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ACC Roundup - Friday’s Mixed Bag

An interesting evening but no firm trends yet

By JD King
/ new
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: NOV 10 UCF at Miami
CORAL GABLES, FL - NOVEMBER 10: Miami guard Bensley Joseph (4) beats UCF guard Tyler Hendricks (15) to a rebound in the second half (also pictured, Miami forward Norchad Omier (15); UCF forward Ibrahima Diallo (11)) as the Miami Hurricanes faced the UCF Knights on November 10, 2023, at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The ACC was collectively undefeated Friday morning but by Friday evening, Duke had lost to Arizona, Louisville got hammered by Chattanooga, at home no less, Georgia knocked off Wake Forest 80-77 and Virginia Tech fell to South Carolina 79-77.

Chattanooga chew-chewed up Louisville in the Yum Center, building a 21 point lead at one point. There was no question about who was the better team in this one. Louisville fans might get restless after this.

Wake Forest was down 13 with about nine minutes left against Georgia after a 20-6 run. The Deacs had a decent comeback with a 12-1 run of their own.

Close but no cigar: Georgia held on to win 80-77. Wake managed just 39.1 percent overall but did manage to hit 11-30 on three point attempts.

Sean Padulla played well for Virgina Tech, scoring 29 points, pulling down nine boards and racking up five assists as well. Hunter Cattoor was a 40 minute man in this one and racked up 13 points of his own. The guards are going to need some help though.

There were some narrow wins too: Boston College barely survived the Citadel, 75-71, Virginia dropped Florida 73-70 and Clemson slipped by UAB 77-76.

Jaeden Zackery hit 21 for BC and Donald Hand Jr., who sat out last season with an injury, added 14. Boston College never pulled away but they won a tough game and that’s something special.

Virginia freshman Blake Buchanan had 18 points, including 10-16 from the line, along with seven rebounds, including five offensive. Reece Beekman had 13 points and four steals. Tony Bennett’s rotation was pretty tight here, with just eight guy getting on the court and one of the three bench players got just four minutes.

Finally healthy, PJ Hall had a really nice game for the Clemson Tigers, with 29 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. That’s really impressive. Chase Hunter had 16 including some key free throws while Syracuse transfer Joe Girard shot poorly and finished with six points.

And then there the easy wins: Miami beat UCF 88-72 and it wasn't that close. All five Miami starters finished in double figures with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Norchad Omier racked up 19 points and 12 rebounds. Wooga Poplar had 23 points and four boards of his own. Miami was close to 50 percent on threes.

It must have been nice for Florida State to open with an easy win after last year’s catastrophic season with a 94-67 triumph over Kennesaw State. Baba Miller started and finished with nine points and five rebounds, which must have been a relief after his frustrating freshman season. And Leonard Hamilton had enough depth to play six bench players double figure minutes. So maybe FSU is back? We’ll have to see, but looking better.

NC State had no trouble with Abilene Christian, winning by 20. Kansas transfer DJ Horne shot 6-11 and finished with 15 points. Butler transfer Jayden Taylor put up 22.

Finally, Pitt rolled over Binghamton, 89-60. It’s early, but not many freshmen are playing better than Carlton Carrington, who followed a triple-double on Monday with 18 points, four assists and three boards. Blake Hinson had 26 to pace the Panthers.

Only one game on Saturday as Notre Dame welcomes Western Carolina to campus.

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