It could be, but first, those two ACC schools will need to get past their Sweet 16 foes.

First up is North Carolina. Just when they get one injured, impactful player back (John Henson), they lose another (Kendall Marshall). The Tarheels point guard plays just about every minute of every game, but surgery on his non-shooting wrist could keep him out on Friday night (he did have the cast removed on Wednesday). Head coach Roy Williams said the team is planning on playing without Marshall. UNC is expected to use the combination of Stillman White and Justin Watts, who average 11 minutes a game combined.

Marshall’s injury looms large because can White and Watts get the ball to their high-scoring trio of Henson, Harrison Barnes, and Tyler Zeller? Frustration on their part could lead to an exit from the Big Dance.

UNC will have to face the Cinderella of the tournament, Ohio, who beat Michigan and South Florida to advance to the Sweet 16. Granted, the Tarheels will be their toughest test. Yet the Bobcats play good defense, as they allow 62.3 points per game and opponents shoot just 29.7% from beyond the arc.

So far in the tournament, Ohio has been led by guard DJ Cooper, who scored 21 points against Michigan and 19 points against USF, and wingman Walter Offutt, who scored 11 points against Michigan but 21 points against USF. However if the game is close and comes down to free throw shooting, Ohio is in trouble. They shoot just 65.6% from the charity stripe.

Game time on Friday night is 7:45pm ET on TBS.

The winner of this game will face either a semi-Cinderella or a powerhouse. I call NC State a semi-Cinderella because of their low seeding (an 11), but they come from the ACC and many jumped on their bandwagon after their play in the ACC Tournament.

The Wolfpack seem to be putting it all together at the right time, as they’re getting production from everyone. The key will be sharp-shooter Scott Wood. When he makes at least four 3-pointers, NC State is 10-0. Another key for the Wolfpack is staying out of foul trouble. They only play about seven players and the bench so far has been able to keep them afloat.

The powerhouse team they will face is Kansas, who made a furious comeback to survive Purdue and advance. Kansas has been led in the tournament by Thomas Robinson’s usual double-double: he scored 16 points and hauled in 13 rebounds against Detroit and scored 11 points while hauling in 12 rebounds against Purdue.

The Jayhawks have also had a surprise step up, Elijah Johnson. The guard averaged 9.8 PPG during the regular season, but turned it on to score 15 points against Detroit and 18 points against Purdue.

They have needed all of that from Johnson, as Tyshawn Taylor is averaging just ten points in the tourney after averaging a little over 17 PPG during the regular season. Big man Jeff Withey has also been quiet.

For Kansas to advance, they need more of a well-balanced attack against NC State.

This game will follow UNC-Ohio on TBS at approximately 10:17 pm ET.

*For more from a Big XII standpoint, check out Amanda’s preview HERE.

Third round action got underway on Sunday with the first upset of the day and a double-digit seed reaching the Sweet 16. The ACC and Big East got the day started and ended the night.

NC State 66, Georgetown 63: NC State took control of the game at the end of the first half when the Wolfpack went on a 15-2 to run, capped by a CJ Leslie steal and dunk to end the half. The key was getting all the Georgetown bigs in foul trouble.

However Georgetown got back into the game late, helped out by NC State misses from the free throw line (they made just 19-of-31 and missed four in the final minute). Even Scott Wood, a 92% free throw shooter, missed two.

Georgetown had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds and got a good look at the basket, but Jason Clark’s three pointer was an airball at the buzzer.

Three NC State players finished with 14 points: Wood, Leslie, and CJ Williams. Leslie hauled in eight rebounds. Lorenzo Brown finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. For the Hoyas, Hollis Thompson finished with 23 points, while Clark had ten points.

The 11-seed Wolfpack is headed to the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Region in St. Louis. They will face the 2-seed Kansas, who survived Purdue (who led for all but the final minute of the game). The game will be played on Friday, March 23^rd at 10:17pm ET on TBS.

» Continue reading “ACC Sends Two Teams to Sweet 16″

The ACC received five bids to the NCAA Tournament. The hottest team may be Florida State, who beat Duke and North Carolina on back-to-back days to win the ACC Tournament. But can FSU stay hot after a week off?

FSU is led by Michael Snaer, who averages 14.5 points per game. Bernard James averages 8.2 rebounds a game and Luke Loucks averages 4.3 assists per game.

The Seminoles will face A-10 Champion St. Bonaventure at approximately 2:45pm ET on CBS and will have to deal with versatile big man (and potential NBA first-rounder) Andrew Nicholson. I believe the key to victory is how FSU deals with the A-10 Player of the Year. He single-handedly beat Xavier in the A-10 title game. If FSU can contain Nicholson and get him into foul trouble, they will have a great chance of winning. If not, the Bonnies will be pulling off the shocking upset.

*The ACC regular season champions, North Carolina, earned a number one seed in the Midwest Region and will play around 4:10pm ET on Friday (TBS) against Vermont, the winner of Wednesday night’s play-in game.

UNC has a high-octane offense that scores 82 PPG and shoots 46% from the field. They are led by the front court trio of NBA prospects in Tyler Zeller (16.5 PPG), Harrison Barnes (17.4 PPG), and John Henson (13.8 PPG). Henson also averages 10.1 RPG, though he is questionable for the Tarheels first game. The bigs accumulate a lot of points via offensive rebounds, but they also have Kendall Marshall (9.7 APG) to deliver them the ball.

Vermont only scores 67.3 PPG, but only allows 60.5 PPG. The Catamounts have three players who score in double-figures: Four McGlynn (12.2 PPG off the bench), Matt Glass (11.9 PPG), and Luke Apfeld (10.1PPG). Brian Voelkel is their leading rebounder (8.7 RPG) while also their leading assist man (5.2 APG).

» Continue reading “NCAA Tournament: Preview of ACC Teams”

Quarterfinal Friday got underway at noon ET in the ACC Tournament as the top-seed North Carolina took on Maryland. UNC pulled away late to win, 85-69. The win may have been costly for the Tarheels, as John Henson hurt his wrist and will be a game-time decision for Saturday.

UNC led by ten at the half, but back-to-back three pointers from Reggie Bullock increased their lead. Maryland did cut the deficit down to seven points a few times, but couldn’t get any closer.

Maryland was out-rebounded 41-34 and allowed UNC to shoot over 50% from the field.

Terrell Stoglin of Maryland led all scorers with 30 points, but teammates Nick Faust and Sean Mosley made just 6-of-24 shots. For the Tarheels, four players scored in double-figures with Kendall Marshall contributing a double-double: 13 points and 12 assists.

» Continue reading “ACC Tournament Quarterfinals Recap”

The ACC Tournament gets underway with first round action on Thursday at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. North Carolina won the regular season title and own the top seed. The top four seeds (UNC, Duke, Florida State, and Virginia) received a bye to Quarterfinal Friday.

*The 8-9 matchup opens up first round action at noon ET. Maryland will face Wake Forest. Maryland beat WF back in January. The Terrapins didn’t play well to finish the season, as they lost three in a row. WF lost three of their last four games.

Players to Watch: Maryland’s Terrell Stoglin leads the ACC in scoring at 21.2 points per game. Wake’s CJ Harris (16.8 PPG) and Travis McKie (15.9 PPG) rank in the conference’s top ten in scoring.

The winner will face UNC to start Quarterfinal Friday (noon ET). Maryland lost to UNC twice, while WF lost once.

*The five-seed NC State (who is sitting on the NCAA bubble) will then face 12th-seeded Boston College. NC State beat BC twice during the regular season. The Wolfpack ended the season winning two in a row, but lost four in a row prior. BC ended the season losing five out of six.

Players to Watch: NC State’s CJ Leslie averages 14.3 PPG and 7.1 rebounds a game. Scott Wood of NC State leads the ACC in three point field goal percentage (41.5%) and he makes at least two 3-pointers a game. BC is led by freshman Ryan Anderson, who averages 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.

The winner will face UVA in the second game on Quarterfinal Friday. NC State lost to UVA by just one point, while BC lost, 66-49.

» Continue reading “ACC Tournament Preview”