In Sunday's ACC action, Miami beat NC A&T 95-64, State took down Cincinnati, 85-77, and Wake Forest won the only conference game of the day, beating Virginia Tech, 77-75.
Wake had a pretty sensational comeback, a rough equivalent of Duke's Gone In 54 Seconds in College Park. The Deacs ripped off eight points in 82 seconds to tie the game at 77 with 48.5 on the clock. Ishmael Smith hit the winner with 0.6.
ACC Standings | ||||
Boston College | 1-0 | 1.000 | 8-2 | .800 |
Wake Forest | 1-0 | 1.000 | 8-3 | .727 |
Miami | 0-0 | .000 | 12-0 | 1.000 |
North Carolina | 0-0 | .000 | 11-0 | 1.000 |
Clemson | 0-0 | .000 | 10-1 | .909 |
Duke | 0-0 | .000 | 10-1 | .909 |
Virginia | 0-0 | .000 | 9-2 | .818 |
Florida State | 0-0 | .000 | 10-4 | .714 |
NC State | 0-0 | .000 | 6-3 | .667 |
Georgia Tech | 0-0 | .000 | 5-5 | .500 |
Virginia Tech | 0-1 | .000 | 6-5 | .545 |
Maryland | 0-1 | .000 | 6-6 | .500 |
Don't be surprised if A.D. Vassallo gets a bit of a breather: with the game on the line, with Wake in a furious comeback, he quickly fired up an ill-advised three pointer and got an earful from Seth Greenberg, who was infuriated by the bad decision.
Greenberg was in a bad mood for much of the night, apparently. He got a T in the first half for arguing with Ted Valentine, who, according to this story, said âIâve had it up to here with you. Iâm fed up with you. Iâve had enough of you already. Iâve been trying to talk to you and [you] wonât listen.â
And then he hit him with the T.
After the game, he complained about Chas McFarland, saying that "[it]t was like a fullback in front of him (Chas McFarland) leading the way," Greenberg said. "We're trying to get around him and McFarland's just running right up the middle of the court. .... You can't even see Ish Smith when he's running behind McFarland. I'm not sure if that's a moving screen or not."
It might have been a moving screen, but it was an unmoving whine. You can't complain too much when your team falls apart.
Given that the Hokies are now 6-5, and are bound to have had their confidence shaken by giving up 10 points at the end of a game, Greenberg's greatest challenge at the moment might just be getting his kids back to playing with confidence.
For Wake, after that, if they don't have confidence after that comeback, they deserve to lose. But they're not losing. Dino Gaudio has them playing very well heading into conference play.
Miami blew NC A&T, 95-64, after going up 17-0, despite playing without Jack McClinton for a few minutes, since he forgot to put his jersey on and had to go back to the locker room to get it.
Other than that brain fart, Miami played well, and is playing well overall. They're 12-0 and as a team, they appear to be Getting It.
N.C. State beat Cincinnati, 85-77, but it doesn't mean as much as it would have a few years ago when Cincinnati was a powerhouse. Or State, for that matter.
There's a growing sense coming from The School Formerly Known as The ACC's Alaska (Maryland, in other words) that the wheels might be about to fall off. Check out this article from the Washington Times - the writer seems ready to call it a season already.
If the other ACC teams start to smell blood in the water, then, indeed, fearing the turtle will be over, at least for a time. And if the local media gets their gander up, things could get ugly.
- Smith jumper caps Deacs comeback
- Smith's buzzer-beater lifts Demon Deacons
- Hokies drop to Wake Forest 77-75
- McClinton leads Miami past NC A&T
- Maryland reaches new low
- Illinois continues its mastery over Mizzou
- Smith jumper caps comeback, leads Wake Forest past Virginia Tech
- Deacs handle Hokies
- Miami extends its hot start
- Canes still perfect after rout
- Deacons demonize Hokies
- Stunning Reversal: WFU wins 77-75 after a late surge
- N.C. State holds off Cincinnati
- Terrapins âjust stink right nowâ
- Wake Forest gets early Christmas present
- Cincinnati cries foul in loss at N.C. State
- Game Bearcats drop 5th straight
Wolfpack prevails in bruising matchup