ACC Basketball: #23 Miami at #20 Clemson, UNC at Duke
The Atlantic Coast Conference has a long and storied history for basketball, and the 2022-2023 regular season champion is far from decided.
The Clemson Tigers host the Miami Hurricanes in a game that will help decide which squad wins the regular season title. For the Canes, it’s been about guard play.
Whether it has been about Nigel Pack’s incredible finish to the Virginia Tech game (all 17 of his points came during the final minutes of the contest), or their most consistent guard Isaiah Wong (16.3 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game), Miami has been a team that played through its guards.
For Clemson, it’s been a team effort to get them to the top of the ACC standings. Leading the way has been forward Hunter Tyson (16.3 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game). He’s an inside-outside player that can make the big shot or keep the opponent from getting second-chance points.
Miami had tough road losses to Duke (68-66) and Pittsburgh (71-68), and has gone 3-2 during its last five games. Clemson, meanwhile, went 3-2 as well.
The winner of this game might be which squad shoots the best from behind the arc. Miami does not have a lot of size, but can really get hot from behind the three-point line. Norchad Omier leads them underneath, but there’s no true 7-foot rim protector for the defense.
Clemson might try to drive the basketball to the hoop and kick out for open threes when the Miami defense collapses. On the other side, it will be hard for Clemson to slow down Miami’s barrage of shooters.
Watch for Jordan Miller, Pack, and Wong to challenge them from behind the arc, dump the basketball down low to Omier when he’s single covered. There’s another big ACC game as well.
The biggest game in terms of tradition takes place in Durham, N.C. between the host Blue Devils of Duke against their arch-rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Freshman center Kyle Filipowski (15.8 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game) will lead the home squad in what will be Round 1 between two teams trying to claw back into the conference title race. North Carolina will counter with
Duke’s last five games include a 3-2 record with a tough road loss to current ACC leader Clemson, 72-64, but also included a bad loss to Virginia Tech, 78-75, despite Filipowski scoring 29 points. If the Devils make a run at the ACC title, it starts on Saturday.
North Carolina will counter Filipowski and Duke with a big man of its own, Armondo Bacat (17.7 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game). That should be an intriguing battle between the two talented post players.
The key for the Tar Heels getting the basketball to Bacat could be how well guard Caleb Love shoots from the outside. He’s been playing well, scoring at least 16 points in each of his last four games, including 22 points versus Pittsburgh, a 65-64 loss at home on Wednesday.
The Tar Heels went 4-1 during their last five, with the lone loss coming to the Panthers. Here’s a look at how the ACC looks right now, followed by the ACC games coming up this Saturday.
ACC Basketball Standings
Clemson, 10-2
Virginia, 9-2
Pittsburgh, 9-3
Miami, 8-4
North Carolina State, 8-4
Duke, 7-4
North Carolina, 7-4
Wake Forest, 6-6
Syracuse, 6-6
Boston College, 5-7
Florida State, 5-7
Virginia Tech, 3-8
Notre Dame, 2-9
Louisville, 1-10
Georgia Tech, 1-11
Saturday’s ACC Basketball Schedule
#6 Virginia at Virginia Tech, 12 p.m. - ESPN
Wake Forest at Notre Dame, 1 p.m. - ACC Extra
Georgia Tech at North Carolina State, 1 p.m. - ACC Network
Florida State at Louisville, 2 p.m. - ESPN2
#23 Miami at #20 Clemson, 3 p.m. - ACC Network
Syracuse at Boston College, 5 p.m. - ACC Network
North Carolina at Duke, 6:30 p.m. - ESPN
