ACC Basketball News and Notes: The MLK Holiday Edition

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Not a week goes by without some kind of schedule news. This week will be no different as the ACC continues to shuffle games around to give its team the chance to play their full season. This week, virus update centers around a couple of programs have had to push the pause button to get things back under control. Boston College’s game in Blacksburg vs Virginia Tech has been put on hold because of a positive test inside the Eagles program. As of now, their home game against Pittsburgh on Saturday is still a go. The problem has also reached the Eagles women team as well. Their game, set for Thursday night, has been put on hold because of a positive test in their group. North Carolina State’s match up with Virginia on Wednesday is a no go because of a positive test inside the Wolfpack program. They are still hopeful of playing on the road on Saturday vs North Carolina.

The league has announced some schedule updates. On Jan. 30 Notre Dame will head to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers. Boston College will head to Syracuse on Feb.13 for an afternoon game vs the Orangemen. This game has been moved up one week. This will allow Syracuse to play the Fighting Irish at home on Feb. 20. This was a game that was rescheduled from Dec.22. There will be a test on this later.

The ACC announced Co-Players of the week. Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie and Virginia Tech Tyrece Radford were selected. The Pittsburgh Panthers welcomed back the sophomore forward to their lineup last Saturday vs Syracuse. All Champagnie did was record his fourth double-double of the season as he went for 24 points and 16 rebounds in his return to action. The performance was also his fourth 20 point-10 rebounded game of the season. Justin, who has been out with a knee injury suffered back on Dec.20, was indeed a welcomed sight for the Panthers. The 96-76 win was the most points scored by a Pittsburgh offense since Dec. 20, 2018, in a game versus New Orleans. It was the second most point total under head coach Jeff Capel. It was the most points put up in a conference game since a double-overtime win against Wake Forest back on Feb. 16, 2016. The 96 points were the most ever in a regulation game.

Radford led Virginia Tech to two wins last week. He also led his team in scoring in both of those wins. In games versus then #19 Duke and Wake Forest, Radford averaged 19 points, eight boards, and three and a half assists. Virginia Tech is off to a 5-1 start for just the second time in program history. The team also started 5-1 back in 2006-07.

The ACC Rookie of the Week is North Carolina’s, R.J. Davis. In a 1-1 week for the Tar Heels, Davis averaged 14 points and two assists. He was 9-for-17 from the field in the two contests including 4-for-9 from three-point land in their win over Syracuse and loss to Florida State. The Tar Heels have been good from long range in recent games. The team has made forty three-pointers over their last five games. North Carolina has shot at least 40% from deep in three of their last four games.

The season has been a tough one for Boston College. But on Saturday, senior forward Steffon Mitchell put together his second double-double of the season. The 16-point, 13 board performance versus Miami not only helped his team get their first league win, but it was also Mitchell’s 16th career double-double, which is the most among active ACC players. Mitchell is also closing in on another milestone. A thousand rebounds for his career (849) which is #1 among active players.

Georgia Tech heads into their game at home versus Clemson with a four-game win streak. It matches the longest under head coach John Pastner. The Yellow Jackets finished the 2019-20 season with a four-game win streak. They have had a four-game win streak on three other occasions. They have not won five in a row since Dec.2012.

Next week we will be back with more from the Atlantic Coast Conference.