ACC Roundup - Let The Games Begin

ACC play opens in earnest on Saturday following Wendesday’s two games which saw FSU and Virginia win while Louisville and Wake Forest lost.

Louisville will play Indiana Saturday in a fun game but one with no conference implications.

Florida State and Virginia square off in what should be a defensive gem and a fantastic clash of styles.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest has a critical game with a tough Clemson squad and one which may already be a must-win game.

The Deacs need a confidence booster. As we’ve seen a lot over the last couple of years, Wake was in the game with FSU until the closing minutes...and then faded. A win would be huge; a loss would be a major problem. Look for John Collins to do better than he did against FSU.

We can't see anyway Georgia Tech beats UNC and the best the Yellow Jackets can hope for is a good showing. Tech’s offense is too erratic to excel against an elite team like UNC.

Louisville-IU should be massively entertaining, a fast-paced game with tons of threes chunked up and lots of fast breaks.

Notre Dame and Pitt are both smallish, fast-paced teams, so that should be fun too.

Saturday is the first day of ACC competition for Tech’s Josh Pastner and Pitt’s Kevin Stallings, so that will be interesting. Pastner came from the AAC and Stallings from the SEC, neither of which is a great basketball league. Their educations commence on Saturday.

NC State is rounding into form with freshmen Dennis Smith and Omer Yurtseven establishing themselves as superior players. The supporting cast - Abdul-Malik Abu, Torin Dorn, Terry Henderson, Ted Kapita, Markell Johnson and Rowan Maverick - are all outstanding. Even Beejay Anya can gear himself up at times. This could be Mark Gottfried’s best team in Raleigh yet.

• UNC’s Roy Williams updates Theo Pinson’s status
• NCSU’s improvement on defense, communication key heading into ACC play
• No place like home: Deacons back at Joel Coliseum against Clemson
• Big Four Report Cards
• Syracuse basketball among biggest disappointments in ACC so far (league notes)
• Notre Dame senior captains ready for ACC tag-team basketball effort
• Pitt starts tough conference play today
• Offense a problem for Yellow Jackets entering ACC play
• Stallings & Pitt Ready To Open ACC Play
• Pitt ready for 'big-boy' hoops as it readies for ACC opener
• 'Hoos Host Florida State In ACC Home Opener