In Tuesday’s ACC Action, Florida State made a competitive statement against Florida, losing 81-72, Virginia Tech made one of its own, beating Iowa in overtime in Sioux City, 93-88, Georgia Tech took down Eastern Kentucky, 85-71, NC State walloped Presbyterian, 94-60, UNC got by Wyoming, 76-63, Wake Forest took care of Charleston Southern, 82-64, BC grounded Maryland Eastern Shore, 82-54, SMU threw off Prairie View A&M, 98-63, and Virginia gave Bucknell a beating, 95-61.
Florida State’s loss is impressive
because last year, or at least early last year, the ‘Noles would have lost to Florida by about 50 points. Now, not only did they compete, but they were close at the end, despite not shooting very well. The difference here was at the foul line, where the Gators hit 30-41, while FSU got just 18 attempts, hitting 14. All in all, it was a very impressive performance for Florida State.
Virginia Tech won the sort of game they just didn’t for the last few years, taking down Iowa in the state of Iowa. This one went to OT, and the Hokies pulled through. Ben Hammond had 32 points and fouled out at the very end of regulation, meaning that Virginia Tech won without its hot hand.
Georgia Tech got quite a game from Eastern Kentucky before winning, but Eastern Kentucky was no joke. The Yellow Jackets weren’t a sure thing until they ripped off a closing 7-0 run in the last 3:22. Scott Cross is pushing rebounding and hard work, and Tech won the rebounding battle here, 50-30. Tylis Jordan finished with 27 points and 6 rebounds to pace the Jackets.
It’s no surprise that NC State hammered Presbyterian. The main question was this: did the Pack show improvement? And yes, they did.
Five starters reached double figures, and redshirt freshman Zymicah Wilkins scored 13 points in 14 minutes. He also grabbed 7 rebounds. He’s lost about 30 pounds, and he may be emerging as a force. Good news for Justin Gainey and the Wolfpack if so.
After UNC’s win over Wyoming, coach Michael Malone said this: “I challenged our manhood at halftime. We had guys that had just played a whole half of basketball with zero rebounds or one defensive rebound. And I went down the whole roster and challenged each player and challenged the group collectively to go out there and stop getting punked. Because the streets talk, and right now the streets are talking. ‘Go into the Dean Smith Center and push them boys around.’ And so I challenged them. And to your point, first half 15 offensive rebounds, second half only four, I believe, for two points. So, when you guard, you have to finish the possession off with a defensive rebound, which enables you to run. And we did that for a half tonight, so it allowed us to get the win, but we have to start bringing that from Jump Street, not waiting until the second half.”
The streets are talking? What is this, Starsky and Hutch?
Anyway, props to the Tar Heels for waking up, because Wyoming gave them a very tough first half. The halftime score was 31-29. Within about 10 minutes, the score was 56-42.
Maybe he should challenge their manhood more often.
Steve Forbes tweaked his lineup, starting Kansas transfer Jamari McDowell and Virginia Tech transfer Antonio Dorn. Dorn didn’t score and only played 13 minutes, but McDowell had 11 points in 28 minutes. After falling behind briefly in the beginning, Wake Forest took the lead and steadily pulled away. You should be paying attention to freshman Gavin Placide: he had 14 points and 8 rebounds here. Twin brother Gallagher finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds of his own.
With each game, it’s becoming clear that this BC team is not what we’re used to. The Eagles dominated the Hawks, going up 29 at one point. BC also doubled UMES on the boards, 34-17. Boston College also hit 23-24 from the line. Highly impressive performance.
SMU romped past Prairie View A&M, winning by 35. The Jaden Toombs and Jermaine O’Neal Jr. show continues as Toombs had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, while O’Neal finished with 14 points, 6 boards and 2 steals.
It’s basically a buy game, a glorified scrimmage, but it still counts as a win.
Finally, Virginia’s early-season roll continues with a big win over Bucknell. We don’t know what sort of a team Bucknell has now, but that school has a nice basketball tradition. Not enough to pull off a road win over this team, but still pretty good. Virginia forced 16 turnovers.
Nolan Adekunle – how does a 24-year-old get classified as a freshman? – had 14 points. Thijs De Ridder had 15, while Chance Mallory finished with 16. Was it the same type of glorified scrimmage that SMU had? Possibly, but Bucknell is generally better than Prairie View. However, at the moment anyway, it looks like Virginia is also way better than SMU, so probably yes, it’s about the same.
Two games on Sunday as Notre Dame hosts South Carolina State, while USC visits old conference mate Cal.
Wednesday’s ACC Action
- SC State vs. Notre Dame || 7:00 || ACCNX
- USC vs. Cal || 11:00 || ESPN
- Florida basketball’s bench emerges as a strength in win over Florida State
- Thomas Haugh records double-double as Florida defeats Florida St. for 6th straight time, 81-72
- Florida basketball’s Isaiah Brown details getting hit with a beer can at Florida State
- Five takeaways from FSU’s hard-fought loss to No. 1 Florida
- No. 1 Florida pulls away late to top Florida State in Tallahassee
- No. 1 Florida holds on, beats Florida State for sixth straight time
- WATCH: Ben McCollum, Hawkeye Players React Following Loss To Virginia Tech
- Hawks fall short in OT to Virginia Tech, 93-88
- Instant Takeaways From Virginia Tech’s 93-88 Overtime Triumph Over Iowa
- Iowa men’s hoops falls to Virginia Tech 93-88 in overtime foul fest
- The Most Important Quotes From Head Coach Scott Cross After The Victory Over Eastern Kentucky
- Colonels Build 10-Point First Half Lead At Georgia Tech, But Can’t Stave Off Second Half Comeback
- Tylis Jordan, Georgia Tech pull away from Eastern Kentucky
- Instant Takeaways From Georgia Tech’s 80-71 Win Over Eastern Kentucky
- Gainey on NC State’s win over Presbyterian: Our mindset was good
- NC State Beats Presbyterian 94-60
- NC State rolls past Presbyterian. Observations from the Wolfpack’s big win
- NC State’s Mikey Wilkins breaks through in blowout win over Presbyterian: ‘I brought my A-game’
- What Michael Malone Said After UNC’s Win vs. Wyoming: ‘The Streets Are Talking’
- Michael Malone Wyoming Transcript: Challenging UNC’s ‘Manhood,’ Could Maximo Adams Start?
- UNC men’s basketball toughens up, pulls away from Wyoming. Takeaways from the win
- Charleston Southern shows grit in road loss against Wake Forest
- Demon Deacons Cruise to 82-64 Victory Over Charleston Southern
- Wake Forest Basketball coach Steve Forbes post-Charleston Southern press conference Q&A
- Lineup changes succeed as Wake Forest defeats Charleston Southern
- Wake Forest seeks rebounding fix against Charleston Southern
- BC Uses Free Throws, Rebounding To Crush Maryland Eastern Shore 82–54
- Boston College stays perfect with rout of UMES
- BC Men’s Basketball: Eagles defeat MD Eastern 82-54
- Jaden Toombs scores 18, Jermaine O’Neal Jr. adds 14 as SMU defeats Prairie View A&M
- SMU Basketball Looks to Stay Perfect Against Prairie View A&M
- SMU out to tone down turnovers vs. Prairie View
- Chance Mallory and Thijs De Ridder lead No. 6 Virginia to 95-61 win over Bucknell
- No. 6 Virginia basketball starts fast and blasts Bucknell
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