No great surprises on Sunday as State fell at Virginia 78-60, and Wake went down in the Dean Dome, 89-73.
| ACC Standings | ||
| North Carolina | 11-2 | 27-2 |
| Duke | 10-2 | 23-3 |
| Clemson | 7-5 | 19-7 |
| Maryland | 7-6 | 17-11 |
| Virginia Tech | 7-6 | 16-11 |
| Miami | 6-6 | 19-7 |
| Wake Forest | 6-6 | 16-10 |
| Florida State | 5-8 | 16-12 |
| Georgia Tech | 4-7 | 11-14 |
| Boston College | 4-8 | 13-12 |
| NC State | 4-9 | 15-12 |
| Virginia | 3-9 | 13-12 |
State had 25 turnovers, 17 in the first half, and moved closer to the bottom of the conference. In the up-and-down world of playing time, Brandon Costner got 26 and shot 4-6.
State turned the ball over four time in a row in the first half - twice. Early in the second half, UVa was up 50-23.
Sean Singletary, who was playing after going home to mourn a murdered friend - he says eleven of his friends have been murdered, a surreal concept for many of us - had seven steals. Your heart has to break when you hear that - eleven friends murdered!
UVa also held J.J. Hickson to seven points.
Ben McCauley had 12 boards which was just about the only bright spot for State. He also had five turnovers.
That's just an awful performance.
Quite the opposite in Chapel Hill: we wrote earlier that when a team has serious injury problems it can either cripple them or make them better. At this point, it's hard to argue that it's crippled UNC, and they can afford to let Ty Lawson take as much time as he wants to get better.
Quentin Thomas, for the first time in his career, has become an asset, and adversity has pushed Tyler Hansbrough to an insanely high level.
His boards were down a bit against Wake (only five), but he had 29 points. On the down side for the Heels, they had 20 turnovers, but clearly it wasn't enough to make a difference for Wake.
UNC moves a half game ahead of Duke with the win.
It wouldn't be any great shock to see Leonard Hamilton get some major heat after this season, or Paul Hewitt, either. Both have been pretty inconsistent lately. But are Maryland fans prepared to turn on Gary Williams? Most interesting.
Just for fun, let's imagine this job in the hands, of, oh, say John Calipari or Rick Pitino. Things would change rather quickly, no?
- Singletary's defense carries Cavs
- With a Heavy Heart, Singletary Delivers
- METHODICAL: UNC's game isn't pretty, but gets job done
- Achilles' Heel: Fast break sinks Deacs
- Cavaliers roll past slumping Wolfpack
- Tar Heels bound to league lead
- Unfair to compare: Demon Deacons have their own concerns
- Tar Heels surge past Wake