ACC Roundup - Big Saturday Ahead

In Saturday’s ACC Action, Syracuse visits Pitt, UNC gets out of the cold with a visit to Tallahassee, 3-9 BC challenges 3-8 Notre Dame in South Bend, Virginia goes to Clemson and Louisville gets a beach day at Miami.

Georgia Tech vs. NC State is postponed for the obvious reason.

Pitt released some bad news on Friday: promising big man Jon Hugley has been suspended indefinitely after being charged with three felony charges. The case involves a car that was reported stolen.

Aside from the immediate issue, this means Pitt is down two rotation players: Hugley and Justin Chamagnie, who is still out with an injury.

Because of how Covid is roiling the college basketball season, Pitt will play Syracuse back-to-back which is really unusual by ACC standards and really doesn't happen that often at all.

In fact the last time know of an ACC team playing another team in back-to-back games was when Duke played UCLA twice in a row in the ‘60s. In fact, we think they had a pair in LA and then a pair in North Carolina.

Pitt won in the dome on Wednesday by three. The rematch is going to be interesting.

Back in the day if a mediocre UNC team went to a hot Florida State, you’d still bet on UNC.

Now? Not so much.

We’re not saying UNC can’t win but FSU has become a legit program and after it destroyed NC State the other day it’s hard to just assume UNC will win. And at times like this the difference between Dean Smith and Roy Williams becomes clear. Even in a bad stretch, you knew Smith’s UNC could beat you. And in fact, a struggling UNC was really dangerous.

UNC could be really dangerous in Tallahassee. Would we bet on it? No. Not now.

Boston College and Notre Dame are both struggling. We think this game might come down to turnovers and if it does, Notre Dame is at a big advantage. However, BC has certainly competed even if wins are rare. We’ll take the Eagles here.

Virginia and Clemson - now that’s intriguing. Virginia is favored but Clemson has played very well this season. UVA isn’t as good as they have been, at least not so far, but the Cavs are still a load. It’s a tough one but Virginia is kind of where UNC was with Smith. If there's a question, stick with Virginia.

Finally, it’s hard to see Miami taking Louisville. The ‘Canes have just struggled, then there are the injuries. It’s hard to see them winning this. Plus Chris Lykes is still out. So why do we think Miami pulls the upset here?

Also, here are the latest rescheduled ACC games.

Saturday’s ACC Action

• Syracuse at Pitt || 12:00 || ACCNX
• UNC at Florida State || 12:00 || ESPN
• Boston College at Notre Dame || ACCN
• Virginia at Clemson || 6:00 || ESPN
• Louisville at Miami || 8:00 || ACCN

ACC Standings

• Pitt suspends forward John Hugley indefinitely following three felony charges
• Pitt preparing for Syracuse, its first back-to-back opponent in more than 30 years
• Pitt prepares for its second game in three weeks well-rested but weary
• How defense has fueled Pitt’s early season success
• Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes
• Head Coach Chris Mack, Forward Dre Davis Talk Miami
• Hurricanes still ailing heading into game against No. 16 Louisville
• Miami basketball hosts first place Louisville
• Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Miami
• Virginia travels to Clemson for toughest ACC test yet
• A major in coaching: Walk-on Chase Coleman pursues coaching dreams on UVa’s sideline
• Syracuse basketball gets two new dates for rescheduled ACC games
• Irish look for first ACC win against BC