ACC Roundup - Syracuse, Virginia Win

Two Monday games as the season begins to wind down. We saw Virginia get by Miami 61-52 and Syracuse take down the Tar Heels 72-70.

Virginia broke a three-game losing streak but Miami still hung around, despite all the injuries and problems that team has had.

There used to be a cartoon called Lil Abner and one of the characters was named Joe Btfsplk who lived under a dark cloud and had only bad luck.

That’s been Miami’s year so far. They’ve been Btfsplked.

What we admire so much is that they never quit. That teams fights. It has no real chance but it keeps competing. Miami has shown as much heart as any team in the ACC. It’s impossible not to respect their effort.

Up at Syracuse, UNC shot out to an early lead, but the Orange fought back and by the half were up 35-28.

UNC came back and briefly took the lead at 36-35 but after that, Syracuse took off, holding a 63-49 lead at one point.

UNC fought back, obviously, but it was too little too late.

The weird thing?

Joe Girard is a great - seriously great - free throw shooter. He’s bit off this currently but as a freshman he came close to 90 percent.

He had four free throws in three seconds - at the :13 mark and then :10 - and split both pairs. Hard to believe.

One of Syracuse’s big problems has been inside play but Jesse Edwards is coming on fast. Keep an eye on that guy.

Syracuse won despite Edwards fouling out and injuries to Kadary Richmond and Quincy Guerrier. Guerrier got banged up Sunday and Richmond hurt his leg with a bit under 4:00 to go.

So all in all, it was a pretty gritty win by the Orange.

Key stat: UNC had 20 turnovers. That’s hard to overcome.

On Tuesday, we see Wake Forest visit Pitt. In its last four games, Wake Forest has lost by 24, 18, 21 and 38 - and in its last two the Deacs only managed 39 and 46 points.

Tuesday’s ACC Action

• Wake Forest at Pitt || 6:00 || ACCN
• Duke at Georgia Tech || 8:00 || ACCN

ACC Standings

• Rapid reaction: Three takeaways from Virginia’s 62-51 win over Miami
• Virginia edges Miami on Senior Night to end three-game slide
• UVa athletics reports four new COVID-19 cases
• UNC’s Roy Williams talks about the Tar Heels’ turnover problem after Syracuse loss
• Five things to know: Wake Forest men’s basketball at Pittsburgh
• UNC’s seesawing inconsistency resurfaces in ‘lackadaisical’ loss at Syracuse
• Mental fatigue catching up with No. 15 Virginia heading into Senior Night
• Miami falls to No. 21 Virginia for sixth consecutive ACC loss
• UNC falls to Syracuse on the road in ACC basketball tilt
• University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily
• No. 21 men’s basketball snaps losing streak on senior night
• Can the Orange win the ACC tournament?
• Boeheim scores 26, Syracuse edges Tar Heels 72-70