In Thursday’s ACC Tournament Action, Virginia got by NC State, 81-74, Miami survived Louisville, 78-73, and Clemson held on to beat UNC, 80-79.
Clemson was cruising in this one before UNC outscored the Tigers 25-11 over the last 4:55, including 5 threes. What we saw from UNC here is what we have talked about previously: in our opinion, UNC’s problems come down to how Hubert Davis communicates to his team.
Exhibit #1: Why did the Tar Heels wait for the last five minutes to really get going? Under Dean
Smith, the Heels were intensely competitive from start to finish. Under Roy Williams, they weren’t as sophisticated, but the fist still smashed into your face.
Under Davis? No focus, no theme, little team awareness. We talked about this recently after watching a UNC fast break descend into chaos. This was perfectly summed up when two UNC players ran into each other near the end of the game. It wasn’t Davis’s fault, but would you have seen that on a Dean Smith team?
Almost certainly not, because he prized awareness and communication, which would have made that collision unlikely.
The other problem is that without Caleb Wilson, this is a collection of role players. Henri Veesaar had a good game here, especially rebounding (17/5 offensive), and he was the driving factor in the comeback, but his play has gone Robin since Batman Wilson went out.
Anyway, UNC is done, so Duke won’t see them. Not that Clemson will be easy.
Somewhat like Wake Forest, NC State has struggled against bigger teams, not least of all Virginia.
The Cavaliers crushed them twice in the regular season, and in this one, blocked 9 shots. State shot 50% outside but just 37% overall. The Wolfpack was much more competitive, but still lost.
After the game, Will Wade confronted the rumors that he is considering a return to LSU, and he denied them, saying he was excited about the future in Raleigh.
By the way, of the teams left, Virginia has the most depth and that may be decisive. Something to keep in mind.
Miami showed heart at the end of a game again, making the right plays, including a devastating steal by Tru Washington after a ‘Canes basket. Malik Reneau made the free throws, and Miami had a five-point lead with less than a minute to play. Shelton Henderson celebrated with a late dunk.
Keep in mind that Mikel Brown sat out again with his back issue.
Here’s something we’ve wondered about: Jai Lucas has done a great job in his first year at Miami, but somehow, his dad, John, never seems to get mentioned. And that’s strange, because he’s a legitimate ACC legend who starred at Maryland.
He was on camera Thursday night for the first time we’re aware of , 51 years after his final tournament run.
So the semifinals are set: Miami and Virginia play in the first game on Friday, while Duke and Clemson rumble later.
It looks like a great night of basketball.
One final note: Syracuse has named an AD, hiring Brian Blair from Toledo. He did well there, so perhaps Syracuse made a savvy hire. Time will tell.
Friday’s ACC Tournament Action
- Virginia vs. Miami || 7:00 || ESPN2
- Duke vs. Clemson || 9:30|| ESPN2
