ACC Roundup - Syracuse Takes The ‘Ville

Good thing we don’t gamble because between the Super Bowl and Syracuse’s win over Louisville, we’d be broke.

We heard Philly had a number of players down with the flu which convinced us New England would win, and that Syracuse’s lack of depth and offensive weakness would not do well with Louisville’s defense and stable of big men.

Instead, Louisville lost its third in a row and Syracuse managed to shoot 47.2% and just six of those were threes so it’s not like the Orange just bombed away.

Syracuse still didn’t get a huge offensive game from its frontcourt - Oshae Brissett, Marek Dolezaj and Paschal Chukwu combined for 29 - but it was enough to help take some pressure off the backcourt.

One note in Louisville’s defense: Ray Spalding had to come off the bench after injuring his ankle against Florida State. He still had 18 points and nine boards in 28 minutes.

Hit 7-8 too.

In Monday’s poll, Duke and UNC both took hits with UNC moving down to #22 and Duke down to #8 after the loss Saturday to St. John’s.

Virginia is #2 still while Clemson, in an exceedingly rare move, is well ahead of UNC at #15. How often has that ever happened? Has it ever happened at all?

Miami is #20 and NC State and FSU are within sniffing distance of being ranked.

Speaking of State, it honestly didn’t occur to us that State had four kids from Charlotte on the roster (Lavar Batts is from Concord but that’s essentially Charlotte).

If you could get to the point where you really have sway in Charlotte, that’s a great base. Mike Brey, whether as Duke assistant or Notre Dame head man, has always had that in Northern Virginia and DC and it’s helped both schools.

Speaking of the Irish, after Bonzie Colson’s injury the season has really gone south. But next up is Boston College and while they have a great backcourt, the frontcourt is not that hot. So this is a game Notre Dame could use to stay afloat.

• Just how big was Syracuse basketball’s win at Louisville? ‘It’s pretty huge’
• Syracuse basketball gets crucial road win at Louisville
• Noie: Trying times test Notre Dame men’s basketball resolve
• Hurricanes men’s basketball team back in AP Top 25
• Clemson basketball: Tigers continue upwardly mobility in ACC, polls
• Bubble matchups and frisky-under-.500s highlight early ACCtion
• ‘Hoos Remain Ranked #2, Head to Tallahassee Wednesday
• Defense helping NC State back to respectability in the ACC
• Wake Forest reporter eats his words on UVa prediction
• Ahead of Duke, UNC’s Berry turns to Virginia film to fix defense