ACC Basketball News & Notes: Halfway to the ACC Tournament

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By week’s end, the halfway point of the Atlantic Coast Conference season will be reached. It has been an interesting first half, to say the least. To make the point, just look at the standings to date. The Clemson Tigers (16-4, 8-1) are at the top of the league. The Louisville Cardinals (2-17, 0-8) are at the bottom, a place, for this program, that is hard to understand. But that is life in the ACC. When you think you know what is happening you really have no idea. What we do know is there are ten games left before the conference tournament begins. A lot can happen between now and then. Let’s see how things look with the second half just around the corner.

The Virginia Tech Hokies (12-8, 2-7) began the week with a seven-game losing streak they were trying to shake. On Monday night, they hosted the Duke Blue Devils (14-6, 5-4) in hopes of ending the slide. In a game that featured six ties and three lead changes, the Hokies came away with a 78-75 win. VT was able to get the victory on the strength of their starting five scoring 68 of the 78 points scored. Grant Basile led the way with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 from 3-point land, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Sean Pedulla (16 points) and Hunter Cattoor (15 points) added to the cause. Tech’s ability to knock down shots from 3-point territory (10-of-19, 52.6%) was a big reason for the win. Basile is eighth in field goal percentage at 49% (96-of-196), Pedulla is 11th in scoring averaging 16 points a game, and Cattoor is 10th in 3-point makes, 2.13 a game (32 in 15G). These three have been mainstays for a Hokies offense that is ranked eighth in the league scoring, 72.58 points a night.

There will be a new head coach running the Notre Dame basketball program for the 2023-24 season. That’s because last Thursday current coach Mike Brey announced he will be stepping down after the season comes to an end. In 23 years at the helm of the Irish, Brey has won 481 games, made 13 NCAA tournaments, and won the 2015 ACC tournament. The Irish (9-12, 1-9) have had a difficult time getting traction this season. Since the announcement, Notre Dame has lost both games played, Saturday at home to BC 84-72, and Tuesday on the road at NC State 85-82. The Irish have now lost four in a row as they prepare for their next game on Saturday, January 28 vs Louisville.

The Louisville Cardinals tried to snap a seven-game losing streak at Boston College (9-11, 3-6) last night. They came up short losing to the Eagles, 75-65. During this skid, the Cardinals’ defense has been a problem as their opponents have been able to knock down shots at a pretty good rate. There have been only two games in the past seven where the opponents have shot less than 42% In those same number of games, the Cardinals’ offense has shot above 45% only three times. Rebounding margin has also been a problem for Louisville, They have been on the plus side of this category four times, no higher than a +5 (2) in this stretch.

Boston College snapped a four-game losing streak on the road last Saturday vs the Irish. Seven-foot senior forward Quinton Post was a big reason why. His double-double of 29 points and 14 boards was too much for the Irish to handle. He has now scored in double-figures in seven straight games averaging 15.3 points during the span. Post missed the non-conference portion of the schedule due to an injury. His return to the team and the starting lineup make BC a bit more of a dangerous team to face in the second half.

The Pittsburgh Panthers (13-7, 6-3) find themselves in the middle of the pack with the second half looming. They are two games back in the loss column behind Clemson and have been a pretty good team on the road in the first half winning four of the five games played away from home. For the season to date, the Pitt Panthers are 5-2 on the road. Winning games away from home is never easy, Pittsburgh being above .500 is something to pay attention to. So too is graduate guard Jamarius Burton who has scored 20+ points in four of the nine league games to date. He is averaging 19.1 points a game in the league He is seventh in scoring in the league, fifth in field goal percentage at 54% (114-of-211)), and eighth in assists at 4.44 per game (80).

Congrats go out to Virginia head coach Tony Bennett who collected win number 400 last Saturday when his team defeated Wake Forest on the road. He becomes the sixth coach in the league to reach the 400-win club. That number is the most of any conference in the country. Virginia, who has won five in a row, trails Clemson by a game for the top spot in the league. Virginia (15-3, 7-2) will look to keep the winning streak alive on Saturday when they host the Eagles.

The ACC Player of the Week is Armando Bacot of UNC. He averaged 21.5 points and 17 rebounds in wins over BC and NC State. In the win over the Wolfpack, Bacot set the school’s all-time record in both rebounds with 1,221 and in double-doubles with 61. This is the third time this season that he has won the award. He ranks fourth in the nation in rebounds per game at 11.6.

The ACC Rookie of the Week is Duke’s, Kyle Filipowski. In Saturday’s victory at home vs Miami 68-66, Filipowski went for 17 points and 14 rebounds. It was his third straight double-double and the ninth of the season. He also had a blocked shot, two steals, and two assists. This is the sixth time this year he has won this award.

Next week the second half gets going and we will have the scoop on ACC basketball.