How Low Can the ACC Go?

Go ahead and raise those hands if you had North Carolina State, Miami and Georgia Tech in the semifinals. I got Ga Tech right and I did have both NC State and Miami in the quarterfinals, but this is getting silly.

Is this league really that bad? If so, is Duke not as good as I think they are?

No 1 DUKE OVER No 9 VIRGINIA, 57-46
Even though I watched the game and even posted on it yesterday, I still did a double-take when I looked at the score. 57 points in a win? Jesus.

I’ve said all I could say about the game last night, so I’m going to point you to someone else. Last night, I mentioned how Len Elmore jumped on to the ‘Jon Scheyer is tired’ script early and often. Over at the Truth Begins, they’ve gone out of their way to prove Len wrong and they even put it in graph form.

Check it out. All I want to add is, just look at Jon’s three-point shooting. If he was getting tired, should that be what’s in decline?

No 7 GEORGIA TECH OVER No 2 MARYLAND, 69-64
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 19-pt lead (16 at halftime) and held on late for a predicable win over Maryland. The fact is, the Terps don’t do well when they’re the favorite, at least in this tournament.

Although I have to point out, Georgia Tech did everything in their power to let this game slip away (literally). The Jackets turned it over 25 freaking times. Maryland in fact took 25 more shots, but couldn’t find the bucket if you slapped them in the face with it. The Terps shot 37% from the floor.

In a tournament that has featured some bad shooting performances, Sean Mosley was 0-7 from the field. Of course ACC Player of the Year looked nothing like a POY. Vasquez struggled from the floor (6-21, 2-11 from three), turning the ball over five times.

Of course it was fitting that Maryland lost in the end on the last of Vasquez’s five turnovers. Something tells me people are now fleeing that bandwagon.

No 11 FLORIDA STATE OVER No 3 FLORIDA STATE, 58-52
Freshman Scott Wood scored 18, leading NC State to another improbable win in the ACC tournament. The rookie from Indiana did all his damage from behind the arc (6-10 from the three-point line). In fact, he took zero two-pt shots and zero free throw attempts.

Yet, I’m going to give props to point guard, Javier Gonzalez. The kid has the ability to destroy any hope of a win for NC State on any given day, but not yesterday. He scored 13, but more importantly dished out six assists (to only two turnovers), grabbing five boards and collecting five steals.

Florida State for all their defensive ability, they just don’t have the offensive firepower to get it done. Sure they’re going to make it into the tournament, but we’re looking at a first-round elimination with their free throw shooting (tonight they shot 52% from the non-charity line).

No 12 MIAMI OVER No 4 VIRGINIA TECH, 70-65
Did you know the Hurricanes were the only team Friday to score 70 points? Ouch to the ACC. In what had to be the most surprising game of the day, the Canes knocked off Virginia Tech, winning two games in a row for the first time since January 9th (that was many moons ago).

The Canes trailed early by 10, but the simple fact is, like so many teams in this tournament, the Hokies couldn’t hit a shot. Malcolm Delaney, the ACC’s leading scorer had his worst game of his career. He was 3-15 from the field, 0-8 from three-point range.

How bad was it for Delaney? He missed his last seven shots of the game (starting at about the 12-minute mark). He was 0-4 in the final 41 seconds, with the Canes holding on to a small one-point lead.

Now the Hokies will have to sweat it out…again. After battling with Duke for first place a few weeks ago, Va Tech has dropped four of six and thanks to an awful SOS, there is a chance the Hokies could miss the tournament despite a 23-8 record. Personally, I think they get in, but they could have simply made it easier for the committee by winning.

Overall Friday we saw some really, really poor shooting performances from some really good players. Just look at some of these stat lines:
Jon Scheyer (Duke): 5-17 from the floor (1-6 from three)
Sammy Zeglinski (UVA): 0-9 from the floor (0-4 from three)
Malcolm Delaney (Va Tech): 3-15 from the floor (0-8 from three)
Dorenzo Hudson (Va Tech): 5-16 from the floor
Sean Mosley (Mary): 0-7 from the floor
Greivis Vasquez (Mary): 6-21 from the floor (2-11 from three)