ACC Roundup - Huge Win For Pitt And A Death In The ACC Family

It took Jeff Capel just two games to get his first ACC win, and it wasn't against a weak sister either as Pitt knocked off Louisville in overtime 89-86.

Pitt got a monster game from freshman Trey McGowan as McGowan erupted for 33. His backcourt mate Xavier Johnson tossed in 21 and 10 assists.

We’d be surprised if either guy left for the league after this season so Capel has something to sell frontcourt players, of whom he could use a few.

It’s been a long time since the folks at Pitt had something to be excited about. Capel has certainly delivered.

Georgia Tech came really close to knocking off Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were in position to win but a turnover by Brandon Alston with three seconds left doomed Georgia Tech. That followed a series of mistakes but really was the last gasp.

GT held VT to just 5-27 from three point range but only managed three offensive rebounds all night. Like Pitt, they could use some front court help.

The Yellow Jackets also doubled the Hokies on turnovers, 18-9.

Still, it was very nearly a shocker and gives Josh Pastner’s team something to build on.

BC kept it close for about 25 minutes against Virginia but then UVA blew them out on a 35-15 closing run.

The end was honestly embarrassing as Virginia just dominated the Eagles. Mamadi Diakite may have had his best game at Virginia, scoring 18 on 9-12 from the floor.

Virginia is still undefeated, one the last three teams in the country, along with Michigan, not to have lost yet.

The funny thing is that for a big part of the game UVA looked surprisingly vulnerable. BC just wasn’t able to take advantage.

We’d advise you to start tracking Nic Popovic, who shot 7-12 and finished with 16. He’s vastly improved.

It wasn’t a pretty game but Syracuse beat Clemson 61-53, holding the Tigers to 36% from the floor and to just a 22 point first half.

Neither team was very impressive, but Syracuse won and no one in Clemson, SC, is paying much attention to basketball after Monday night’s big win over Alabama for the national championship.

Next up for Clemson: Virginia, at home.

When you take an unusually deep and athletic team like Florida State up against a Miami that has very limited depth, the only surprising thing is that the game was at all close, with FSU winning by just six.

Miami shot just 38% and we’re sure the depth issue came up, particularly with big man Ebuku Izundu in foul trouble.

Chris Lykes has been pretty consistent on offense all season and hit right around his norm for 17.

Everyone is off until Saturday when Virginia visits Clemson, Louisville zips downtown to Chapel Hill, Pitt heads to Raleigh for an intriguing game between rising powers, the Catholic schools, BC and Notre Dame, play in South Bend, Wake Forest and Miami meet down there to see who gets a break from a depressing season, Georgia Tech tries to follow up a big game against Virginia Tech with a win at Syracuse and Duke drops in on Florida State in Tallahassee.

A sad bit of news: former Terrapin Ben Coleman has died. No word on the cause of death yet. Coleman was just 57. He had a great two-year run with Maryland and was well respected by teammates and peers.

• No. 13 FSU basketball ignites late and defeats Miami in ACC home opener
• Final Analysis: Boston College Men’s Basketball No Match for UVA
• Louisville basketball rally falls short in overtime loss to Pittsburgh
• Syracuse basketball holds Clemson 22 points below its average in defensive win
• No. 4 Cavaliers clobber Eagles behind big nights from Diakite and Hunter
• No. 9 Hokies survive Georgia Tech’s punch, improve to 14-1 — their best start in 35 years
• No. 4 Virginia remains unbeaten with easy win over Boston College
• Near miss for Georgia Tech in loss to No. 9 Virginia Tech
• There is no need to overcomplicate the reason NC State lost to UNC
• Why Roy Williams has been so impressed with one UNC player’s performance