ACC Roundup - UNC, Virginia Prevail, But Ol’ Roy Has Another Episode Of Vertigo

In Saturday’s ACC action, Duke gave Miami its worst loss in the Jim Larranaga era, 87-57, Pitt lost to Virginia 73-49, UNC survived Clemson 81-79 in spite of Roy Williams falling to his knees during the game and bracing himself on a seat (he left and didn't return), Florida State got by NC State 78-73 and Syracuse smacked Wake Forest 79-54.

We listened to part of the UNC game on the way back from Cameron and the radio crew really caught the sense of concern about Ol’ Roy Williams.

If you haven’t heard, Williams collapsed in the first half with another episode of vertigo. The radio guys did a good job of painting the picture without going overboard.

It ended with Williams being helped off the court. His team, to its credit, kept things tighter and needed to because during that timeout, the assistants were all with Williams, leaving the players to run the timeout themselves.

Fortunately, Williams will be okay but it was a sobering moment for everyone.

As has happened several times this year, Clemson had chances to win the game but fell short, most of all on the final play, when Shelton Mitchell drove between Garrison Brooks and Coby White and fell down.

The replay seemed to show Brooks bumping him but what can you do?

There has been a lot of chatter this season about video review, notably from Jay Bilas, and some talk about taking a look at the final play in some games.

Bilas feels there is too much replay (he’s right) and there are some plays at the end, like Clemson, which should be reviewed.

There’s a fairly simple solution to this.

Let the coaches decide what should be reviewed and limit it to two or three per game. And that can be on the last play of the game too.

The exceptions should be for flagrant violations and the like.

The defining quality of Kevin Keatts’ NC State program is tenacity and it showed that at Florida State Saturday. Even Florida State admired the effort.

Mfiondu Kabengele said ‘‘[t]his is March. Teams are more competitive, games are closer. Guys are realizing that the Selection Sunday is coming and they want to be a part of it. So I understand N.C. State’s aggressiveness and passion to win today.”

State came up a little short but showed its now trademark effort. Keep in mind that this is essentially a team of guards playing a team of mostly forwards and big men. They didn't win but they didn't miss by much. Do they belong in the field? Absolutely.

The Pack is back, or close enough to say they are anyway. We love what this program is doing.

Pitt challenged Virginia, briefly, before the Cavaliers took over.

There wasn’t much left for Pitt after that. The Panthers couldn’t score on Virginia and couldn't keep Virginia from scoring on them.

There’s not much else to say for Pitt this season. They’ve shown heart, Jeff Capel has radically changed the culture, but until they get more players they won’t win much.

He has laid the groundwork for future success however. Pitt is going to be better soon. Much, much better.

One thing to keep an eye on with Virginia: Jack Salt has a back injury. He’s been a key part of their team and that may hurt.

Some things probably shouldn’t leave the locker room. Take what Wake’s assistant coach Steve Woodberry said, according to Chaundee Brown: “It felt like we got a lot of rebounds, but we came out flat. Coach Woodberry said that we came out flat in warmups, he said we had no energy. He said in the locker room just now, like the managers had more energy than us.”

That might be right, but Brown might have done better to keep it to himself.

Still, it says a lot about the current state of Wake Forest and the level of cohesion the team has.

At Duke or UNC or Virginia and most ACC teams, players deviating from the official line is rare and candor is fleeting. That’s one reason why everyone in the media loved Chris Carrawell as a player. He always said exactly what he felt and was charming to boot.

We don’t know if Danny Manning has lost his team or not, but they don’t seem to be responding well to his coaching. Their next trip is to Cameron which will be challenging.

In spite of the challenging season, Wake bagged another big man, 7-0/240 lb. Charles Coleman.

Two games on Sunday as Boston College goes to Atlanta and Notre Dame visits Louisville.

We like BC in the first game and in the second, Louisville has developed a knack for folding late - or lost its nerve.

Whatever it is, Notre Dame has improved and will most likely not be an easy out. Whoever shows more heart is going to win this one. You could say that’s usually true and that’s correct, but in this case, Louisville hasn’t shown a whole lot lately and need to.

• No. 2 Virginia pummels Pitt to extend winning streak
• Jack Salt continues to contribute for Virginia despite injury, diminishing role
• No juice: Wake Forest gets flattened in second half by Syracuse
• UVa men’s basketball: No. 2 Cavs have no trouble with Pittsburgh
• North Carolina basketball: Amid their best ACC stretch in five years, Tar Heels sense special season shaping up
• How No. 5 North Carolina focused and held off Clemson
• UNC’s Roy Williams leaves game, doesn’t return after vertigo episode
• NC State loses at No. 18 Florida State
• U.Va. encouraged after ACCNetwork rehearsal
• Mack looking to ‘tweak’ Louisville’s attack
• FSU Basketball: Noles scrap out a win against NC State
• No. 18 Florida State, behind Kabengele, tops NC State 78-73
• Louisville basketball: How the Cards can avoid a choke vs. Notre Dame