ACC Basketball News & Notes: Pitt and Stanford Off to Great Starts

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As Week 3 heads to the weekend, the ACC is being led by someone old and someone new. The old would be the Pittsburgh Panthers, while the new would be the Stanford Cardinals. Both teams are at 5-0. They are two of seven teams in the league that have yet to taste defeat. The ACC has two teams that are ranked with North Carolina at #10 in the AP poll and #12 in the USA Today poll. Duke is at #12 in the AP and #10 in the USA Today. Let’s see what else is happening.

Through the first two weeks of the season, the league has been really good. Their record is 52-12 (81.3%). There were a couple of games that are worth noting only because of the outcome. The first one took place last Saturday, as the Syracuse Orange needed two overtime periods to defeat Youngstown State 104-95. JJ Starling came through with a career-high 38 points on 14-of 23 from the field, grabbing seven boards and playing 49 minutes. Then on Wednesday night, the shocker of the week took place as Jacksonville took down Virginia Tech in Blacksburg by ten, 74-64. This was a game that had 8 ties and 10 lead changes. Jacksonville received 44 points in the paint and 32 off the bench to get the big win.

Another tough loss took place on Thursday as Drake defeated Miami 80-69 in the Charleston Classic. The Hurricanes had a tough shooting game (40.9%, 18-of-44) and just 38.1% from deep (8-of-21) They had only 18 points in the paint and 19 off the bench. Despite shooting only 21.1% from deep (4-of-19), Drake made up for it in other ways. They had three starters in double figures, scored 36 points in the paint, 16 off the bench, and 13 second-chance points. Drake led this game from start to finish.

Now for some notes from other ACC teams. In Duke’s win over Wofford, the Blue Devils held them to 35 points last Saturday. It was the fewest points scored by a Duke opponent since March of 1968. It was the fourth-fewest points allowed by the Blue Devils since 1995 and the second-fewest allowed at home since Jan of 1960 when NC State scored 34 points.

Boston College (3-1) received a big game from sophomore forward Elijah Strong in their win over Temple. Strong went for his first double-double with career highs in both points with 25 and rebounds with 13. He was 11-for-19 from the field.

In North Carolina’s victory over American University last Friday, the Tar Heels scored 107 points. That was the most points scored under current head coach Hubert Davis. The 52-point margin of victory was the largest margin of victory since beating UNC Asheville by 68, 116-48 back on November 30, 2008.

Wake Forest (5-1) senior guard Hunter Sallis reached a milestone on Tuesday night. After scoring 20 points in a win over Western Carolina, Sallis surpassed 1.000 points for his career. He has led the Demon Deacons in scoring in the last four games played.

In Friday’s win by Virginia over Villanova, junior guard Issac McKneely knocked down all six of his three-point attempts to set a school record. He matched his career high with those six 3-pointers and finished the game as the team-high scorer with 23 points.

California (3-1) got a victory over USC on the road. The Bears got a big night from sophomore guard Adrej Stojakovic who went for a career-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. In the four games played so far by the Bears, Stojakovic has scored at least 15 points.

Over the next 10 days, ACC members will be playing in holiday tournaments across the country. Next week, we will see how they fare in those events.