No. 3 Marquette Defeats No. 2 Miami

You can read a recap on my site here.

No. 4 Syracuse Defeats No. 1 Indiana

Syracuse defeated Indiana 61-50 last night to move onto the Elite 8.

Indiana did not look like a number 1 team. They missed layups, threw passes out of bounds and dribbled into defenders. They shot 33.3% from the field and had 19 turnovers.

Syracuse’s sophomore guard led the team with 24 points and five rebounds while Brandon Triche added 14 points.

The Orange move on to play Marquette, their Big East rival on Saturday,

When the dust settled after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, there were two ACC teams left standing out of the four that were invited.

The day didn’t start out well for the ACC, as North Carolina lost to one seed Kansas, 70-58. It was a game in which the media made it more about the former coach (Roy Williams) facing his former team of years ago (Kansas).

The Tarheels led 30-21 at the half and took the Jayhawks completely out of their offense. Kansas committed 12 first half turnovers and went seven-plus minutes without a field goal. After UNC then missed 12 shots in a row, they went on a 14-2 run to end the half.

However in the second half for the second straight game, big man Jeff Withey took over. Withey finished with a double-double: 16 points and 16 rebounds. He was helped out by fellow senior Travis Releford, who scored 22 points.

Kansas out-scored UNC, 49-28 in the second half. The Tarheels new look four guard offense was no match in the second half for the interior Jayhawks.

PJ Hairston scored 15 points and hauled in eight rebounds, while James Michael McAdoo chipped in 11 points in the loss (they were the only two in double figures for UNC).

The night was much kinder to the ACC.

Two seed Miami held on for the 63-29 victory over seven seed Illinois. It is only the second time in school history that the Hurricanes are headed to the Sweet 16. They will play three seed Marquette on Thursday night at 7:15pm ET on CBS.

The Hurricanes received 21 points off the bench from Rion Brown to go with 17 points from Shane Larkin, who played all forty minutes. Larkin‘s three pointer with one minute remaining to give Miami the lead was his first basket since there was 10:29 to go in the game. Miami then hit six straight free throws to seal the win.

It was a hard fought battle that didn’t see a ton of turnovers committed (just 14 combined), but also did not see a ton of scoring over the first 3/4 of the game (Miami only led 29-26 at the half).

For more on the Illinois loss, click HERE.

» Continue reading “Two ACC Teams Left Standing”

The ACC started the NCAA Tournament on Friday by going 3-1. However, all but one of those games was close throughout.

Duke started out by squeaking by 15 seeded Albany 73-61. You can read the full recap of that game HERE. So that started out the conference at 1-0. The Blue Devils will play Creighton on Sunday from Philadelphia.

That quickly changed, as NC State lost to Temple in the East Region, 76-72. The Wolfpack did get the 16-point halftime deficit down to three points with about three minutes to go, but the Owls prevailed. You can read more on the game HERE.

Miami put the ACC back ahead at 2-1, when they beat Pacific, 78-49. The Hurricanes led 40-19 at the half, as they forced nine turnovers. Pacific made it a lot more respectable, as they only lost the second half 38-30.

In the first half, Shane Larkin led the way with ten points, but it was the Miami bench that gave them the big lead. Tonye Jekiri scored six points and hauled in four rebounds. Rion Brown also scored six points (he finished with nine points).

In the second half, Durand Scott (who was in foul trouble in the first half) came alive. He finished with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Larkin did not score again, but did have nine assists.

In the loss for Pacific, Travis Fulton scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half. Khalil Kelley chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds. Markus Duran added nine points off the bench.

Miami advanced to the field of 32 to play Illinois on Sunday in Austin, Texas.

The final ACC game of the night pitted an 8-9 matchup between North Carolina and Villanova. The Tarheels let an 18-point first half lead slip to 37-29 at the half. The Wildcats came back and actually took the lead (45-44 with 13:40 to go), but couldn’t hold it for long. UNC won 78-71. With the victory, Coach Roy Williams picked up his 700th career win.

Villanova mounted their comeback when three starters had huge second halves. JayVaughn Pinkston scored 11 of his 20 points in the second half and hauled in eight rebounds. Darrun Hilliard scored 12 of his 18 points in the final half with six rebounds. Mouphtao Yarou, a senior, scored 11 of his 17 points in his final half with eight rebounds. Unfortunately, they missed some big shots late that would have made the final alot more interesting.

When UNC needed it most, they hit some big threes. PJ Hairston led all scorers with 23 points (7-of-11). Reggie Bullock scored 15 points and James Michael McAdoo chipped in 17 points.

The Tarheels will play the winner of Kansas-Western Kentucky on Sunday in Kansas City.

If anyone has been following anything that the NCAA Investigation team has been doing over the last couple of years, then this should come as absolutely no surprise to you. It was revealed on Wednesday that the NCAA, while doing the Miami investigation, has found evidence of improper conduct… by the NCAA. Oh.

Apparently, former investigative staff members worked with the attorney of former Miami booster and convicted Ponzi scheme crazy Nevin Shapiro. They were told to “to improperly obtain information through a bankruptcy proceeding that did not involve the NCAA”. Oh.

Part of the statement released by the NCAA goes into more detail about what went wrong:

As it does not have subpoena power, the NCAA does not have the authority to compel testimony through procedures outside of its enforcement program. Through bankruptcy proceedings, enforcement staff gained information for the investigation that would not have been accessible otherwise.

So, the NCAA lied to try and catch liars. Your head hurt yet?

The NCAA head honcho, Mark Emmert also said on Wednesday, “I have been vocal in the past regarding the need for integrity by NCAA member schools, athletics administrators, coaches, and student-athletes. That same commitment to integrity applies to all of us in the NCAA national office.” Sure you have, Emmert.

Also from Emmert:

To say the least, I am angered and saddened by this situation. Trust and credibility are essential to our regulatory tasks. My intent is to ensure our investigatory functions operate with integrity and are fair and consistent with our member schools, athletics staff and, most importantly, our student-athletes

The Miami Hurricanes have been under investigation by the NCAA for over two years and was first reported by Yahoo Sports. It seems that the NCAA should maybe hire Yahoo Sports in place of who they already have in there because at least they are competent.

The findings have now prompted Emmert to investigate his investigation team and and do a review of his entire enforcement program. What does all this mean for Miami? It means that the NCAA is halting all investigation proceedings until he can get his own department straight.

It may take forever for that to happen, so looks like you’re good Miami.

Kentucky is still basking in the glow of their National Championship win, but the rest of us have already started thinking about next year’s basketball season. One indication that we’re moving forward: the matchups have been set for the 14th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Nov. 27-28.

All 12 games will be featured on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, and the programs will be playing for conference bragging rights and the Commissioners Cup.

The 2012 Challenge involves nine teams ranked in an ESPN.com early preseason top 25, which as we all know means next to nothing. Tons of things could occur between now and October, but I would be remiss not to list the rankings associated with the ACC and B1G teams, five of which are in the top 10: No. 1 Indiana, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 NC State, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State. The only thing that might be accurate is that four out of five come from the Big Ten, but I’m not biased or anything.

The ACC won the first 10 Challenges while the Big Ten captured the Commissioner Cup for the last three years, including an eight to four win advantage over the ACC last year. In the event of a 6-6 tie, the Commissioner’s Cup will remain with the conference that won the previous year. In case you’re not following, that means it stays with the Big Ten.

2012 Challenge Fun Facts:

- Duke, which has won 11 of its 13 Challenge games, will host Ohio State in the quest for an event-record 12th victory. Duke lost to Ohio State last year and to Wisconsin in 2009.

- Four of the games will feature first-time Challenge matchups: Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin, Maryland at Northwestern, No. 9 Michigan State at Miami and Georgia Tech at Illinois.

- In addition to first-time Challenge games, several of the teams are infrequent opponents: Michigan State and Miami have never met; Northwestern and Maryland played one other time, a Northwestern victory in 1958; Virginia and Wisconsin split its two games, Virginia in 1975 and Wisconsin in 1999; and Illinois has defeated Georgia Tech in six of its seven games, including the last one in 2001.

- Eleven teams between the two conferences played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament: Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia from the ACC, and Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.

- Boston College and Penn State and Nebraska and Wake Forest will follow first-time Challenge meetings with a second consecutive matchup.

- Five of the games will mark three-time Challenge matchups: North Carolina at Indiana (Indiana win in 2001 and North Carolina in 2004), NC State at Michigan (Michigan win in 2003 and NC State in 2006), Ohio State at Duke (Duke win in 2002 and Ohio State in 2011), Iowa at Virginia Tech (won by Virginia Tech in 2006 and 2009) and Purdue at Clemson (Purdue win in 2003 and Clemson in 2007).

- Three and one more: Minnesota and Florida State will meet for the fourth time (Minnesota won in 2000 and Florida State in 2004 and 2007).

2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule:

Tue, Nov 27

No. 13 North Carolina at No. 1 Indiana

No. 6 NC State at No. 5 Michigan

No. 25 Minnesota at Florida State

Maryland at Northwestern

Iowa at Virginia Tech

Nebraska at Wake Forest

Wed, Nov 28

No. 8 Ohio State at No. 15 Duke

Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin

No. 9 Michigan State at Miami

Purdue at Clemson

Georgia Tech at Illinois

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 got underway on Thursday with first round action beginning at noon ET.

The day started with the 8-9 matchup between Maryland and Wake Forest, with the winner moving on to play top-seed North Carolina on Friday.

Maryland ended the first half on a 9-3 run to take a 36-31 halftime lead. The Terrapins carried that momentum into the second half, as they opened on a 15-4 run. They never looked back en route to their 82-60 victory.

Maryland out-rebounded WF 39-24 and they out-scored WF 44-28 in the paint. They also shot 54% from the field.

The ACC’s leading scorer, Terrell Stoglin, was unhappy about not being named to the All-ACC first team. Many said it was because he takes too many bad shots and he isn’t team-oriented. Stoglin took that to heart, especially in the first half (he had just five points prior to Maryland’s run to end the half). He finished with 25 points and made 4-of-5 shots in the second half. Nick Faust totaled 19 points and James Padgett added ten for the Terps.

Wake only had three players score in the first half: CJ Harris (13 points), Travis McKie (nine points), and Nikita Mescheriakov (nine points). That continued in the second half, as those three combined for 52 of Wake’s 60 points. However Harris only scored one point in the second half.

» Continue reading “ACC Tournament First Round 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”