ACC Roundup - Wake Forest Surprises

Well what do you know, the Demon Deacons won an ACC road game, beating Notre Dame 75-68.

It was Wake’s first road win this season and only the second in the last two seasons (they did beat Pitt last year at Pitt but everyone beat Pitt last year).

It must have been a relief. Not that it was easy.

Wake had an eight point lead in the second half and all we could think was...how long until they collapse?

We’ve seen it so often now it’s become predictable.

Not that time though.

Notre Dame did fight back and tied the game at 66-66. Jaylen Hoard made a layup and the Deacs rebuilt the lead.

Brandon Childress had a great game for the Deacs: he scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds, passed out eight assists and swiped the ball three times - all without a single turnover.

That’s a super game by anyone.

Notre Dame falls to 13-13 and 3-10 in ACC play while Wake moves to 3-10 and 10-15 overall.

It’s not going to be enough to change many feelings about Danny Manning at this point but it was a nice win for Wake Forest and maybe they can build on it.

Clemson has had some devastating losse this season. Tuesday’s loss to Florida State was not one of them.

FSU was better throughout.

Here’s a question: is Mfiondu Kabengele the best reserve in the ACC? Seems likely.

He had 19 points on 9-13 from the floor and 11 rebounds. That’s pretty damn good.

The ‘Noles had a slow start in conference play, going 1-4 in the first five games.

Since then they’ve won eight straight. Their next game is at UNC on Saturday and if they can pull that off, they have a shot at winning the rest of their ACC games. They’ll get Notre Dame, NC State and Virginia Tech at home and finish with Wake Forest on the road. It’s certainly doable.

On Wednesday, some interesting games not counting the monster in Durham.

Louisville has had two erratic games in a row . Facing Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone on the road is not an ideal tonic.

BC travels to Raleigh to visit the Wolfpack. State should win but BC has proved a gritty team so don’t write it in stone.

Finally, Pitt has played with heart but limited size. Georgia Tech has shown that it can be a superb defensive team but what else have they shown? There’s very little success on offense and you can’t win purely on defense.

Pitt has a shot in this one, not least of all because Tech’s players keep getting the flu. It’s become a major problem and led the team to make sanitize the facilities and limit towels to one time use. We didn’t realize that it was such a serious problem and allowances should be made here for illness.

• Childress’ hot hand leads Wake Forest to road win over Notre Dame
• Yellow Jackets catching fever, but not the good kind
• Pastner has maximized Tech’s talent. That’s the problem
• Home conference victory again escapes Notre Dame
• How Pitt’s opponents have adjusted defensively
• Pitt sophomore Terrell Brown is slumping again, but he has broken out before
• Clemson basketball drops third straight conference game with no rhythm vs. Florida State
• ACC Basketball: Duke dominates, Louisville back in mix and hot seats
• Irish ACC struggles continue with loss to Wake Forest
• Wolfpack looks to build on pre-Duke momentum against Boston College
• Boston College is on a winning streak, but is still Boston College
• Georgia Tech Finishes Homestand with Pittsburgh
• College Basketball’s Greatest Rivalry Now Costs a Small Fortune
• Syracuse Basketball: Top 5 things to know ahead of Louisville game