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ACC Roundup - A Fun Saturday

Yes, the ACC is down - but the games are still competitive and entertaining.

By JD King
Syracuse v Virginia
 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - JANUARY 11: Quincy Guerrier #1 of the Syracuse Orange and Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers watch the ball go out of bounds in the second half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on January 11, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images

Duke and UNC is going to to suck up most of the oxygen Saturday but there are five other ACC games: Miami is at Florida State, BC hits Cassell to take on Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets visit Pitt, Virginia will try to confound Louisville yet again and Wake Forest jets up to Syracuse to try to squeeze the Orange in the Dome.

Saturday’s ACC Action

  • Miami @ Florida State || 12:00 || ACCN
  • Boston College @ Virginia Tech || 12:00 || ACCNX
  • Georgia Tech @ Pitt || 2:00 || ACCNX
  • Virginia @ Louisville || 4:00 || ESPN
  • Duke @ UNC || 6:00 || ESPN
  • Wake Forest @ Syracuse || 8:00 || ACCN

ACC Standings

Some of these games could be good and all of them have a story line. Let’s go!

BC is improving and Virginia Tech has been slipping. Either team is capable of an excellent game just as either is capable of a weak game. In BC’s case it’s injuries and a lower than typical ACC level of talent; for the Hokies it’s that they're small and young. What else do they have in common?

They both beat UNC.

Like BC, Georgia Tech is better than the record would suggest. Pitt has struggled against big teams and Tech has some good size. Pitt has solid athletes though and it’s at home. And Tech’s offense is hit-and-miss (literally). How do you call that? We’d lean towards Tech but not by much. Pitt can counter the size by turning them over and running.

We’d like to see Wake beat Syracuse but the truth is we’re not sure Wake’s up to it. They were brilliant against Louisville for 30 minutes but obviously that’s not enough. The Cards ended up coasting to victory.

If we had to pick two games, we’d go with Virginia at Louisville and Miami at Florida State. Virginia is improving and could certainly disrupt Louisville’s offense - it’s what they do - and the offense is improving. We don't think Louisville has beaten Virginia since joining the ACC. They’re more diverse than before but we could see Louisville just butting up against UVa’s Pack Line like a virus trying to penetrate a cell that just won't let it in. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Tony Bennett would have made a fine endodontist.

Miami and FSU is a rivalry game which makes it automatically interesting. Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty have been out and could be back which would be a huge boost for the ‘Canes. Also FSU visits Duke on Monday and could be looking past Miami. Stay tuned.

Miami has played well despite the recent injuries and Lykes is a handful. Last time around the ‘Canes nearly pulled off the upset. This is on the road of course but even so, Miami could be trouble. We’re not predicting an upset but it’s very possible.

A few other things worth mentioning: Former Wake assistant Jamill Jones, who killed a man with a single punch in 2018, was found guilty of misdemeanor assault.

The victim, a man named Sandor Szabo, attacked Jones’ car, apparently believing that he was an Uber driver. He fell back after being punched and hit his head, later dying. Jones could serve up to a year in prison.

Syracuse got a major early commitment when sophomore Dior Johnson picked the ‘Cuse. He’s a 5-star guard and should have a major impact when he arrives.

Small thing we didn’t know: Wake’s Andrien White is the younger brother of former Syracuse star Adrian White.

Speaking of a major impact, we were sorry to see that David Teel has retired. A long-time columnist for the Daily Press of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, Teel wasn’t just really good He has an institutional knowledge of the ACC that few people have. We’re really sorry to see him step away. We deeply admire him and will miss his insights.

The good news is that he says he’ll be back reporting in some capacity.

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