Thoughts on Saturday's Games


The schedule is pretty light this time of year, but there were a couple intriguing games on Saturday's schedule in the ACC.  The two most high profile games were marked by poor defense.  Let's start in Raleigh, where NC State played some inspired basketball but still lost at home to Syracuse by 16.  NC State came out on fire, hitting all their shots and building a lead, but Syracuse went on a huge run in the first half that was back-breaking.  At times, NC State did a great job of getting out in transition and getting to the basket against the Syracuse zone.  But like the Indiana game, their defense was their downfall, giving up 88 points.


Miami certainly has some weapons on offense, as they showed in their two overtime win against Florida Atlantic yesterday.  Reggie Johnson returned and proved that he can be a force down low.  However, he looks really overweight to me and a bit slow.  Teams would be wise to force him to come out to the free throw line and guard people, taking advantage of his lack of speed.  Coach Larranaga has to be upset by the lack of defense Miami played.  Florida Atlantic (coached by Mike Jarvis) had way too many easy shots down the stretch.  The two teams combined to shoot 29 for 49 from 3!  Miami can be a top half team in the ACC with their talent, but they need to start playing some D to make up for the days when their shooters aren't hitting.


The rest of the day was pretty light.  Virginia Tech got a solid 25 point win over Campbell.  Tech fans have to be pretty happy with the play of their four freshmen, who yesterday combined for 27 points.  Clemson got a much needed win, albeit over a bad Winthrop team.  And UNC got an easy win against an over-matched Appalachian State.


There is one interesting game on the schedule for Sunday.  UVA travels west to take on Oregon.  The Ducks have been near the bottom of the Pac 10 (or 12) the past couple years but should be right in the middle of that conference this year.  This is part of a two game trip for UVA in which they will also take on Seattle.