Weekend Preview

There wasn't a lot of drama in this week's ACC games.  The only game that came down to the wire was a non-conference affair, BYU beating Virginia Tech by two.  All of the top four won their games by double digits (UNC, Duke, UVA and FSU).  This weekend's slate of games is not the strongest, but does have one very interesting Saturday night matchup.

Here's a look ahead (Florida State is off):

Saturday:

St. John's at Duke (12:00 p.m., ESPN)
Duke has been playing St. John's for several years now, with mixed success.  Last year the Johnnies won a big game against Duke at home.  They aren't the same team this year, though, playing with a lot of young players.  Duke should be able to win this one by double digits.

Wake Forest at Clemson (12:00 p.m., ACC Network)
Wake has struggled to play with any consistency in ACC play.  Clemson has had a week off after beating Georgia Tech at home.  This game doesn't mean much other than positioning in the bottom half of the standings.

Virginia Tech at Maryland (2:30 p.m., ACC Network)
Maryland had a chance to beat their most hated rival on Wednesday, but ran out of steam against Duke.  They have to avoid a letdown in this one against a Virginia Tech team that has been playing a little better but still has a lot of ground to make up after a bad conference start.

Virginia at NC State (8:00 p.m., ESPN2)
This is definitely the matchup of the weekend.  Virginia needs to get back to playing solid basketball - they struggled most of the game against Boston College.  NC State had a chance to score a big win against UNC but looked completely overmatched.  If Virginia can win this one, they can establish themselves as the third best team in the conference.

Sunday:

Miami at Boston College (1:00 p.m., ACC Network)
Miami's schedule has gotten a lot easier since their tough start, and should be able to win a second road game this week.  Boston College had an admirable effort for 35 minutes against Virginia but faded down the stretch.  I can't imagine a lot of people will be at this game.

Georgia Tech at North Carolina (6:00 p.m., ESPNU)
Carolina has looked very strong in its last game and a half.  They should have no trouble with the struggling Yellow Jackets, who are currently last in the standings.  Brian Gregory may be a good coach, but right now he is having a hard time getting his guys to compete offensively.