ACC Roundup - Wake’s Great Escape

BC lost to Hartford in an upset of sorts but there were two mitigating factors: first and most importantly, Jerome Robinson took a hard fall in the first half and finished with just four points, well under his average of 20.8 going in.

And Hartford did win but on a three with just 0:2.1 left on the clock. It’s reasonable to think that Robinson would have changed the outcome. He would’ve helped the overall effort and would have certainly finished with more than four.

Only AJ Turner (13) and Connar Tava (12) topped eight points.

And in Winston-Salem, Danny Manning was worried about UNCG. As it turned out, he had good cause.

In that game, Wake hit the late three pointer with Bryant Crawford doing the honors.

That’s great for that kid. He’s clearly struggled with confidence and he’s a very cocky kid. It’s good for him to back it up. He’s had trouble doing that.

He broke the tie with :02 left. Even better, he stole the inbounds pass.

It would have been a really bad loss for Wake but the thing is...the Deacs pulled it out.

John Collins continues to advance. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Afterwards, Manning said this: “We can’t apologize for winning. We’re disappointed that we had to win in this fashion because we had a 16-point lead in the second half, but I’m not going to take anything away from UNCG...I thought they outworked us, they outscrapped us, they outfought us. They put themselves in a really good position down the stretch. We just had a guy make a tough shot.”

Virginia Tech has another injury: reserve center Johnny Hamilton is out for the season with a thumb injury.

The best ACC game Saturday is bound to be Notre Dame’s contest with Villanova. The Irish have chance to knock off a #1 team, something Notre Dame knows a thing or two about over the years.

Mike Brey knows a thing or two about Duke and still took a shot at Coach K’s team (Bray was a Duke assistant earlier in his career).

Here’s what he said:

"I think Saturday's kind of neat where maybe the discussion can be around two teams with veterans back that have won, instead of a lottery pick freshman who maybe is hurt and may be back before Christmas. Or a lottery pick freshman who is going to get his butt beat. We've got two teams that have won a lot the last two years and they are older-driven. I thin it's a refreshing story and I hope CBS runs with it."

Brey and Coach K appear to have remained close, but if you think this isn’t taped up in the Duke locker room, better think again.

• Collins gives preview of what's to come
• Crawford's 3-pointer lifts Wake Forest past UNC-Greensboro, 78-75
• Renewal of Pitt-Penn State basketball rivalry in the works
• Hartford Defeats BC 65-63 For First Win Over ACC Foe
• Virginia Tech sells out home basketball vs. Duke in 1 day
• Pitt basketball getting acquainted with Stallings' methods
• Can Notre Dame hand Villanova their first loss?