Wednesday Notes - Donahue Fired, State, Clemson, FSU Win

State may have been the last team to make the field but the Pack won some credibility by knocking off Xavier, 74-59. TJ Warren had 25 points to pace the Pack. They did it despite not having Cat Barber for the second half (he was sick) and an obvious focus on Warren.

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State now moves on to play St. Louis in Orlando. Anyone who can't see the remarkable improvement this team has made just isn't paying attention.

Although early reports suggested otherwise, Boston College did fire Steve Donahue, with A.D. Brad Bates saying that “[In] sort of a body-of-work evaluation, obviously we are here today. In trying to project the future, you have to take what information you have at your fingertips and make a decision in the best interest of the program. We’ve decided to make a change in our leadership.”

Two ACC coaches in two days (Virginia Tech fired James Johnson on Monday). Wake fans are bound to be crushed that Jeff Bzdelik isn't out too.

We thought that Virginia Tech might have an interest in Bruce Pearl or vice-versa, but he very quickly signed with Auburn, which should go over well at Tennessee where he used to coach.

You have to wonder: who in his right mind would want to coach basketball at Auburn? We're sure he'll succeed (at least on the court), but why Auburn? There were people at his alma mater who wanted him back at BC, which, like Virginia Tech, offers ACC-level competition.

Then again, given the track records of both parties, Auburn could be the ideal place for Pearl.

As for the Hokies, the Roanoke Times suggests that A.D. Whit Babcock will follow the ACC's tradition of finding promising young coaches.

In NIT action, Florida State survived Florida Gulf Coast, 58-53, and Clemson got 30 from KJ McDaniels to take down Georgia State, 78-66.