ACC Basketball News & Notes: Duke on Top, but Fall to Virginia in Stunner

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What is that old saying? “The cream always rises to the top.” Well don’t look now but the Duke Blue Devils (9-3, 19-4) find themselves in a place they have been many times before. On top of the ACC in February. The second half of the schedule is always where the good teams make their move. Duke has mastered making second-half charges that put them in great shape come tournament time. They did stumble Monday night when Virginia’s Reece Beckman hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 69-68 win. With the loss to Virginia, we will see if they can maintain a Top-10 ranking when the polls come out next week. Of course, they would have to win their games this coming week at Clemson and Boston College. Let’s take a look at what else is going on in the league.

There is a new league member that has joined the club. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-4, 19-5) have cracked the Top-25 poll at number 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They have a NET ranking of 38. This is the first time this season the Demon Deacons have reached the Top-25. They enter the week with a two-game winning streak and only two games back of Duke in the loss column. The Demon Deacons are second in the league in scoring offense with 79 a game. They are second in scoring margin at +10.33, second in both FG percentage (49%), and in FG percentage defense 40% a game. They are third in assists (363 in 15 games). In their eight-point win over Florida State on Saturday, junior forward Jake LaRava registered his third double-double of the season (18 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists). He was one assist shy of a triple-double.

Virginia Tech’s offense has gotten much better lately. Over their last four games the Hokies (6-7, 14-10) have shot at least 50% in those contests. It is the first time since the 2016-17 season, since becoming a member of the conference, Virginia Tech had never shot 50% in five straight games until now. In Monday night’s win over Pittsburgh, 74-47, the Hokies shot 53% from the field while placing three players in double-figures.

Georgia Tech (3-8, 10-12) has been stroking it rather well from long distance over their last eight games. In five of those games, the Yellow Jackets have knocked down 10 or more 3-point field goals. They have won four of those games. In the eight games, Georgia Tech has shot 39% from 3-point range. On the defensive side, the Yellow Jackets are second in 3-point FG percentage defense at 31% (149-482).

It has been a rough stretch for the Florida State Seminoles (6-6, 13-9) as injuries have hit them pretty hard in recent games. In last Saturday’s loss at home to Wake Forest, the Seminoles were down three starters to injuries. The next man up theory was used, and that guy was redshirt senior Harrison Prieto who recorded first double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Both the points and boards are career-highs.

The ACC Player of the Week is graduate forward Paul Atkinson Jr. of Notre Dame. In three games last week against Duke, Miami, and North Carolina State, Atkinson Jr. averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds shooting 56 % from the field. His best game was a 23-point, 11-rebound effort vs Miami. That was followed by a 15 point, 10 rebound game against the Wolfpack. He started the week with a 14 point, nine-rebound performance versus the Blue Devils. Atkinson Jr. is number one in FG percentage at 60% (115-of-192).

The ACC Rookie of the Week is Duke’s, A.J. Griffin. He averaged 20 points and 6.5 boards in wins last week over Notre Dame and North Carolina. In his first-ever game against the Tar Heels Griffin had a game to remember. He had a career-high 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 3-6 from 3-point range. It was the fourth-most by a Duke freshman in his debut against UNC. In the contest vs the Fighting Irish, Griffin went for 13 points and nine rebounds. In the two games combined, he shot 61% (17-of-28) and from three he shot 50% 4-of-8).

That’s all this week. We will be back next week with more from the ACC.