ACC Roundup - UVA And UNC Excel, State Drops Back To Earth

They’ll always have Arizona, but State couldn’t sustain the momentum and fell to Northern Iowa, 64-60. State, so sturdy and gutsy against Arizona, couldn’t do it against NIU.

The Panthers only had 11 turnovers, somewhat negating State’s pressure. The Pack actually had more turnovers (14).

State took 30 three pointers out of 65 total shots and hit just eight of them. Braxton Beverly, who gutted Arizona, was just 3-10.

Abdul-Malik Abu, still recovering from his knee issue, managed just four points and four rebounds.

On the bright side, Omer Yurtseven had 17 points and 13 rebounds. Against Arizona he had 11 points and nine boards, so this week is something for him to build on and good news for State.

As of this posting ESPN is listing the UNC-Portland score as Portland 78 UNC 0.

Not quite: UNC actually won 102-78.

The Tar Heels got 20 points and 10 boards out of Luke May and nine rebounds and a near triple double from Theo Pinson with 11 points, nine boards and seven assists.

Compare the rebounding to what Duke got from Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter - Duke got 25 from those big men compared to 19 from 6-8 Maye and 6-5 Pinson. Obviously they did well and Maye, it’s clear, has exceeded expectations. He’s nearly averaging a double-double with 19.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg and also 3.0 apg.

That’s first-team All ACC level if he keeps it up.

Not that it matters much right now, but Seventh Woods and Jalek Felton, North Carolina’s South Carolina backup backcourt, combined for two points.

As ACC fans have seen since 2009, Tony Bennett’s defense can drive anyone nuts. One of the classic sites over the last few years was watching Rick Pitino, glum on Louisville’s bench, as the Cavaliers regularly dismantled his team. The man was the very picture of helplessness.

Vanderbilt got the message Thursday as Virginia just worked them over, 68-42. The halftime score was 43-17. Vandy was held to 23.1% from the floor.

Blah, blah, blah. It’s nothing new at this point.

Kyle Guy is hitting 18 ppg and nailed his average against Vandy.

On Friday, State plays Tennessee, now coached by Rick Barnes, 4-1 Clemson hosts winless Texas Southern, UNC tussles with an Arkansa team that loves to press and run - that should be fun.

Down South, Georgia Tech gets North Texas, Lousville plays St. Francis, one of the old Northern Catholic powers that has been largely left behind in recent decades.

In an unusually interesting game, 1-4 Wake Forest welcomes 4-1 UNCG at home. If the Deacs lose to a traditional ACC whipping post like Greensboro the anti-Manning faction is going to go berserk.

Later the Citadel visits Tallahassee and Virginia meets Rhode Island in the NIT early season tournament.

Rhody is of course hosted by Danny Hurley, who brings his team in at 3-1 and fresh off an impressive win over Seton Hall.

It’s not a fair comparison but Danny and big brother Bobby are currently a combined 8-1. The other brother act, or at least the most prominent one in college coaching, Sean and Archie Miller, are currently 6-4.

Some imaginative promoter needs to plan an event with the four coaches.

• Maye leads No. 9 North Carolina to 102-78 rout of Portland
• NC State, fresh off big upset, falls to Nothern Iowa
• Maye leads No. 9 North Carolina to 102-78 rout of Portland
• Wake Forest’s task becomes one of carryover after rough start
• Salt gets back on track against Vanderbilt
• UVa men's basketball: Cavaliers hammer Vanderbilt in Preseason NIT opener
• NC State falls back to Earth with 64-60 loss to Northern Iowa
• UNC finds balance in dominant victory against Portland
• Notre Dame Basketball: 3 Things Learned From Maui Championship
• Axe recap: Battle hurt, Moyer throws down in win
• The Morning After: (Almost) Life after death for Pitt as it rebounds from the Penn State disaster
• WATCH: Notre Dame's Mike Brey celebrates Maui Invitational title shirtless