ACC Roundup - Advances And Struggles

In Monday’s ACC action, UNC beat St. Francis 101-76, Florida State crushed Canisius 93-61, Clemson nipped Akron 72-69 and BC bulldogged Wyoming 88-76.

UNC won by 25 but it wasn't as easy as it looked as St. Francis made a habit of taking the ball away from the Heels. In the second half, the Red Flash cut UNC’s lead to six - in the Dean Dome - before the Tar Heels woke up.

UNC had 18 turnovers which shouldn’t have happened.

On the bright side, Ol’ Roy has something besides defense to worry about.

Noted with pleasure: on the UNC radio broadcast, after a Nassir Little dunk, Jones Angel said that while he expected that there were some guys in “darker blue” dunking somewhere, he hoped that Sportcenter would find room for Little’s dunk in its nightly Top Ten.

Obviously Zion Williamson has already gotten inside his head and doesn’t look to be leaving anytime soon.

In Tallahassee, Dikembe Mutombo’s nephew, Mfiondu Kabengele, scored 18 points to help lead FSU past Canisius.

FSU forced 19 turnovers, dominated the boards and limited Canisius to a less-than-solid night from the floor. That’s pretty much the definition of dominant.

FSU has UAB coming up and then Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. There’s a game against UConn as well.

If the ‘Noles win those two, they can enter ACC play undefeated and likely a Top Ten team.

Clemson might not make the Top Ten, but the Tigers are undefeated after nipping Akron.

Four starters finished in double figures but the rest of the team managed just seven points. Shelton Mitchell led the way with 22. Elijah Thomas had a nice double-double with 15 and 12.

Currently #16 nationally, the Tigers have a rugged stretch coming up with game against Nebraska, Mississippi State, Radford (recall the Highlanders beat Notre Dame), #15 Mississippi State and South Carolina. If Clemson is still undefeated when ACC play commences, it’ll be very impressive.

Ky Bowman went off for Boston College against Wyoming - look at this: he scored 38 on 14-22 from the floor, had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals and played every second.

Pretty badass.

Joncarlos Reyes added 15 while Steffon Mitchell tossed in 11 point and 11 rebounds.

On Tuesday, Clemson gets Georgia, Notre Dame plays Duquesne, State hosts St. Peter’s and Duke squares off with Auburn in the Maui Classic.

• Syracuse basketball’s Jalen Carey named ACC freshman of the week
• Syracuse basketball’s Jalen Carey, a rare bright spot at MSG, named ACC Rookie of the Week
• Florida State men’s basketball lands 2019 three-star center Naheem McLeod
• No. 13 FSU basketball grounds the Golden Griffins
• Four takeaways from UNC’s victory over St. Francis: Nas Little, turnover struggles and depth
• Will Joe Girard play football at Syracuse or will Class B final be his last game?
• Jared Wilson-Frame, leaner and more comfortable, is making his mark for Pitt