ACC Basketball News & Notes: Conference Play Has Arrived

Read Time:2 Minute, 59 Second

After one month of playing non-conference games, the Atlantic Coast Conference kicks off the month of December with league action. While the non-league was good for the ACC, there were still some early-season hiccups that did take place. There were home losses by Virginia, who at the time was ranked, to Navy, Syracuse losing to Colgate at the Carrier Dome, and Pittsburgh being beaten at home by UMBC. Now, it can be said that by the time March rolls around, these losses may be forgotten. Still, it does show that every game means something and that avoiding bad losses is always a good idea regardless of the time of year.

In the recently completed ACC/Big 10 challenge, The Big 10 came out on top 8-6. That was despite the fact that the ACC came back from a rough first night on Tuesday, losing four of the six games played. On Wednesday night, the league returned the favor and won four of six. Overall, the ACC holds a record of 12-8-3. Heading into the week, the league once again boasted the #1 team in the land. The Duke Blue Devils, for the 145th week in their history are atop the polls. It is the most weeks on top in NCAA history. The next two are also blue bloods of the game, UCLA at 134, and Kentucky at 125. Under Coach K, the Blue Devils have been number one in 21 different seasons. That’s the most of any head coach in college basketball history. It is also the 127th week on top of the polls, which is also the most in the history of the game. Duke would then lose 71-66 to Ohio St this past Tuesday.

The league also has the nation’s leading scorer in Georgia Tech senior guard Michael Devoe. He is averaging 25 points per game this season and is also the nation’s leader in 3-point percentage at 59% a contest. In their four-point loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday night, Devoe went for 33 points for the Yellow Jackets. Meanwhile, Syracuse junior center Jesse Edwards is leading the nation in field goal percentage at 81.8% (36-44).

Both the ACC Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week come from Duke. The Player of the Week is Wendell Moore Jr. He averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven and a half assists in a 2-0 week for the Blue Devils. In wins over the Citadel and then #1 Gonzaga, Moore shot at a .583% (14-of-24) 11-of-15 at the free-throw line, had 15 assists, and turned the ball over just three times. The Rookie of the Week is Paolo Banchero as he averaged 24.5 points per game, six and a half boards, and four assists. He scored a career-high 28 vs the Citadel then went for 21 against Gonzaga. He was 18-36 from the field and 8-9 from the foul line.

At Clemson, graduate forward Naz Bohannon leads all active division one players with 1,020 career rebounds. While grad guard David Collins recorded his first double-double as a Tiger on Tuesday night at Rutgers. Collins went for 18 points and 10 boards. Collins is 10th in defensive rebounding at 5.25 a night. He is also 10th in steals at 1.75 a game,

That will give you an idea of where the league stands as league play gets underway. Next week we will be back with more from the ACC.