Virginia beat Clemson by 37, but if it wasn't for bad luck they'd have no luck at all.
Come again?
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Well, after they finally found a quality young big man in Mike Tobey, Tobey came down with mono. He's out indefinitely, but mono in February means your season is basically over. Even if he does come back, he'll be depleted.
We remember watching Shavlik Randolph come back from mono against Maryland. Gary Williams just pounded it inside to a big stiff, ran as much as he could, waited for Shavlik to get gassed and then ran the game right at Shelden Williams.
Though the score wasn't too bad, it was over at halftime.
On top of that, Virginia also is without Darion Atkins, out with a leg injury. Malcolm Brogdon is sitting out the year and Jontel Evans is doing his best to get back to 100%.
So winning by 37, under the circumstances, is incredibly impressive. It's their biggest ACC margin, according to the Post, since they won by 43 in the ACC Tournament in 1983.
Gee, who could that be? Hint: Virginia had their starters in in the closing minutes.
Calm down, Virginia fans, we're just yanking your chain.
Joe Harris finished with 21 and singlehandly was beating Clemson until 12:07 in the second half.
That sounds awesome until you realize Clemson was held to 10 points in the first half.
Virginia Tech is having a tough year with injuries and depth and all, but they've earned our respect for hanging in there and being competitive when they could have packed it in and looked towards next year.
They didn't beat a deeper and more talented Maryland team, but they gave all they had before falling 60-55. Erick Green had 29 for the Hokies.
Speaking of Maryland, let's take a look at where they'd be currently in the Big 10. We're just going to stick their record in the B1g's chart, so let's see...They'd be tied with Minnesota for sixth place.
Burley Mitchell has one of those names that makes you stop and wonder: what were they thinking? Were they hoping for a big kid? Is his brother named Slim?'
Anyway, little Burley went a long way, becoming a burly presence in the often colorful world of N.C. law. A graduate of State with a UNC law degree, Mitchell is calling B.S. on the notion that the entire UNC scandal can be pinned on just two people. So grooveth Burley:
"If you look at the data thatâs involved here, it is inconceivable that this was two people who did this. When you have 172 fake classes, 45 percent of the students in there are athletes, that is way disproportionate to their number on the campus â which is less than 5 percent. Somehow they are being directed to the courses."
Presumably both could be true: the scam was perpetuated by two people and the folks in the athletic department eventually, independently, caught on.
What the Martin Report never answered is very simple: motive. What motivated them to do it?
In other words, follow the money. And in today's world, with millions upon millions poring into college and professional sports, and the competition for talent, the money either goes to interested parties at UNC or agents.
Or, conceivably, both. Given the reputation of Black Santa, and that an agent was allowed to teach a class in the department, we'd guess that if you follow the money and tied all the threads back together, you'd find an agent or agents passing out bribes in an attempt to curry favor.
But that's just a guess.