ACC Roundup

Given their excellent start, a loss to Georgia Southern was a bit of a surprise for Virginia Tech. But it wasn't nearly as surprising as ECU giving Carolina a tough game.

Most of you know the relative virtues of the two programs: one hangs title and Final Four banners; the other hangs on and hopes for a winning season.

ECU is competitive with the Big Four in football, but not really in basketball. They have one win over State; we're not sure about Duke and Wake Forest.

Generations of North Carolinians have been raised - conditioned - to know that ECU and UNC are on different planets.

Not Saturday. Although UNC won, it didn't feel very good to Ol' Roy Williams:

“I got more frustrated perhaps today than I have in a long time. Looked down at the stat sheet and no post player got an offensive rebound in the entire game.”

Not only that, UNC gave up 61 points in the second half  - to E-C-U. The Pirates shot nearly 53% in the second half.

Reggie Bullock, who has already had some pointed comments during the season, said this:

“I don’t feel like we have everyone all in yet, not worrying about individual stats, but just worrying about how far this team can go...Like I know this is a big year for me but it’s not about me, it’s about my team succeeding. If our team, succeeds everything will work out for itself.”

And James Michael McAdoo said Ol' Roy said this:

Not a glorious day for UNC.

Richard Howell continues to excel in his final season, scoring 12 points and pulling down 19 rebounds in State's 22 point win over Norfolk State.  That's pretty damn impressive.

Lorenzo Brown shot 7-8 from the floor and had seven assists along with four steals.

Tony Warren was 9-11 for 21 points.

CJ Leslie was the outlier with 11 points, six turnovers and just three rebounds.

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State wasn't all that far off (57.4%) from doubling Norfolk State's shooting percentage (32.8%).

Clemson's defense continues to shine: the Tigers held FAMU to 31.8% from the floor in an easy 23 point win.  Milton Jennings had 11 boards and seven points, while fellow senior Devin Booker had 12 points and seven boards. Their losses are respectable: an eight pointer to Gonzaga, 12 points to Purdue, and until Arizona shook loose to win by 12, Clemson was right in that game. We have no idea what will happen when they get into conference play, but defense will take you a long way.

It's worth pointing out that Clemson plays at UNC this year, and if the Heels continue to struggle, defense may carry the day.

Virginia Tech has been so far ahead of expectations that you can't really begrudge them a bad game, which is exactly what they got against Georgia Southern.

Erick Green and Jarrell Eddie, who have been Virginia Tech's Dyamic Duo, continued that role, with Green racking up 28 and Eddie 21. But big man Cadarian Raines didn't score and grabbed just three boards while guard Robert Brown had just four points.

The Hokies need to bounce back fast: they get Bradley, BYU and Maryland in their next three games.

Only one game on Sunday as B.C. hosts New Hampshire. The less said the better.