ACC Basketball News & Notes: NC Win Streak Ends at Ten

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By the end of this week, the halfway point of the Atlantic Coast Conference season will have arrived. So in round one of the Duke vs North Carolina rivalry, the two teams find themselves at the top of the league standings, with the Tar Heels holding a 1 1/2 lead on the Blue Devils. The story of the first half has been UNC as they entered Tuesday night’s road game at Georgia Tech with a ten-game winning streak that came to an end Wednesday at Georgia Tech, 74-73. They have this week’s ACC Player of the Week in RJ Davis. Despite the loss, life is pretty good right now for Carolina Blue.

In their wins over Wake Forest and Florida State, Davis averaged 30 points a game. Against the Demon Deacons, Davis went for 36 points which is a career-best. On Wednesday night, Davis was 11-24 from the field with 28 points at Ga Tech. Davis is one of four players from the league to be named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List. Davis leads the league in scoring at 21.5 a game and FT percentage at 92.9 % (79-of-85). He is third in minutes played at 35 minutes a game.

In UNC’s five wins on the road, they have held the home teams to under 70 points in all five of those games. It is the longest such streak since 1982, a 13-game stretch that went from Feb.11, 1980, through Jan.23, 1982, when the Tar Heels held all home ACC opponents to under 70 points. North Carolina is the best-scoring offense in the league at 82.6 points a game. They have the best scoring margin at +13.4, they have the best 3-point FG percentage defense at .299 (143-of-479), they are the best-rebounding offense at 41.6 (873 in 21 games), #1 in rebounding margin at +7.4, and #1 in defensive rebounding per game at 29.1 (611 in 21 games). Numbers like these can explain why they are atop the league standings.

The ACC Rookie of the Week is Duke’s Jared McCain. He averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in wins over Louisville and Clemson. On Monday night in the road win at Virginia Tech, McCain had nine points, 10 rebounds, and three assists in a 77-67 win. Duke will head into Saturday’s showdown with UNC with a record of 16-4, 7-2 in the ACC. North Carolina is now 17-4, and 9-1 in the league.

In the weekly NET rating that came out on Monday, the ACC has eight teams inside the Top 70. Six of those teams are inside the Top 50. The ACC along with the Big 12 and the SEC are the only leagues with at least six teams inside the Top 50 of the NET rankings. The group of eight is UNC at #8, Duke at #19, Clemson at #28, Virginia Tech at #45, Wake Forest at #46, Virginia at #49, Miami at #62, and Pittsburgh at #67. UNC and Duke are ranked in the Top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Tar Heels are at ##3, and Duke is at #7.

The Syracuse Orangemen (14-7, 5-5) are getting a great season from sophomore guard Judah Mintz. In games last week vs Florida State and NC State, Mintz averaged 24 points. He also attempted 33 free throws in those games. He ranks in the Top 10 in both free throws made (143) and attempts with 183. On Tuesday night, Syracuse’s 11-game winning streak against Boston College was snapped. A strong showing by Claudell Harris Jr. (19 points off the bench) and four others helped BC beat the Orange 80-75.

A lineup change six games ago has proven to be a wise move for the Pittsburgh Panthers (12-8, 3-6). Freshman guard Jaland Lowe is averaging 14 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in those games. From 3-point range, Lowe is 10-of-24 (41.7%). On Wednesday night, Pitt came from behind to beat Wake behind Carlton Carrington (24 points) and Ishmael Legget (22 points).

It has not been a good year for the Louisville Cardinals (6-15, 1-9). They have lost six in a row, after a 70-64 loss last night at Clemson. One thing Louisville is doing well is 3-point shooting. But last night they shot just 2-10 and that would cost them the game.

One of the reasons for the Florida State (12-8, 6-3) turnaround is the play of junior guard Primo Spears. He has scored in double-figures in 11 of 12 games played for FSU. He ranked third on the team in scoring, and the team is 8-4 since he became eligible for the season. The Seminoles return to play on the road Saturday at Louisville.

The Clemson Tigers (14-6, 4-5) are putting an interesting resume together for March consideration. Their NET ranking is helped out by the 3-5 record in Quad 1 games. Those wins are third in the league. The Tigers also have an RPI of 8 and a NET strength of schedule ranking of 9. If the Tigers can stay around the .500 mark the Big Dance could come calling for them in March.

Next week we’ll be back with more from the ACC.