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ACC Roundup - Keep An Eye On Virginia, Clemson

Both should be intriguing

By JD King
NCAA Basketball: Notre Dame at Virginia
Feb 11, 2020; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Kihei Clark (0) drives to the basket against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Five games on tap Saturday, with Syracuse at Florida State, Wake Forest taking on Miami, Louisville with a tough road trip to Clemson, Pitt at Virginia Tech and Virginia off to Chapel Hill to see if the Wahoos can further depress Tar Heel fans.

Odds are they can.

Saturday’s ACC Action

  • Syracuse @ Florida State || 12:00 || ESPN2
  • Wake Forest @ Miami || 2:00 || ACCNX
  • Louisville @ Clemson || 4:00 || ACCN
  • Notre Dame @ Duke || 4:00 || ESPN
  • Pitt @ Virginia Tech || 6:00 || ACCN
  • Virginia @ UNC || 8:00 || ESPN

ACC Standings

UNC has had an awful year offensively and, well, pretty much everyone has an awful offensive experience against Virginia. Do the math.

Also, the Cavaliers are getting better. They had a tough start to the season but lately have really come on.

After losing three straight in early January, UVA has gone 5-2. They’ve discovered new offensive options as well and Kihei Clark, while not a perfect point guard, is, as Tony Bennett calls him, a winner.

What will Cole Anthony do with the Pack Line? It’s very hard to penetrate and if he can’t hit threes, it could be a long afternoon personally.

Virginia will also make it hard for Garrison Brooks, assuming he’s healthy, to move freely. If he’s healthy, Brandon Robinson could be key for UNC.

Given what we’ve seen lately though it’s hard to see how UNC beats Virginia.

Small thing to keep in mind: Jay Huff is a Durham native and may have some extra motivation here.

Florida State comes at a bad time for Syracuse. After the loss to NC State, Boeheim’s bunch really need this win. Unfortunately, the ‘Noles are going to be angry after losing at Duke. We’d be very surprised if Syracuse pulled this one off.

Wake at Miami is actually kind of interesting because while both teams have struggled, both have shown that they can occasionally play very well.

Or just drive off a cliff.

In this game, it’s more likely that it’s Wake Forest to collapse but no guarantees. It could be really tight too.

Pitt and Virginia Tech is interesting too because both programs are building but struggling. Something has to give. It doesn't mean the winning team will necessarily play well. Either one will be very happy with a win though, even if it’s imperfect.

Could Clemson repeat Georgia Tech’s upset of Louisville?

You can't rule it out. The Tigers have a long history of upsets in Littlejohn and as good as Louisville is, Clemson has pulled bigger upsets at home.

That said, the Cards won the January matchup by 18 and they’re coming off a loss. You’d expect them to be focused.

Even so, don’t overlook Clemson. The Tigers are well coached and therefore dangerous. And by the way, if you haven’t noticed, a loss here by Louisville, along with a win by Duke over Notre Dame, would move the Blue Devils back into first place.

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