ACC Roundup - Big Game Sunday

In Saturday’s ACC action, Pitt moved to 5-0 with a 71-66 win over North Alabama, Notre Dame got past William & Mary 73-64, Miami took Bethune-Cookman 78-70 and NC State prevailed over Maine 82-63.

The Black Bears run the Princeton offense and back doored the Pack consistently.

It was still a solid win but, well, it’s Maine. So who knows.

Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Penn State and Auburn are coming up so we’ll have a better sense soon about how good the Pack is. Inside play is an open question but guard play is likely to be pretty solid.

What can you tell from Maine though? Remember the Maine? The rain in Maine stays mainly on the - oh, never mind.

Just wait for the real teams.

After blowing it against Radford, the Irish nearly blew it against another minor Virginia team, beating William & Mary by just nine.

Notre Dame put four starters in double figures, but still shot poorly, hitting just 41.3% and 25% of their three pointers.

Bethune-Cookman is in Daytona Beach, which makes it a bus trip down to Miami for what should have been a whipping.

It wasn't. Miami was up just two with 2:19 left before the ‘Canes woke up.

Chris Lykes had his third straight 20+ point game which is pretty good for a 5-7 guard and DJ Vasiljevic added 20.

It’s really not encouraging for the conference that Syracuse, Georgia Tech, BC, Wake and Louisville have all showed significant weakness early.

Guess who has exceeded expectations?

Pitt.

Not that it was easy, but the Panthers are 5-0 with Saturday’s win over North Alabama.

The Lions are a newly minted D-1 team and, again, the ACC team wasn't impressive. But Pitt was a train wreck last season and this season, despite deficiencies and weak spots that haven’t been fully exploited, the Panthers are 5-0 and undefeated. There are five ACC teams that can’t say that.

Xavier Johnson is off to a nice start to his Pitt career: he’s averaging 14.3 mpg, five rebounds and seven assists.

Jeff Capel says that the only position left in basketball is the point and he may have found a good one.

On Sunday, Wake Forest plays Valpo, a dangerous basketball school in most years that would love a shot at a vulnerable ACC team, and Virginia Tech gets Purdue, which should be a great game and a great contrast in styles.

• Virginia Tech-Purdue men’s basketball preview capsule
• Another easy win for N.C. State, but the tough games are coming soon enough
• Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim hopeful Frank Howard can return this week
• North Carolina State notches 4th easy win, beats Maine 82-63
• Pitt overcomes lethargy, scoring struggles to beat North Alabama 71-66 for 5-0 start
• Syracuse Leaves 2K Classic With 0-2 Record and More Questions Than Answers
• Pitt’s three freshmen are making their presence felt early
• Pitt’s trips: Sleeping habits, roommate bonding are factors on the road
• Clemson guard to transfer to Old Dominion
• Virginia Tech-Purdue men’s basketball preview capsule
• Scouting No. 23 Purdue basketball vs. No. 16 Virginia Tech in Charleston Classic
• Purdue basketball quickly establishing dominant identity on the offensive boards
• Carsen Edwards and Purdue will be stern test for Virginia Tech