Saturday ACC Basketball Preview
It is Saturday, and that means college basketball. Everyone except Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange team will take the floor in ACC play today. Let’s take a closer look at the slate of match-ups.
12:00 PM
- Boston College (12-13, 6-8 ACC) vs. #22 NC State (19-6, 9-5 ACC)
- NCST -6.5, O/U 140.5
Boston College hosts the Wolfpack in their return home following their season sweep of Virginia Tech. The Hokies gave the Eagles a late scare on Wednesday night as they managed to score 14 points in the last 1:36 of regulation, but, with the win, BC has improved to 6-8 in ACC play while winning 4 of their last 6 games. As for NC State, days after cracking the AP Top 25, the Wolfpack were silenced on the road by the Virginia Cavaliers 63-50.
Kevin Keatts and his squad have their sights set on salvaging their week with a win in game two of their three game road trip. Boston College guard Jaeden Zackery will be available tonight after suffering a right leg injury Wednesday night (per. Jon Rothstein). The sophomore has started 24 games for the Eagles this year and averages 10 PPG. NC State, the favorite, will need to secure their place among the top programs in the ACC with a convincing win against a BC team that is capable of winning at home (4-3 ACC).
- Florida State (8-17, 6-8 ACC) vs. Pittsburgh (17-7, 10-3 ACC)
- PITT -5.5, O/U 144.5
Pittsburgh’s head coach, Jeff Capel III, received a coach of the year nomination from Dick Vitale a few days ago acknowledging the year-to-year improvement made by this Panthers team. Capel III’s squad will be put to the test, as, at least historically, the Seminoles have one of the best home records in the country since 2016.
However, FSU is only 3-4 at home in ACC play this year. Their most recent outing was a 76-67 home loss against Syracuse, marking a loss in 4 of their last 5 games. The sole win during this stretch was a three point victory on the road at Louisville. On the other hand, Pitt is on a 4 game winning streak that includes wins against Carolina, Miami, and Wake Forest. In fact, they have won 6 of their last 7 games, but the single loss came at home against FSU, 71-64.
2:00 PM
- Notre Dame (10-14, 2-11 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech (14-10, 4-9 ACC)
- VT -4.5, O/U 143
Notre Dame hosts a Virginia Tech team that seems to have entered the third chapter of their season. The Hokies started out 11-1 before dropping 7 games straight in ACC play. In their last 5 games, the Hokies have remained competitive by going 3-2 and finding wins against Duke and Virginia. The core-4 of this Virginia Tech team (Pedulla, Mutts, Cattoor, and Basile) need to ignite a late season push that begins with finding a win on the road against a weaker Notre Dame team.
The only two wins for the Irish in ACC play have come at home against the only teams that sit below them in the ACC standings (Georgia Tech and Louisville). The familiar faces of Nate Laszewski, Dane Goodwin, and Cormac Ryan will set out to give their home crowd at South Bend something to cheer for.
- North Carolina (15-9, 7-6 ACC) vs. Clemson (18-6, 10-3 ACC)
- UNC -7.5, O/U 146.5
Despite their #1 overall preseason ranking in the AP Top 25, the Tar Heels tread in uncertain waters with March only a couple of weeks away. As it stands, Carolina is 9th in the ACC, yet they are only three games out of first place. Each team enters this contest viewing the game as a must win.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Carolina in “the last four in” and Clemson sits as an 11 seed. A loss for either program could push them out of the picture for the time being. Hubert Davis’ team was only an 8 seed last year in their run to the title game, so that is not to say there isn’t time. However, if the team can not secure a win at the Dean E. Smith Center this afternoon, their prospects of an at-large bid look grim.
4:00 PM
- #8 Virginia (18-4, 10-3 ACC) vs. Duke (17-7, 8-5 ACC)
- UVA -6, O/U 126
The highlight of today’s ACC slate is Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils on the road looking for a resume win on the road in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers quickly righted the ship following a road loss against their in-state rivals, the Virginia Tech Hokies, by knocking off the newly ranked Wolfpack on Wednesday.
On the other side of the script, the young Duke team entered their game Wednesday night riding high following their home win versus the Tar Heels in the Tobacco Road rivalry. However, the Blue Devils were quickly dismantled 81-59 by the Hurricanes in a national television blowout in Coral Gables. Come March, Duke has done enough, beyond their name, to remain in the conversation for an at-large bid. Nonetheless, a road win versus a respected Cavalier team would give a much needed facelift to their resume as it stands.
5:00 PM
- Wake Forest (16-9, 8-6 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech (9-15, 2-12 ACC)
- WAKE -14, O/U 147.5
Wake Forest aims to extend their winning streak to three games with a home contest against Georgia Tech. The Demon Deacons kept their dream of dancing alive by putting together a convincing game against the Tar Heels where Tyree Appleby hung 35 for the home crowd.
The next step is taking care of business at home. Wake has seen consistent play out of their sophomore sniper Damari Monsanto who is averaging 20 points and 5.3 rebounds in their last four contests. Most recently for Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets were able to bring their 9-game slide to an end with a tip-in at the final horn by Lance Terry. Stringing two wins together is something Georgia Tech has not done since early December, and it is not going to be easy when they take the floor at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
7:00 PM
- #19 Miami (19-5, 10-4 ACC) vs. Louisville (3-21, 1-12 ACC)
- Miami -21, O/U 147
In early December, Miami traveled to Louisville where they defeated the Cardinals 80-53 on their home floor. Unfortunately, this game would be a sign of things to come for this Louisville program as they have fallen to 1-12 in ACC play with recent losses to FSU and Pittsburgh. Miami enters Saturday night’s contest with a home record of 13-0. Miami sits half a game out of the three-way-tie for first place in the ACC with a 10-4 record in ACC play.
That being said, if Miami wins and and one of UVA, Pitt, or Clemson (all 10-3 in ACC play) were to lose today, the Hurricanes would leapfrog them in the standings. If Miami can secure an early lead, head coach Jim Larranaga will look to get his bench some additional in-game experience as he did in the teams last meeting with Louisville. Miami also has a tough road contest with UNC coming up on Monday, so it would help if starters like Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller, among others, were not forced to play a lot of minutes in the second half.
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