First off, sorry that I didn't have a semifinal preview. After the late and crazy ending of the Virginia Tech-Florida State game, I decided to go to Greensboro for yesterday's semis, and had to leave early for that. It was an interesting Saturday at the ACC Tournament. Clemson has to be kicking themselves for losing their game at the end to UNC. They outplayed the Tar Heels for much of that game, only to see Harrison Barnes and company make big shots at the end of regulation and overtime. Clemson sure looks like an NCAA Tournament team - we'll see how things shake out.
The second game wasn't quite as exciting. Virginia Tech fought hard but didn't have enough left in the tank to compete with a Duke team that seems to be bringing its best to the ACC Tournament as always. Nolan Smith was terrific against the Hokies. Like Clemson, Virginia Tech now waits its fate tonight.
So now to today's game: Duke vs. UNC. Surprisingly, these two teams haven't met in the ACC final since 2001. The atmosphere in the Greensboro Coliseum is going to be off the charts. It's not often you get college basketball's best rivalry at a neutral site with lots of both teams' fans.
As for the game, I give Duke the slight edge. They have definitely been playing better than UNC over the last two days. They are just a more disciplined and defensively sound team. Smith and Singler appear to be playing well at the same time, which is a big boost. I think Duke will be able to neutralize the fast break of UNC and will have a defense set up to stop Barnes. Like the game in Cameron, I see Duke's strategy being to try to make Kendall Marshall a shooter. He's shown the ability to make big shots (had a critical 3 in OT yesterday) but is inconsistent.
The Heels have to get off to a better start. They can't get down double digits to Duke and expect them to fold at the end of the game like Miami, and to a lesser degree, Clemson. UNC will have the majority of the crowd support and certainly has a good chance, but I like the Devils to win this one and probably earn a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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