Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Week Preview: 2/12-2/14

It was a good weekend for a couple bubble teams and a not good weekend for a few others.  First the good: Virginia and N.C. State got nice road wins.  It came pretty easily for Virginia, a dominating performance at Maryland.  The Cavaliers have a very ugly loss to Old Dominion on their resume, but look like an NCAA Tournament team right now.  N.C. State's last second win over Clemson was big because it stopped the bleeding.  The Wolfpack really needed Scott Wood's shot to drop to avoid a four game losing streak.

On the flip side, Maryland and North Carolina took hits.  Maryland is on the outside looking in right now, with not much to speak of on their resume.  Losing at home by double digits to another bubble team is not the way to get it done.  Meanwhile, North Carolina looked overwhelmed in Miami much like they did at N.C. State.  And then there's Florida State.  Who can predict what the Seminoles will do next?  When they aren't getting buzzer-beaters from Michael Snaer they are looking pretty bad, only putting up 46 points against Wake Forest.

Here's the schedule for the week:

Tuesday:

Virginia Tech at Virginia (7:00 p.m., ESPNU)
Rivalry games can be close but there's not much in the recent play of Virginia Tech to suggest that's going to happen.  The Hokies had one of the worst losses of the year, trailing at one point by 25 at home to Georgia Tech.  In the meantime, Virginia is on a roll.  If the Hokies don't start out well this could get very ugly.

Wednesday:

Miami at Florida State (7:00 p.m., ESPN2)
In a week with good rivalry games, this one could be the most competitive.  Miami is perfect in conference play, but could take on their first defeat in this one.  Florida State is certainly capable of playing well, and they should be fired up to play Miami.  An injury to Kenny Kadji could play a big factor.  If he can't play that will boost the Seminoles' chances.

Wake Forest at Boston College (7:00 p.m., FSN)
Boston College had a really good chance to knock off Duke this weekend, but took two of the ugliest shots you will ever see at the end of the game and lost by one.  It seemed like the moment was too big for them.  We'll see how they respond at home against a Wake Forest team that is bipolar.  At home, Wake is good, and on the road they really struggle.  This one should come down to the wire.

North Carolina at Duke (9:00 p.m., ACC Network/ESPN)
I can't remember the last time this matchup had less fanfare.  Duke is just way ahead of where North Carolina is right now, even with their struggles at Boston College.  If this game was in Chapel Hill, it would be much more interesting.  But it's hard to find a scenario in which the young Tar Heels will be able to handle the Cameron pressure, seeing how they performed at Miami and N.C. State.

Thursday:

Clemson at Georgia Tech (7:00 p.m., FSN)
These two teams just played each other a couple weeks ago, and Clemson pulled out a close win.  I expect this one to be close as well.  Neither one of these teams is looking at an NCAA Tournament bid, but they are playing for pride and position in the standings.

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