ACC Roundup - No Clemsoning: Tigers Finish The Job Against Louisville

Clemson had a nice surprise Sunday, unless of course you're Louisville.

The Cardinals are still getting used to the ACC and with no round robin schedule had not yet visited Clemson. As ACC fans know, from time to time a trip to Clemson is as tough as a trip anywhere in the conference - even in Greenville.

All that aside, Rick Pitino said he knew it was coming: "I knew this type of game was going to happen sooner or later. I've been trying to warn our guys about it. You've got to have your defense every night and we haven't. We got burned because of it."

It might've come at a later date if Louisville hadn't shot so poorly. Pitino's bunch shot just 3-23 from outside and 35.3% overall.

Louisville fans were outraged over the wide gap in free throws - Clemson shot 44 to Louisville's 16 - but Pitino shot that down and said his team fouled too much too.

When you think about it, it's a long way from flipping off Kentucky fans, no?

It's a good thing the Tigers had free throws in the tank because they actually shot worse than the 'Ville - just 32.6% overall.

Still, Clemson led early and led late and only a nifty Louisville rally at the end made the score as close as it was.

It was a wonderful victory for Clemson. It's just too bad no one in town gives a rats patootie, because everyone is totally invested in tomorrow's national championship football game.

If you go to theState.com, you'll have to scroll down past the Clemson football stuff, then some Jadaveon Clowney story, then a clip about South Carolina women's baskeball, and high school basketball and spring football at South Carolina before getting to news of Clemson's upset.

State-Wake Forest is one of the ACC's bedrock rivalries and like all Big Four games, it can at times really deliver.

Sunday's game wasn't quite on that level, but it was pretty damn good.

Wake ripped off some big runs but State consistently made it a competitive game, coming back from 15 down and 10 down.

But it wasn't enough and though we're just 3-4 games in, depending on whose schedule you look at it.

If you look at Virginia's lousy week, and Syracuse's 0-4 start, and the ACC's overall start, you could say that things have really been turned upside down. So we thought it would be interesting to look at the standings upside down. It doesn't mean anything, we just thought it would be cool to see it this way.

But it doesn't explain why #4 (but not for very long) Virginia stunk it up last week.

Actually there is one common theme: the deeper you go, the better the defenses.