ACC Roundup - Heels, Pitt Win, Panthers Notably Better

In Monday’s ACC action, UNC beat Stanford 90-72 and Pitt prevailed over Troy.

UNC must not have done very well because Ol’ Roy dropped the schtick and more or less threatened his team after, saying “I’m not very happy right now. The best thing that ever happened to my team is we don’t have practice tomorrow.”

Me-ow!

Despite the coach’s unhappiness, Luke May finished with 16 points and eight boards and new frontcourt mate Garrison Brooks added 12. points and eight boards of his own. Cameron Johnson added 17 points and seven boards. Guard Kenny Williams broke out of a slump and shot 4-6.

Nasir Little came off the bench to add eight points.

But Roy’s looking for better D.

Normally, moving to 3-0 with wins over Youngstown State, VMI and Troy wouldn’t be much to celebrate, but given where Pitt’s been, it’s pretty damn good.

Check out what Troy coach Phil Cunningham said about Jeff Capel’s new team: “I knew they were quick and athletic, but man, they were physical around that rim,” Troy coach Phil Cunningham said. “They fought [us] around there.”

Kene Chukwuka, who was a non-factor last season offensively, finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Xavier Johnson continues to impress as a freshman point guard. He racked up 15 points six rebounds and nine assists.

There are tougher times coming but that’s still impressive.

We’ll know more about how much Pitt has improved soon. The Panthers have two mediocre opponents next week in Central Arkansas and North Alabama.

After that? St. Louis, Iowa, Duquesne, Niagara and West Virginia. That’ll tell us a lot about Capel’s progress.

On Tuesday a typical slate of weak early opponents and near-certain victories except for Georgia Tech, which will venture out of town to play a superior Tennessee team. It’ll be an interesting game for Shembari Phillips, who left UT for Tech.

Otherwise, not much: Southern is at Louisville, which may still be vulnerable, Asheville visits the Wolfpack and Stephen F. Austin gets a sunny day (or at least a warm one) in Miami.

• Big Game Preview: UVA faces Georgia Tech in key ACC Coastal showdown
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• Tennessee basketball looking to get best of former Vol, Georgia Tech
• Seminoles move three spots in latest basketball rankings
• UNC basketball’s three wins may look good on paper, but it doesn’t tell the whole story
• Roy Williams following win over Stanford: ‘We’ve got to get better defensively’