
We have reached the halfway mark of the ACC basketball season. We think it’s fair to say that the Duke Blue Devils are in the driver’s seat as the second half begins. Now that’s not to say that no teams could give them a run for their money. But at the moment, it appears that the Blue Devils are the team to catch and then try to beat.
This is also the time of year when we start thinking ahead to that wonderful month of the college basketball calendar, March. So let’s see where we are with half of the conference schedule still to play.
On Monday night, the Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games with their 74-64 win. Three starters finished the game in double-figures led by the ACC Co-Rookie of the Week Cooper Flagg who dropped 28 on the Wolfpack (9-11,2-7). He was also 11-of-13 from the FT line and got help from Kon Knueppel with 19 and Sion James with 13. Despite getting only 6 points off their bench, the Blue Devils won this game by getting 17 points off 13 turnovers by NC State. The other key stat was points in the paint which were 32-16 in favor of Duke
Now we turn our attention to the rankings. This league is getting better with every week that goes by. In the latest NET rankings, six teams are inside the top 50. Duke at #2, Louisville at #25, Clemson at #30, Pittsburgh at #34, North Carolina at #40, and SMU at #44. Three teams are ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Duke is #2 in both polls, Louisville is #21 in the AP poll, and #22 in the USA Today poll. Clemson is at #25 in the USA Coaches poll. In the KenPom, Duke is #1, Louisville at #25, Clemson at #27, Pittsburgh at #34, UNC at #28, and SMU at #49.
In the KenPom strength of schedule rankings, UNC is at #10, Louisville at #12, Duke at #33, and Pittsburgh at #35.
One reason for Clemson’s record (17-4, 9-1) is their performance in January. The Tigers went 7-1 in the month. The last time Clemson had a one-loss month was in 1951. The winning percentage of .875 is their best since January of 1935 when the Tigers went 8-0.
Back on January 15 in a game vs UNC. California (11-9, 4-5), freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkerson went scoreless. Since that game, Wilkerson has been on a bit of a tear. In his last three games, he has scored 59 total points, averaging 19.7 a game. On Saturday vs Miami, he went for a career-best 30 points.
Heading into Tuesday night’s home game vs Wake Forest, Louisville had a 9-game winning streak. That is the fifth-longest among power conference teams. Knocking down shots from 3-point range has helped them keep the streak. Senior guard Reyne Smith tied a career-high by hitting 10 in a game at SMU. It also set a school record for made 3-point shots in a game.
Guard play has been a key to the Panthers’ success so far this season. Their record of 13-6, 4-4 IS directly related to the guard duo of sophomore Jaland Legget and senior Ishmael Legget. Jaland is averaging 17.6 a night while Ishmael is at 16.6 a game. They ranked seventh and ninth in the league in scoring. They are the only duo that is ranked in the top 10.
This week’s ACC Player of the Week is Stanford forward Maxime Raynaud. He averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds in wins over Miami and Florida State. Against Miami, he went for 20 points and 12 rebounds which was his fifth conference double-double. Against the Seminoles, Maxime went for 8 points and 14 boards. He leads the league in both scoring at 20.5 a game and in rebounding at 11..7. He is 10th in scoring and third in rebounding in the country.
They are Co-Rookies of the Week in the ACC. You know about Cooper Flagg who won the award for the 8th time in 12 weeks. His numbers speak for themselves. The other rookie is Cal guard Jeremiah Wilkerson. For Wilkerson, this is his second weekly award. He averaged 24 points per game as he made his first two starts for the Golden Bears. His performance helped Cal to wins over Miami and Florida State. He shot 61.9% (13-of-21) from inside the arc and was 13-of-14 from the FT line. He played 36 minutes a game and committed just three turnovers.
The second half of the season begins next week.
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