Tag: ACC Basketball

Duke men’s basketball has most All-ACC Academic Team selections

Duke is known as an academic powerhouse as much as a basketball one, and the Blue Devils men’s basketball team showed the reputation is earned.

When people think of Duke, they consider the academic prowess and much as the five national titles in men’s basketball. After all, U.S. News just declared Duke the seventh-best college in the country.

The Blue Devils men’s basketball team showed they are more than just athletes on campus with their track records in the classroom. The ACC released its All-ACC Academic Team nominations for men’s basketball on Wednesday, and Duke led the way with eight players on the list.

All-American sophomore Kyle Filipowski, the 7-foot forward, made the list. He was joined by fellow starters Jared McCain and Tyrese Proctor. Teammates Jaylen Blakes, Ryan Young, Caleb Foster, Sean Stewart, and TJ Power.

Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest all had seven nominees, but no other team had eight. North Carolina had just a single nominee, graduate student Cormac Ryan.

Where Clemson ranks in way-too-early men’s college basketball Top 25 for 2024-25

NCAA Basketball: The Clemson Tigers placed in the top 15 of USA TODAY Sports’ way-too-early rankings for the 2024-25 men’s basketball season.

It’s been less than 24 hours since UConn was crowned as national champions for the second straight year after a resounding 75-60 win over Purdue at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Who knows what the college basketball landscape will look like in a few weeks, let alone in a few months? The transfer portal changes by the day, if not by the hour. See: Arizona’s Oumar Ballo, Wisconsin’s AJ Storr and Florida Atlantic’s Johnell Davis, just to name a few.

The coaching carousel has also yet to stop after former Kentucky coach John Calipari took the college sports world by storm when he bolted the Bluegrass State for SEC rival Arkansas.

There’s also players that could turn pro, as well as those that could opt in for a fifth college season by using their COVID-19 waiver. That includes Clemson’s PJ Hall and Chase Hunter.

Lots of (basket)balls are still up in the air, but that never stops sports minds from thinking far in advance. To that end, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, and Eddie Timanus have put together their way-too-early Top 25 rankings for the 2024-25 college basketball season.

In those rankings, Clemson checks in at No. 13 following the team’s run to the Elite Eight. The Tigers had their best season to date under coach Brad Brownell, beating New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona to reach the West Regional final of the NCAA Tournament against Alabama.

Per Myerberg, Smith and Timanus:

“A repeat of the Tigers’ journey to the Elite Eight will be a challenge, but a number of the key players could be back if they choose to use their extra year. That group includes standout postman P.J. Hall, as well as guard Chase Hunter and reserve forward Jack Clark. Joseph Girard III is gone, but Ian Schieffelin, voted the ACC’s most improved player in 2023-24, is also slated to return.”

Clark recently entered the transfer portal but could opt to return to Clemson if he doesn’t find a better fit to his liking.

The Tigers’ non-conference schedule is a long way from being set, but their ACC schedule was announced in late February. Clemson will host Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and conference newcomers Cal and Stanford at Littlejohn Coliseum in 2024-25.

The Tigers will travel to NC State, Virginia, Miami, Louisville, Pitt, Boston College, and SMU for road games. They’ll also face three schools at both home and away: Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

NC State’s Final Four run continues recent stretch of ACC dominance in NCAA Tournament

The Atlantic Coast Conference has found success in the Final Four with the latest run from NC State.

It’s going to be weird watching the Final Four with no UNC in it, but we’ll be fine.

Thursday’s loss to Alabama was certainly heartbreaking, but there’s no denying that what North Carolina did was special. The Tar Heels missed the NCAA Tournament entirely last year, came back with a majority of the same players and won their first, outright ACC Regular Season Title since 2016.

Right now, college basketball’s attention (UNC fans, too) has turned to rival NC State.

The Wolfpack wouldn’t be playing in the Final Four if it weren’t for Michael O’Connell’s game-tying, buzzer-beating shot in the ACC Tournament Semifinal against UVA. Cavaliers guard Isaac McKneely bricked the front end of a one-and-one, NC State pushed it up court, then O’Connell drained an insane attempt.

The Wolfpack later won that game in overtime, downed North Carolina in the ACC Championship and now sport a 9-game winning streak. They’ll be playing the Zach Edey-led Purdue Boilermakers in the Final Four on Saturday, April 6 at 6:09 p.m. ET

With NC State’s win over Duke, it became the fifth different ACC program to reach a Final Four in the past five NCAA Men’s Tournaments.

Please excuse sports blogger Danny Neckel’s typo in the post. He even has some fun with it in the comment thread.

Miami represented the ACC last year, making its first Final Four appearance in school history. UNC and Duke, two of the conference’s premier programs, did the same in 2022. No ACC program made the Final Four in 2021, COVID cancelled the 2020 Big Dance, while UVA won it all in 2019.

I rarely root for NC State, but how can you not fall in love with them when they’re led by DJ Burns, who has unofficially become America’s Sweetheart?

The Wolfpack’s bruising, Shaq-esque center already has two 20-point games in the NCAA Tournament, including a 29-point explosion on Easter against Duke. When Burns isn’t terrorizing opponents on the court, he’s smiling and acting as NC State’s fun-loving, big-hearted hero.

Will the Wolfpack be able to continue their Cinderella run against Purdue?

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

 

Alabama vs. UNC in Sweet 16 could be highest-scoring March Madness game

Two electric teams that can put up points? Sign us up! See why some experts believe Alabama and North Carolina could combine for a March Madness game to remember.

In a Sweet 16 matchup that many expect to be electric, No. 4 seed Alabama takes on No. 1 seed North Carolina. March Madness games are always very unpredictable, though some will still try to come up with some bold projections.

One prediction that is making the rounds now has to do with the scoring ability of both teams. Could it be possible that this game sets a new all-time March Madness record for the most points scored in a single game? Let’s break it all down.

USA TODAY college basketball experts Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith and Eddie Timanus go as far as saying this contest “will require a second official scorer,” because of how many points there could be.

“OK, this may be a bit of exaggeration. But given the pace that the Crimson Tide love to play at and the ability of the Tar Heels to thrive in an open-court environment, we could be looking at one of the highest-scoring games of the tournament Thursday. Alabama has scored at least 90 points in eight games since the start of February. It has allowed at least 88 nine times in the same span. Don’t expect Alabama coach Nate Oats to go conservative now that the stakes of the tournament have gotten higher. Just sit back and watch the wildness unfold.”

The highest-scoring game in March Madness history was a 1990 round of 32 upset when No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount defeated No. 3 seed Michigan with a final score of 149-115, for a combined total of 264 points. It has the lead by a comfortable margin, with the second-highest-scoring game only having a total of 234 points.

Alabama’s first-round win over Charleston had enough total points to make it the thirteenth-highest-scoring game in March Madness history with a total of over 205.

Let’s face it, the Crimson Tide’s biggest weakness all season has been a lack of defense. In the team’s first two games, Alabama has played spectacular defense, but will that last? If not, it opens the door for the Tar Heels to put up some serious points.

This Sweet 16 contest features the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation (Alabama) and the No. 20 scoring offense (UNC), while also featuring two defenses that aren’t necessarily the strongest.

North Carolina has allowed an average of 70 points per game, which has the Tar Heels ranked No. 70 in the nation. Compared to the Crimson Tide’s rank of No. 345, North Carolina might as well be a brick wall in front of the hoop. Alabama has allowed a whopping 80.9 points per game this season.

Is it likely that a new record is set? Far from it. However, there’s a great chance we see the highest-scoring game of this year’s tournament and possibly have a new entry in the top 10 highest-scoring March Madness games of all time.

Neither team will have this in mind. All that matters is scoring more points than the other team, staying alive, and moving on to the Elite Eight.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

USA Today praises the ACC’s effort in NCAA Tournament

UNC, Duke, NC State and Clemson are all still alive heading into the Sweet 16. What about the “down year?”

For a “down year,” the ACC is faring pretty well in the NCAA Tournament.

The ACC, which we’ll always argue is college basketball’s deepest conference, sent just four teams to the Big Dance. UVA being in over Pitt was a joke (see Colorado State game for example), but there was an argument for more conference teams (Syracuse, Wake Forest).

Heading into the Sweet 16, four ACC teams are still alive: NC State, Clemson, Duke and our beloved North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Wolfpack are continuing their torrid run through the ACC Tournament, which includes downing UNC in the title game. Duke has shaken off any notions of being a “choker.” Clemson looks like the early-season version of itself, while North Carolina has beaten Wagner and Michigan State comfortably.

Check out what the USA Today had to say about the ACC’s early dominance in the Big Dance:

“It’s been an epically successful tournament for the ACC,” USA Today’s Paul Myerberg wrote. “The conference is 8-1 overall and has four teams in the Sweet 16 in No. 1 UNC, No. 4 Duke, No. 6 Clemson and No. 11 N.C. State. The one loss for the ACC came from No. 10 Virginia in the play-in round, giving the league a perfect record in the first and second rounds. The four Sweet 16 bids are the most for the ACC since 2019 and come after having just one last March and a combined six across the past three tournaments. In addition, all three of the Tar Heels, Blue Devils and Wolfpack are in the Sweet 16 for just the third time, joining 2005 and 2015.”

If all goes well Thursday, UNC and Clemson will play in the Elite 8 Saturday. If NC State and Duke take care of business Friday, they’ll face off Sunday.

Quite a “down year,” right?

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

ACC gets four teams in Sweet 16 of March Madness, most of any conference

The ACC makes up 25% of the Sweet 16 field after the conference went 8-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Two months ago, to the exact week, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the ACC as a three-bid conference.

Now, the ACC won all eight of its games in the first two rounds to send four teams to the Sweet 16. The only ACC team that lost was Virginia, which fell in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

The conference’s 8-0 record is tied for the best conference mark in the history of the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s Bryan Ives. The last time a conference won its first eight games was in 2003 when the Big East went 8-0.

The 4-seed Duke Blue Devils took down Vermont in the First Round and then James Madison after Jared McCain hit eight 3-pointers to push and keep them dancing.

The 1-seed North Carolina Tar Heels faced a minor scare against Michigan State before pulling away to comfortably defeat them and advance to the next round.

The NC State Wolfpack kept its Cinderella run going as an 11-seed after taking down Texas Tech and Oakland, the latter of which they beat in overtime, to be the lowest remaining seed in March.

Finally, the Clemson Tigers roared to a massive win against New Mexico before upsetting Baylor in the second round to ensure the ACC made up 25% of the Sweet 16 field.

Even further, the three schools in the triangle —Duke, NC State, and UNC — all made the Sweet 16 for the fifth time ever and the first time since 2015.

Each year this trifecta has happened, one of the North Carolina schools made the Final Four. The last time it happened, Duke won the national championship.

NC State’s win over Texas Tech and Clemson’s win over Baylor also improved the ACC’s record against the Big 12 this season to 11-3.

Although the conference only managed to secure five bids into the NCAA Tournament, they’ve made the most of them in a strong reminder of where the conference stands among the nation’s best.

Notre Dame guard Alex Wade to enter transfer portal

It just didn’t work out for him athletically with the Irish.

Alex Wade was one of the few returning players for Notre Dame this past season. Despite this and receiving a scholarship, he still wasn’t able to crack the rotation. Having already received his degree from the university, he has decided to enter the transfer portal, which opened up earlier this week. Here’s his official announcement that he posted to social media:

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Wade’s Irish career consisted of 13 games over two seasons. He missed all five field-goal attempts and only cracked the scoring column with one free throw against Southern Indiana last season and two more in a loss to Marquette this past season. His last appearance came in the Irish’s blowout defeat March 5 at North Carolina.

It’s unfortunate that Wade’s basketball aspirations didn’t work out for the Irish, and he can’t be blamed for taking his talents elsewhere with all of that eligibility remaining. Hopefully, his next stop turns out a lot better athletically.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

2024 NCAA Tournament: Colorado State Blows Out Virginia 67-42

Colorado State came into this game with something to prove and they did so in dominate fashion over the Virginia Cavaliers.

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Colorado State Blows Out #10 Virginia 67-42

The Rams made a statement for the Mountain West

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

CSU leaves their mark.

The entire basketball community said the Mountian West was underseeded in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The committee basically said prove it. And the Colorado State Rams took that personally. They came into Dayton on a mission and walked out with a giant confidence gaining 67-42 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

First Half

The game started out in typical Virginia fashion with the under 16 timeout having a score of Virginia 4 – Colorado State 2. Then Isaiah Stevens made a three, one of just two field goals in the game for him, to give the Rams the lead for the rest of the game. Joel Scott, Nique Clifford, and Patrick Cartier led the way for the Rams in the first half offensively. The Rams shot 50% from the floor and 43% from three, which against a Virginia defense is fantastic.

The real story of the first half was Virginia’s shooting. It was part just missing shots and part CSU defense. Virginia went almost an hour of real time with out scoring a point. Reece Beekman made a free throw with 9:20 left on the clock in the first half and they didn’t score again until Beekman made a jump shot at the 16:37 mark of the second half. A 12:43 stretch of no points for the Cavaliers.

Second half

You would think Virginia would do better in the second half and they did. It’s just Colorado State continued to dominate the game. Anytime the Cavaliers went on a run, the Rams came right back. Reece Beekman was able to get to the line more in the second half which pushed his point total into double digits, but the Rams were able to hold everyone else to seven or less points.

Nique Clifford and Joel Scott both came away with double-doubles, with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 23 points, 11 rebounds respectively.  The Rams made all the necessary plays even without Isaiah Stevens having a large impact. He drew Virginia’s toughest defender and was held to just five points, but he chipped in six rebounds and four assists.

Final thoughts

This was just a great performance from a Rams team that definitely need this type of performance after the past few months. They also fired a shot at the commitee for underseeding the Mountain West like they did. Everyone was watching and it became the talk of the sports world on twitter.

Some fun facts from Reddit, courtesy of u/longconsilver13:

  • UVA had 42 points and 42 missed field goals.
  • UVA over 40 minutes only outscored second half Colorado State by just 2 points.
  • If we take out Colorado State’s highest scorer, they still win by 2.
  • UVA scored 12 points fewer than their NET ranking.
  • And one from u/morrisjr1989, CSU had more rebounds than Virginia had points (CSU had 43 rebounds).

Next UP

The Rams now travel to Charlotte to face the Texas Longhorns and a couple familiar faces. Former Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry is the Longhorns head coach and the Rams will see former Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas as well.

This will be a matchup of two very similar teams and almost a complete opposite game from the Virginia game. If you look at the stats, both teams are very similar across the board. The other player to watch for Texas is Dylan Disu, the 6’9″ 225lbs forward is shooting 50% from three. So this will be a fun one.

Thursday, March 21st 4:50 pm MT in Charlotte vs #7 Texas

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

[protected-iframe id=”f7652191f99ba13728097498e8a79cd8-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/show/48681pqFq0kB9dhrtPPoNd” width=”100%” height=”232″ frameborder=”0″]

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Virginia vs. #10 Colorado State: Game Preview, How To Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Virginia Cavaliers face off with the Colorado State Rams in a First Four matchup. Here’s what to look out for.

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Virginia vs. #10 Colorado State: Game Preview, How To Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Rams and Cavaliers face off in the First Four

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

Can the Rams move on?

WHO: #10 Virginia Cavaliers (23-10) vs. #10 Colorado State Rams (24-10)

WHEN: Wednesday, March 19th — 7:10 p.m. MST / 6:10 p.m. PST

WHERE: UD Arena; Dayton, OH (13,409)

TV: TruTV

STREAM: Max will be carrying the entire NCAA Tournament

SERIES RECORD: This will be the first ever matchup between the two schools.

ODDS: Colorado State -2.5

It’s not the expected First Four matchup, but we’re here now. Colorado State was not predicted to be the final team in the tournament and Virginia was not predicted to be in the tournament at all. Now both squads face off to send themselves to the first round.

Colorado State finished 7th in the Mountain West and lost to New Mexico in the Mountain West semi-finals. Virginia finished 3rd in the ACC and lost to NC State in the ACC semi-finals. Both squads lost to the eventually tournament champions.

Players to Watch

F Jacob Groves – Virginia

The senior forward form Spokane, WA will be a player for the Rams to key on on defense. Groves is a 6’9″ forward who isn’t afraid to let it fly from deep (He has three or more attempted threes in 20 out 33 games for Virginia). Limiting Groves from deep will be a big factor for CSU.

F Joel Scott – Colorado State

The former D2 Player of the Year has stepped up in a big way for the Rams at the end of the season. Since a defeat to San Diego State in February, Scott has been averaging 16.4 points on 58.7% shooting from the floor. His inside game has been key for the Rams since they’ve struggled from the outside in conference play.

Keys to the Game

Virginia

Limiting the Rams open looks and keeping them on the outside will be the keys on defense for Virginia. The Cavaliers defense is one of the best in the nation, but the CSU offense is one of the best at ball movement. If Virginia wants to play on Thursday, they’ll have to stay consistent the entire game.

On offense, the Cavaliers need to keep the Rams moving. CSU’s defense doubles the post a decent amount which leaves 4 on 3 for the offense. This causes the Rams to rotate to cover the open man and they have a tendency to overrun their rotation leaving a wide open shot or cut to the basket.

Colorado State

Wait for your shot. The Virginia defense allows for ball rotation and the CSU Princeton-style offense wants to keep the ball moving back and forth. The Cavaliers defense is suffocating, so the Rams can’t force a shot like they have been. They need to be patient and get inside looks.

When CSU is on defense, it’s a similar story. Virginia plays at the slowest tempo in the NCAA. This can lull teams to sleep at times. So the Rams will need to maintain their patience and cover their man until they get the ball back on offense.

Predictions

This one will be a dog fight. CSU has the better offense and Virginia has the better defense. The Rams have been doing damage inside and win when they do so. The Cavaliers smothering defense will keep this close. This could come down to the last couple minutes, but the Rams will use that chip on their shoulder to come out on top.

Final Score: Colorado State 62, Virginia 57

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

[protected-iframe id=”f7652191f99ba13728097498e8a79cd8-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/show/48681pqFq0kB9dhrtPPoNd” width=”100%” height=”232″ frameborder=”0″]

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of March 17

No Notre Dame players.

The NCAA Tournament officially is here with five ACC teams among those seeking a national championship. The ACC particularly drew attention from the rest of the country after No. 10 seed NC State won the conference tournament for the first time since 1987. Strangely, no one on the Wolfpack concluded the ACC season as a leader in any of the major statistical categories. Some are going to March Madness though, and here they are: