ACC Roundup - UNC-Notre Dame Washed Out

The big news of the day is the postponement of the UNC-Notre Dame game due to Orange County’s water emergency.

They’ll play on Sunday in Greensboro instead.

So on to the Saturday games.

Virginia heads up to Syracuse setting up a showdown between two of the ACC’s most distinctive defenses: Virginia’s packline vs. Syracuse’s 2-3 zone.

Virginia is playing much better than a few weeks ago and so is Syracuse. But Jim Boeheim has consistently ripped his own defense. We’d be inclined to take UVA here, especially after last spring’s collapse in the NCAA tournament against Syracuse.

On the other hand, by Syracuse’s count, if not the NCAA’s, Jim Boeheim has 999 wins. So there’s that too. We’d still take Virginia.

Louisville has really picked up lately too. Boston College is vastly improved over last season but so is the rest of the conference. Still, Ky Bowman goes off at times and is unstoppable and BC has enough offensive talent to be dangerous to anyone. We’d still go with Louisville. However, Rick Pitino may be making a classic mistake.

The more compelling games in some ways are the undercards: Miami at State and Georgia Tech at Wake Forest.

State is in a bad spot and Miami is talented but young and up and down and now just 14-7. Some of the best ACC games are when teams are really up against it and both teams really need this one. So it should be intense. Miami is smaller than State but, well, better coached.

And in the other game, we see two programs which are not going to make the NCAA tournament but which are clearly building for the future in a positive way.

There should be two great matchups in this game - Ben Lammers vs. John Collins and Bryant Crawford vs. Josh Okogie.

Collins has had a tough time staying out of foul trouble and Lammers has become a damned good big man.

And we love the player Okogie is becoming. He’s a brilliant young talent.

• Game Notes: #9 UVA at Syracuse in ACC action on Saturday
• As ACC hoops hits February, here's five things to watch for
• Stephen Schramm: 5 ACC storylines to watch in February
• North Carolina's showdown with Notre Dame moved to Greensboro ...
• Wake Forest, Ga. Tech battling for better position
• When to watch and things to know about Miami at NC State
• Georgia Tech looks to rebound at Wake Forest
• Georgia Tech's success about effort, health
• UNC-Notre Dame moved to Sunday in Greensboro amid Chapel Hill water crisis
• For Wake Forest, sharing leads to winning
• Syracuse vs. Virginia: 10 things to watch
• If Syracuse basketball wins on Saturday, how many career wins will Jim Boeheim have? (poll)