring at that astronomical rate but it wasn’t far off. At the half Duke led 55-24. The ACC representatives thoroughly dominated, as in the first twenty minutes:

• Xavier had more turnovers (10) than field goals.
• Xavier’s top three scorers Derrick Brown, C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, combined for 14 points. Jon Scheyer of Duke had 16 alone.
• Xavier shot 33 percent from the floor while the Blue Devils scorched the nets at 62 percent.
• Xavier even shot a worse free throw percentage( 6 of 12 for 50%) than Duke’s field goal percentage.
• Duke also led under the boards with a 20-15 rebounding edge.

Xavier came out and scored the first seven points of the second half. Duke quickly answered and the final twenty minutes played out at a slower pace with the Blue Devils maintaining complete control.

If there was a silver lining for Miller and company it was their offensive execution the second half. The Musketeers shot 62 percent the final twenty minutes and committed only six turnovers. Offensively they ran their offense with better cohesion, a sense of purpose and results. Brown finished as Xavier’s high scorer with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. Scheyer led Duke with 23 points while Gerald Henderson added 19.

“I’m really happy it was a heck of a game,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Our defense was outstanding, we talked and on offense we got a lot of production on the wings and Brian Zoubek gave us another good game.” Zoubek, the seven-foot Blue Devil center, has improved and been a factor inside during the pe-conference portion of the season. Zoubek finished with nine points and added four blocks.

Krzyzewski noted that it was one of those games where his club played extremely well and Xavier had an extremely poor performance. “If we could bottle that first half we would be pretty darn good,” the Duke coach said partially in humor.

On a serious note, breakdowns of Xavier tapes revealed that the Musketeers like to trap hard on screens. Duke simply spread the offense out, relied on wider spacing and good ball movement. The passing was crisp and accurate as Duke committed only 11 turnovers. And the looks were there as evidenced by Scheyer’s 9-of-11 shooting which included 5-of-7 from three-point range.

“They put so much pressure on your defense,” Miller said of Duke. “They have four players out there that can put the ball on the floor and beat you off the dribble.” Miller also said Duke had Xavier on its heels, which contributed to the poor start.

Also, for some reason the Musketeers did not come out strong and struggled from the first possession, which ended in a turnover. “We came out with little confidence,” Miller said, adding, “we need at come out confidently and have our core players show the way.”

Notes

• The game attracted over 14,000 in attendance. Duke had a strong contingent on hand while Xavier matched with a good following as well.
• Miller was disappointed in Xavier’s performance but said, “If you told me back in August, win or lose this game , we would be 9-1, given our schedule, I would take it.”
• Krzyzewski noted the arena “has been a magical place for us.” The Duke mentor noted, “We tried to schedule a national game. Last year we played Pitt at the Garden. These games are beneficial because they seem like the NCAA. With the opposition and venue it just has that feel.”
• Duke improved to 10-1 with the lone loss at Michigan.

On The Baseline

Both schools brought bands and cheerleaders. My favorite shirt was from the Musketeer faithful which read, “Nothing can Xavier asses now”. Special mention goes to the Duke band, which played 80′s classic Rock Lobster.

Notes From the 2K Sports Classic

NEW YORK – The 2K Sports Classic to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer gave us some interesting insight. The coaches will tell you, and rightfully so, the season is a marathon not a sprint. Regardless, you want to start with a good rhythm and stride to weather the rough spots as the ‘race’ progresses.

Semifinals
Duke 83, Southern Illinois 58
Michigan 55, UCLA 52

Consolation
UCLA 77, Southern Illinois 60

Championship
Duke 71, Michigan 56

Duke – Claimed the championship but faced a challenge each night. The Blue Devils actually found the semifinal to be rather difficult. Southern Illinois battled gamely, enjoyed some early leads and kept within striking distance until ten minutes remained. At that point Duke went on a run to distance themselves from the Salukis.

“With Duke you know they will play hard, defend and take things away from you,” said Southern Illinois mentor Chris Lowery.

Duke received contributions both nights from sophomore Nolan Smith at the guard spot. Kyle Singler earned MVP honors with his 15-point, 8-rebound effort in the finals. Another bright spot, who can make inside play easier for Singler, was Brian Zoubek. The 7-1 junior center mixed it up inside and provided a nice presence on the blocks. His rebounding takes pressure off Singler inside. Zoubek also played a dual role against the Michigan zone, as he established himself down low and at times came high to receive a pass and look for cutters underneath.

Southern Illinois – If the game was 30 minutes, Chris Lowery’s club would have been in great condition. On both nights the Salukis were competitive and battling hard. Then the roof simply caved in and the respective contests each turned into a rout.

“We were tied with 8:48 to play,” Lowery said after the loss to UCLA. “For the second straight night we went into a meltdown. We missed assignments and had turnovers. We have some work to do to get there (put 40 minutes together).”

All was not lost for the Salukis, who left MSG 0-2. They earned respect of both opponents despite final scores that would suggest otherwise, and they showed some nice talent. Freshman point guard Kevin Dillard impressed and earned all-tournament honors. Carlton Fay, a 6-8 sophomore, operated inside and on the perimeter. Nick Evans, a 6-11 freshman, had a strong outing against Duke. And the nice thing about Lowery’s young talent, it will continue to get better and not leave Carbondale early for the NBA.

Michigan – Is there any doubt John Beilein is one of the best coaches in America? All the Michigan mentor does is prepare his teams extremely well and win, no matter where he is and with the same system he’s used through the coaching ranks. In the semifinals they gave UCLA fits with their 1-3-1 zone. The Bruins were guilty of 17 turnovers in that contest. Duke had more success against the 1-3-1 in the final. Still, Michigan was there. The problem was perimeter shots that fell in the semifinal, especially in the second half, did not against Duke. The looks were there for the Wolverines but the shooting percentage (35% against Duke) wasn’t.

Manny Harris was effective at the guard spot. DeShawn Sims, a 6-8 junior, is effective outside, in the paint and in transition. The Wolverines need someone to step up consistently to help the aforementioned pair. Freshman Stu Douglas shot well against UCLA (10 pts) but not against Duke(1 of 5 for 3 points).

UCLA – Ben Howland says this is a young team that has a ways to go. We believe him. They led by six in a slower paced game at the half against Michigan. The Wolverines then came out strong the second half, gained the lead in the stretch and closed it out.

For the Bruins Darren Collison was consistent both nights in the backcourt. Up front Alfred Aboya was relatively quiet against Michigan but came up big with a 22-point outing in the consolation. His contributions will be needed on a regular basis. Nikola Dragovic, a 6-9 junior, showed he’s not afraid to shoot, and hit, a few from the perimeter.

“This was a good experience for us,” Howland said following the consolation. “You are on the center stage at Madison Square Garden and we came off a long road trip.”

Collison hinted that the ultimate trip would be another Final Four.

“It’s a learning process where we want (the Final Four),” he said. “This is something we can learn from and build on.”

Other Notes

Preparation:  Back-to-back days in a tournament leave little time for preparation. John Beilein went over things Duke did, but focused more on his own team’s defensive and offensive execution. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski opted for a game day afternoon walk through.

“We prepare for all zones in pre-season,” Krzyzewski said. “The Michigan 1-3-1 is a little different so we came in (to MSG) and went over a few things for about an hour.”

It worked and their method of attack was evident from the first possession. The Blue Devils went inside to junior swingman Gerald Henderson (a threat in the paint or outside), and later attacked from the perimeter.

In the semis: Southern Illinois had 20 field goals to Duke’s 18 and lost by 25. A main reason was the charity stripe. Duke was 40-57 to the Salukis’ 12-19. Lowery took the high road in discussing the foul disparity, noting his team had themselves to blame.

“We didn’t help out and had poor defensive positioning especially the second half,” he said. “That is what got us into foul trouble.”

Beilein on the tournament: “We played four games and went 3-1 facing two top five teams. We are pleased. We (coaches) have young guys that learned a lot. We just have to put them in situations to get better.”

All-Tournament
Kyle Singler, Duke (MVP)
Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois
Darren Collison, UCLA
Manny Harris, Michigan
Gerald Henderson, Duke

On The Baseline

• The only school to bring a spirit group was UCLA, which brought 4 dance team members. Coach Molly Vehling was especially proud her alma mater, the one that traveled the farthest, was represented.   “Our kids (dance team) had a great time and saw a lot of New York,” Vehling said.  Following the consolation they took in Broadway. Which show? That’s easy: the Rockettes.
• A crowd of 12,453 attended the final.