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ACC Roundup: Wake, State And Virginia Have Big Nights

The thing about Wake Forest is they’ll just keep getting better

By JD King
/ new
Syndication: The Greenville News
Clemson freshman forward Ian Schieffelin (1) shoots near Virginia forward Jayden Gardner (1) during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum Tuesday, January 4, 2021. 
Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

In Tuesday’s ACC Action, Wake Forest and NC State had big nights, and Virginia had a good night too.

You have to factor Covid in because a young Florida State has been hit too, but even so, considering where Wake Forest has been lately, a 22 point win over an ACC power is a big deal.

Wake had a 17-point run to blow the game open and grabbed 53 rebounds to Florida State’s 30. On the downside, Wake had 22 turnovers, but in this game, at least, it didn’t matter too much. Imagine if they had been more careful.

Wake Forest is now 12-3 and building some swagger. This is fun to watch.

State has not been fun to watch lately but the Pack sure was Tuesday night as the Pack broke a five-game losing streak with a 68-63 win over the Hokies.

Every so often a bad or mediocre team has a player who is just way better than the rest. Walt Williams was like that for Maryland early in the Gary Williams era. Muggsy Bogues did it for Wake Forest when he was there. That kind of player is good enough to keep his team in games even if they don’t win.

So it is with Dereon Seabron who is increasingly looking like a special player.

Seabron had 21 points, 10 boards and three assists. More to the point, he seems to be inexhaustible and can pretty much score whenever he feels like it. We’ve been watching him whenever possible because it’s possible that he could become very, very special.

Good thing because State has a ways to go. There is talent but it’s young and erratic. Take Ernest Ross. That guy has talent but he’s going to take some seasoning. Still, you can see it building.

We hope Pack fans are patient. Things will get better.

Virginia got a measure of revenge for the beatdown Clemson inflicted in Charlottesville on December 22nd where the Tigers won by 17 as Virginia’s offense reached a new level of ineptitude.

This time, the game 57-57 with 6:51 to go and Virginia, well, was more like Virginia as the Cavs outscored Clemson 18-8 down the stretch.

After the game Virginia coach Tony Bennett said this, which we didn’t realize: “I’ve said this a lot, but [Kihei Clark is] our only guy who has more than a year of experience, so when it gets down to that time, plays need to be made and a big shot needs to be made.”

So put Virginia, NC State and Florida State down - and maybe Georgia Tech too to an extent - as young teams that are going to build towards next year and beyond.

Three games on Wednesday as Pitt visits Louisville, Syracuse escapes winter for a visit to sunny Miami and UNC jets out to South Bend to drop in on Mike Brey’s Notre Dame.

If we had to guess, we’d take Louisville in a tight game, Miami over Syracuse and probably UNC over the Irish. However, Brey’s offense has a tendency to confuse and when it works right, three pointers fall like manna from heaven.

Wednesday’s ACC Action

  • Pitt @ Louisville || 7:00 || ESPNU
  • Syracuse @ Miami || 8:00 || ACCN
  • UNC @ Notre Dame || 9:00 || ESPN2

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