Tag: acc standings

ACC basketball tournament seedings as of today

Could it get any better for the Irish than this?

We’re quickly approaching the end of college basketball’s regular season which means conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament are just around the corner.

In what has been an epic turnaround for Notre Dame under Mike Brey, the Fighting Irish are within shouting distance of winning an ACC regular season title.  Now that would likely requiring winning their final three contests of the regular season (vs. Georgia Tech, at Florida State, vs. Pitt) and would mean Duke has to lose one of their remaining three as well, all of which the Blue Devils will likely be heavy favorites in (at Syracuse, at Pitt, vs. North Carolina).

It would require work and a little help for the Irish to pull it off but hey, stranger things have happened.

As for where Notre Dame sits in the conference standings, the two-seed certainly wouldn’t be all that bad.  Entering the weekend the ACC Tournament would look as follows:

Getting on the other side of the bracket than Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest and only having to to play one of Miami or Virginia would be about as good as Notre Dame could possibly ask for.  It certainly wouldn’t be a free path to the final but it would be as good of situation as Notre Dame could hope for.

The ACC schedule this weekend is as follows:

North Carolina at North Carolina State – 2 p.m. ET
Virginia Tech at Miami – 3 p.m. ET
Clemson at Boston College – 3 p.m. ET
Florida State at Virginia – 4 p.m. ET
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame – 5 p.m. ET
Duke at Syracuse – 6 p.m. ET
Louisville at Wake Forest – 7 p.m. ET

 

ACC Basketball: ND’s Wesley earns more hardware

Notre Dame star walks away with more ACC hardware…

Release from Notre Dame Athletics:

University of Notre Dame men’s basketball freshman Blake Wesley has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced on Monday, January 10, 2022. Wesley helped power the Irish through a 2-0 week in ACC play, defeating North Carolina 78-73 at home then claiming a 72-68 overtime victory at Georgia Tech.

In the two games, Wesley averaged 20 points per game, 4 assists, 3.5 steals and 2 assists.

The South Bend, Indiana, native set the tone for Notre Dame in the victory over North Carolina, sparking a 12-2 run in the first half, highlighted by a steal and slam to give the Irish a 10-point lead with 9:21 remaining.

Wesley finished the first half against North Carolina with 13 points, eventually finishing the contest with 18 points and a career-high four steals.

Down in Atlanta, Wesley would end up logging a career-high 40 minutes in the overtime victory, pouring in a game-high 22 points with seven rebounds and three steals. He made a series of clutch plays down the stretch of the game, none bigger than his three-point field goal with 1:08 remaining that erased a two-point Georgia Tech lead and eventually pushed the game into overtime.

The award is the second ACC weekly freshman award that Wesley has earned this season. He was also named ACC Freshman of the Week on Monday, December 13.

Entering this week’s action, Wesley is second in the ACC (14.3) in true freshman scoring, fifth among major conference true freshmen and 14th among all Division I rookies.

ACC Roundup – Week 5 Results

What happened in the ACC on Saturday? Get caught up extremely quickly right here!

For the second week in a row Notre Dame was on the sidelines, this time a pre-determined bye week, but that didn’t stop the ACC from having a plenty entertaining week.

What happened this weekend?

A quick summary from each game:

Friday, October 2:

Wake Forest 66 Campbell 14
The 66 points the Demon Deacons scored against the Camels tied the school record for highest point total since WWII with their 66 point output against Virginia in 1975.  The non-conference win was Wake Forest’s first of any kind so far in 2020.

Saturday, October 3:

NC State 30 No. 24 Pitt 29
Quarterback Devin Leary led the Wolfpack on not one, but two lengthy fourth quarter drives to regain the lead against a strong Pitt defensive front.  The second wrapped with under a minute left and moved NC State to 2-1 on the year while Pitt fell to 3-1.

No. 12 North Carolina 26 Boston College 22
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec led the Eagles on a last-minute drive to get within two points but his pass was intercepted and returned for two by Carolina as the Tar Heels escaped Chestnut Hill with a win after not playing a single game in the last three weeks.

Virginia Tech 38 Duke 31
The Hokies were without 21 different players on Saturday and saw starting quarterback Braxton Burmeister complete just 9 of 25 attempts on the day but Khalil Herbert ran for 208 yards and two scores for the Hokies as they got out of Durham with a win and 2-0 record while Duke fell to 0-4.

Florida State 41 Jacksonville State 24
Florida State actually trailed this game 14-0 at one point and 21-14 at halftime before outscoring the upstart Gamecocks squad, 27-3 in the second half.  The win was the first of the season for Florida State.

No. 1 Clemson 41 Virginia 23
Trevor Lawrence was outstanding again as he went 25/38 for 326 yards and three touchdowns in the rematch of last season’s ACC Championship Game.

Related: 10 Takeaways from College Football Week 5

Next week’s ACC Schedule:
Louisville at Georgia Tech
NC State at Virginia
Virginia Tech at North Carolina
Duke at Syracuse
Pitt at Boston College
Florida State at Notre Dame
Miami at Clemson

Upcoming Notre Dame opponent suddenly looking strong at 3-0

Notre Dame has long had trouble against Pitt. Now that October 24 trip to Heinz Field is only looking tougher as the season goes on.

If you look at Notre Dame’s most difficult regular season games in what wound up being the two most successful seasons under Brian Kelly, the Pitt Panthers have provided two of those.

In 2012 it took a stunning Notre Dame comeback just to force overtime before missed chip shot of a field by Pitt helped the Irish to their eventual victory.

In 2018 it was an upstart Pitt team that again came to South Bend and led the unbeaten Irish before a late rally kept the Notre Dame dreams of a College Football Playoff appearance alive.

Everyone in and around Notre Dame has circled November 7 against Clemson as the game of the year and understandably so, but three weeks into the season the trip to Pitt isn’t looking like it won’t come against a mediocre Panthers squad but instead a pretty good one.

The Panthers improved to 3-0 on the year Saturday as they handed Louisville their second straight loss, 23-20.

Pitt held Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham to just 9/21 passing for 107 yards and one touchdown while also forcing three interceptions.

The Pitt defense didn’t just handle the passing game though as the Cardinals gained just 116 yards on the ground and picked up only 10 first downs all afternoon.

Pat Narduzzi hasn’t put together a big season at Pitt yet and tough games at Miami, against Notre Dame and at Clemson are still ahead of them but despite having their best defensive player in lineman Jaylen Twymen opting out before the season, the Pitt defense has still been mighty impressive.

When October 24 gets here it’s not going to be the trap game some thought it’d be before the season, it’s going to instead be a road game against an incredibly capable foe.

ACC Tournament: Betting Odds

The most interesting bet on the board to me is Louisville at +340.

Tuesday night kicks off the 2020 ACC Tournament from Greensboro, North Carolina.  The four top seeds; Florida State, Virginia, Louisville and Duke all get a bye into the quarterfinals that begin Thursday but odds are out for all 14 ACC schools.

Per BetMGM, top-seeded Florida State enters the tournament as a +200 betting favorite.  For the inexperienced gamblers, that simply means for every dollar you risk betting Florida State to win it all, you’ll be rewarded with two dollars in winnings.  For instance – a ten dollar bet on Florida State would pay $30 ($20 in winnings and your $10 bet back).  Keep that in mind for the rest of the odds.

Duke may enter the tournament with the fourth seed but has the second best odds of winning at +240.  No. 3 Louisville (+340) and No.4 Virginia (+700) round out the teams with byes through the first and second rounds.

From there odds drop significantly as you’ll find No. 5 North Carolina State at +2500 while No. 6 Syracuse and No. 8 Clemson both pay +3300 odds.  After that is finally where you’ll find No. 7 Notre Dame at +4000 or 40-1 odds.

No. 14 North Carolina checks in at +5500 before No. 9 Miami and No. 13 Wake Forest at +10000.  No. 11 Virginia Tech has the second longest odds at +15000 while Notre Dame’s first round opponent, No. 10 Boston College has the longest odds on the board at +20000.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated 2/8 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The most interesting bet on the board to me is Louisville at +340.  They dropped two of their final three regular season contests and three of their final six but find themselves with plenty of talent and on the other side of the bracket than both Florida State and Duke, instead having a very-beatable despite good Virginia team on their side.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.” 

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Notre Dame Earns Senior Day Win Over Virginia Tech

Don’t expect Saturday’s win to be replayed on ESPN Classic anytime soon as the teams combined for 26 assists but 25 turnovers.

After a 2-6 start in ACC play things looked bleak for Notre Dame basketball in 2020. Although ultimate goals weren’t reached in the regular season and plenty of heartbreak was had in close calls, the regular season ended Saturday with a 64-56 Senior Day win over Virginia Tech. With the win Notre Dame finishes the regular season 19-12 overall and 10-10 in conference play.

Don’t expect Saturday’s win to be replayed on ESPN Classic anytime soon as the teams combined for 26 assists but 25 turnovers. The Irish and Hokies also combined to shoot under 40% from the floor.

With the rough there was still good, especially in the form of TJ Gibbs for Notre Dame as the senior guard led all scorers with 22 points.

John Mooney had a rare day that didn’t end with a double-double as he scored just seven points but pulled down 13 boards.

Notre Dame was in control virtually all afternoon and allowed just 17 first half points to Virginia Tech, who finishes the regular season 16-15 and 7-13 in ACC play.

With the win Notre Dame secures the seventh seed in the ACC Tournament and will be in action Wednesday when they play one of North Carolina, Boston College or Virginia Tech again.

Aside from running the table in the ACC Tournament it would appear Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish will be headed to the NIT for the second time in the last three seasons.

Notre Dame’s Small Chances at Dance Dashed by Deacons

Notre Dame had won seven of nine in conference play and gotten from just 2-6 in ACC play to 9-8 in conference play before this setback sent them back to .500 in league play at 9-9

It was a long shot at best entering Saturday afternoon that Notre Dame would hear their name called in a few weeks on Selection Sunday, but after an 84-73 loss at lowly Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon the Fighting Irish can start preparing for the possibility of an NIT berth.

Notre Dame had problems all afternoon in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the now 13-15 Wake Forest Demon Deacons scored over 40 points in both halves. Despite a fine effort from John Mooney who totaled yet another double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds, the Irish simply couldn’t slow down Wake Forest big man Olivier Sarr who put up 30 points in 32 minutes of action.

The Fighting Irish had been shooting better from beyond the arc but that hit the skids Saturday as they went just six of 22 (27.3%) from three. Conversely the Deacons made more (seven) while attempting far fewer (15) from three.

Notre Dame had won seven of nine in conference play and gotten from just 2-6 in ACC play to 9-8 in conference play before this setback sent them back to .500 in league play at 9-9. In an incredibly disappointing ACC top to bottom, Saturday’s loss against 14th place Wake Forest will certainly end their NCAA Tournament hopes with anything short of an unlikely ACC Tournament title.

Notre Dame returns to action Wednesday night as they will host Florida State, who is currently tied with Louisville atop the ACC standings with a 14-4 record.

Notre Dame vs. Boston College: A Betting Preview

The underdog has covered each of the last four times Notre Dame and Boston College have met up.

Notre Dame basketball has been playing better of late aside from one awful afternoon at Duke and has worked their way to .500 in ACC play at 8-8.  They haven’t however surpassed the .500 mark in conference play this season despite having a couple of chances to earlier this month before falling in road games against Duke and Virginia.

The Fighting Irish get another chance at getting over the .500 hump tonight as they’re in Boston College to take on an Eagles team who beat them back in December, 73-72 at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is listed as a 4.5 point favorite over the Eagles tonight with the total set at 142.  A successful Boston College money-line bet would pay +105.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USATODAY Sports Betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated February 26 at 4:05 p.m. ET

Boston College has had their own struggles this year as they enter tonight’s contest just 13-15 overall and 7-10 in conference play compared to Notre Dame’s 17-10 (8-8) mark.

Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ACC Network tonight.

A couple of notes for tonight’s game – reminder none of these guarantee a damn thing:
-Notre Dame guard TJ Gibbs is averaging 16.5 points per game his last two games, most notably making 9 of 14 three point attempts in those contests.
-Notre Dame is 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games.
-The underdog has covered each of the last four times Notre Dame and Boston College have met up.
-The road team has covered in each of the last four meetings between Notre Dame and Boston College.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

-Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw Wins Twitter on President’s Day

McGraw hasn’t won often in 2019-20, but on social media Monday night she was lights out.

When you think Muffet McGraw you think building a program from a near-nothing to a national powerhouse. You also probably think of a couple of national championship banners that hang in Purcell Pavilion and a bunch more Final Four appearances.

When you think Roy Williams you probably think somewhat the same in terms of men’s basketball as he holds a few national championships himself, is a legend in the game and has guided both Kansas and North Carolina to elite levels on an annual basis.

Except this year.

McGraw’s Notre Dame squad sits just 10-16 on the season and 5-9 in ACC play. Meanwhile Roy’s Tar Heels are an unheard of 3-11 in conference play entering Monday night.

McGraw didn’t shy away from the fact the two former champions are suffering through a couple of trying seasons.

You can call Muffet McGraw many things but perhaps more than anything, she’s self-aware.

Bonus points for mentioning Steve Kerr of the 12-43 Golden State Warriors, too.

McGraw hasn’t won often in 2019-20, but on social media Monday night she was lights out.

Notre Dame/North Carolina: Irish a Home Favorite

For what it’s worth (probably very little), Notre Dame has covered just once in their last eight games played on a Monday.

I know North Carolina is struggling this season and that Roy Williams pretty much told his team earlier this year that they were painful to watch, awful and every other negative adjective you could think.

I also know that that Tar Heels are just 9-15 since their opening night win over the Fighting Irish in November and have struggled mightily even with Cole Anthony (19.3 ppg) returning to the lineup.

But it’s still a rare day, or at least feels like one when Notre Dame is favored over North Carolina in basketball and that’s exactly what we have in the case of Monday night’s game.

Notre Dame is listed as a 2.5 point favorite over the Tar Heels tonight with the total set at 147.5.  A successful North Carolina money-line bet would pay +105.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USATODAY Sports Betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated February 17 at 11:15 a.m. ET

North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 76-65 to open the season on November 6 but has since struggled to a 10-15 overall record and a 3-11 ACC record, good for last place in the conference.

Notre Dame meanwhile enters 15-10 overall, 6-8 in conference and 12-3 on their home court this season.

Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN tonight.

For what it’s worth (probably very little), Notre Dame has covered just once in their last eight games played on a Monday.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

-Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.