ACC basketball News & Notes: League Play Resumes This Week

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The best holiday gift any fan of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball would want is a return to league play. Since this is Christmas week, you get your wish. The ACC is back to league games with seven of them beginning on Tuesday night. It was an interesting non-conference season for the ACC as there were some good wins and definitely some bad losses. As league play gets going again, the conference boasts four teams in the Associated Press Top-25 poll. Virginia at #6, Duke at #14, and Virginia Tech and Miami both at #22. In the latest NCAA NET ranking, the league has four in the Top-25, Duke #12, Virginia #16, Virginia Tech #19, and North Carolina #25. The four in this poll tied for the most of any league. Let’s look at what else is going on in the ACC.

North Carolina (8-4, 1-1) senior forward Armando Bacot is ranked in the top 10 in the nation in both rebounds, and double-doubles. In the rebounding race, he is fifth in the country with 128. He is joined in this chase by Jesse Edwards of Syracuse who is third with 136, and Norchad Omier of Miami who is 10th with 119. Bacot is tied for third in the nation with seven double-doubles while Edwards, Omier, and Duke super freshman Kile Filipowski are tied for eighth place with six double-doubles.

Virginia (8-1, 1-0) fifth-year forward Jayden Gardner has made a career of going to the free throw line. He ranks first among all active division one players in career free-throw attempts with 744. He is second in made free throws with 553. Gardner is third in field goals made at 770, third in points with 2,105, sixth in rebounds at 985, sixth in double-doubles with 37, and 10th in field goals attempted with 1,533. For a team that is known for defense, Gardner’s offensive numbers are really impressive.

Wake Forest (8-4, 0-1) is getting strong play from sophomore guard Cameron Hildreth. In the Demon Deacons’ last eight games, Hildreth has scored in double-figures in all eight contests averaging 13 points, and 6.6 boards. At this time he is second on the team in scoring at 12 a game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 a night. Cameron is 11th in defensive rebounding a contest with 62 in 12 games for an average of 5.17 a game.

Boston College (6-6, 0-1) sophomore guard Jaeden Zackery matched his season high vs Stonehill back on December 13. The 16-point effort helped the Eagles get the home win. In his last seven games, Zackery is averaging 12.4 points. He is also tied for 12th in steals in the league with 17 in 12 games for an average of 1.42 a game. He has become a player that head coach Earl Grant likes to have on the court averaging 36 minutes a contest in 12 games. That is third highest in the conference.

Florida State (3-10, 1-1) has struggled early on this season. One player who may be showing signs of life is junior guard Darin Green. He dropped 30 on St. John last Saturday, with 24 of those 30 coming from behind the arc. Green knocked down eight three-pointers in the game. He is the first player to score 30 points in a game since Terrence Mann did it back on January 24, 2018, vs Georgia Tech. The Seminoles rank 13th in offense (68 points a game) and 14th in scoring margin at -4.92 (score 68, give up 73).

Bacot is this week’s ACC Player of the Week. He averaged 21 points, 13 rebounds, and two and a half assists in a 2-0 week for the Tar heels. He saved his best for the overtime win over Ohio State on Saturday recording career-highs in points with 28 and rebounding with 15. He also passed out three assists. Bacot has 1,129 career rebounds which have him 41 short of becoming second on the all-time school list. He is also 15th in total rebounds in league history.

Syracuse guard Judah Mintz is the ACC Rookie of the Week for the second week in a row. He averaged 19 points, 4.5 boards, and 3.5 steals in a 2-0 week for the Orangemen. He scored a career-high 24 points in the win over Monmouth while dishing out five assists and four steals. Syracuse has won five in a row, and Mintz’s play has been a big reason why Syracuse has turned their season around.

Next week we will check in on how league play went. Happy Holidays from the ACC basketball News & Notes.