It was another close call, but Miami kept their perfect conference record intact after knocking off Clemson on Sunday night. It wasn't the best-played game in the world, but Miami continues to impress me with how they are able to close out games. Clemson had two really good chances to tie at the end but couldn't convert. That was the biggest headline of the weekend in the ACC which also saw Duke go down in College Park. That is definitely a big win for the Terps and could revive their chances of making the NCAA Tournament. Duke has now played three games in a row in which they didn't look all that good. To their credit, they managed to win two of them.
N.C. State continues to struggle a bit, although they were able to escape at home with a thrilling overtime win over Virginia Tech. And Virginia's defense was as bad as it's ever been under Coach Tony Bennett in surrendering 93 points to North Carolina.
Some intriguing games for the bubble teams this week. Here's what the schedule looks like:
Tuesday:
Florida State at N.C. State (7:00 p.m., ESPN2)
Florida State struggled some with Boston College, and right now has a pretty faint hope of making the NCAA Tournament. N.C. State is vulnerable, although they are a much better team at home. I keep waiting for the Wolfpack to come out with the focused effort that they had against Duke and North Carolina. Maybe it will happen Tuesday.
Maryland at Boston College (9:00 p.m., ACC Network)
This is a critical game for the Terps to not have a letdown. They need as many wins as they can get to try to make the NCAA Tournament, and this would qualify as a bad loss. Boston College continues to struggle down the stretch of games. They are close, though.
North Carolina at Georgia Tech (9:00 p.m., ACC Network)
Just like Maryland, it's important that North Carolina doesn't have a letdown here after a big win. In theory, they should have too much offensive firepower for the Yellow Jackets to keep up with. And for some reason Georgia Tech has played better on the road as of late. The team that can play at the tempo they want will be the winner.
Virginia at Miami (9:00 p.m., ESPNU)
Another tough road test for Virginia, going down to Coral Gables to try to give the Hurricanes their first loss. I do think Virginia has a chance, but they need to play much better defense than they did in Chapel Hill. If Miami starts making threes they will be very difficult to knock off at home.
Thursday:
Duke at Virginia Tech (9:00 p.m., ESPN)
Virginia Tech seems to rise to the occasion whenever Duke comes to town, but I'm not sure they have the firepower to pull off the upset. The Hokies played probably their best conference game at N.C. State and still lost. Still, Duke hasn't played their best basketball lately. This could be a battle to the end.
Clemson and Wake Forest are off this week.
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