ACC/Big Ten Challenge: Winners and Losers
All told, it wasn't a bad week for the ACC, earning a tie against what many people think is the best conference. Some of the wins came from unexpected sources, as well. My predicting skills were much better on Day 1: I went 5-1 on the first day, and 2-4 on the second. So let's take a look at some winners and losers, focusing on the ACC:
Winners:
A lot of people didn't give the Hurricanes a chance, even at home, against Michigan State. But they came through with some solid 3 point shooting, especially from Trey McKinney Jones. This is a win that Coach Larranaga should be able to build on going into conference play.
It was a good couple days for the Virginia schools. Virginia Tech showed a lot of offensive firepower in their first real test against Iowa, putting up 95 points. And Virginia pulled off maybe the upset of the tournament, winning in Madison against Wisconsin. It is very tough to win at Wisconsin, and Tony Bennett's squad got it done.
How Duke was playing in the first half against Ohio State, you would have thought they would have been down by 15 at halftime. But the crowd wouldn't let them lose this one, staying loud even when they were really struggling. So when Duke turned it on in the second half, they weren't losing. Think about this: Duke has already beaten three of the four schools that were in the Final Four last year.
Okay, so beating Penn State isn't the greatest accomplishment. But a win on the road against a power conference team is a good step for a Boston College team that has really struggled. This is easily Coach Donahue's best win in the non-conference in the last two years.
Losers:
I wasn't quite buying into the Seminoles yet, and picked Minnesota, but I didn't expect the game to be so lopsided. The Golden Gophers seized the game from the start, and the final margin of nine didn't reflect the domination. Florida State shouldn't be struggling to score so much with guards like Michael Snaer and Ian Miller.
Clemson and Wake Forest both had bad home losses to teams in the bottom half of the Big Ten. Purdue hadn't shown much of anything, but jumped all over Clemson in Littlejohn. And what can you say about Wake? They let Nebraska go on a big run in the second half to blow them out of Lawrence Joel. The clock is ticking, Jeff Bzdelik.
They weren't expected to beat Indiana, but this game was not like a Roy Williams coached team. The Tar Heels hung in for a half, but got completely blown out in the second half, and couldn't do anything to stem the tide of the Hoosiers' run. They need to improve because other teams in the ACC are passing them by.
I'm listing close games as a loser because where were they? Seven of the 12 games were decided by more than 10 points. And as I mentioned an eighth game really was never close (Minnesota vs. FSU). In fact the smallest margin of victory belonged to Duke, who won by five.
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