There were only three ACC teams that didn't see action this week, but they were two of the ACC's three best teams (Duke, Virginia) and with Christmas falling last week, there weren't a ton of high-profile non-conference games.
Louisville, despite a game effort, couldn't knock off No. 1 Kentucky, but they still stayed in the top five at No. 5 of the AP poll and the ACC has five in the poll now (four in the top 14). But some teams still played last week -- twice, in some cases -- and some turned in some surprising efforts. Just a few more days yet until conference play begins in earnest on Saturday.
Jaron Blossomgame/Landry Nnoko, Clemson: The Tigers beat Oakland, sure, but a win is a win and those two big men had great games. Blossomgame had 26 points on 8 of 10 shooting and added five rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes, while Nnoko had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes. For Clemson to win, their big men have to play well, and both did in this game.
Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame: The Irish continue to overcome bad performances from Jerian Grant because of the supporting cast, and Connaughton had a big game against Northern Illinois with 21 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. The 6-foot-5 senior has averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds in the last two games on 14 of 27 shooting, and he's getting his touch back from 3-point range as well.
Rakeem Christmas/Trevor Cooney/Michael Gbinije, Syracuse: All three of Syracuse's experienced players deserve recognition, as they led the Orange to two wins last week over Colgate and Long Beach State. Christmas was spectacular, averaging 20 points and 10.5 rebounds on 66.7 percent shooting, while Cooney averaged 18 on 50 percent shooting and Gbinije had a career stretch, averaging 17.5 points on 13 of 20 shooting to go with averages of 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Syracuse needs all three, and all three delivered.
Trevor Lacey/Cat Barber, NC State: Lacey's shooting numbers weren't great against Louisiana Tech, but he finished with a game-high 20 points in NC State's comeback win and added five rebounds, an assist and no turnovers in 37 minutes. Plus, per the usual, he made nearly every big shot when called upon. Barber, the sophomore point guard, had maybe his best game of the year with 17 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. His second half in particular was something to behold as his aggressiveness tempered with control was huge for the Wolfpack.
Codi Miller-McIntyre, Wake Forest: Speaking of shooting numbers, Wake's junior point guard's weren't good in two wins -- 12 of 31, to be exact -- but he averaged 18 points in Wake's two wins, largely because he was 4 of 9 from three and 8-of-14 from the foul line. He also averaged six rebounds, five assists and 3.5 steals in 59 minutes in those two games, and had a semi-assist-type-thing for Wake's game-winning bucket at Richmond on Sunday (OK, it was really more of a missed shot, but who's counting).
Bibbs wasn't the only Virginia Tech freshman to play well last week. Ahmed Hill averaged 14 points and six rebounds in two games, while Jalen Hudson had 27 points in just 40 minutes on 11 of 15 shooting on the week.
Meanwhile, Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Meyes had 14 points in the win over Stetson and added seven assists and North Carolina's Justin Jackson finally got going a bit, finishing the UAB win with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists in just 22 minutes.
It hasn't been an ideal start to the season for the Orange, particularly after last year, but you know what? They had two solid wins last week over Colgate and Long Beach State, and both were by double digits. They also posted an offensive efficiency of over 120 in back-to-back games for the first time this season, not to mention holding consecutive opponents to efficiency numbers under 100 for the first time in December.
Syracuse has cut down on its turnovers, and while its freshmen have hit a bit of a wall (Chris McCullough and Kaleb Joseph combined for 19 points in two games), the three upperclassmen are carrying them (they scored 111 of Syracuse's 163 points). The Orange will take it for now, although ACC play may prove to be a grind.
Wake Forest at Richmond, 65-63. Was it a pass or a shot? Either way, it doesn't matter -- Wake Forest's Codi Miller-McIntyre found Devin Thomas for a game-winning basket at Richmond, and Wake got to 7-6 on the season and got its best win of the Danny Manning era (Richmond is 105th in Ken Pomeroy's rankings and entered the game at 96th). The fact that it came on the road makes it more impressive.
None of Wake's losses are that bad -- five of the six opponents to beat them are in Pomeroy's top 100, and three are in the top 37 -- so maybe the young Demon Deacons can close out non-conference play strong and go into its opening three-game homestand in ACC play with a bit of confidence.
Dayton is a good team, so losing to the Flyers -- particularly on the road -- is nothing shameful. But Dayton -- Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory's old team -- is in markedly better shape than the Yellow Jackets' program at the moment. Since 2012, Dayton has reached the NIT and the NCAA Tournament once each, and is 72-40 overall under Archie Miller.
Yes, the Flyers play in an easier conference, but Georgia Tech is 51-55 under Gregory and has finished above .500 just once (in 2013), never reaching any postseason tournament. Oh, and by the way, Dayton won the game by double digits and controlled most of the second half; Georgia Tech shot 20 3-pointers (making four) against a Dayton team that didn't play anyone taller than 6-foot-6.
Jordan Roper, Clemson. Roper is a junior, and has plenty of experience. But he has really had a rough season, and last week -- even though it was in a win -- did nothing to help as he played just 13 minutes and missed all four of his shot attempts and added one assist but four turnovers. He now has by far the worst Pomeroy ORtg (offensive efficiency) player rating of any ACC player to see at least a third of his team's minutes.
Virginia Tech (8-4) at No. 17 West Virginia (11-1), Tuesday, 2 p.m.
The Hokies have won four in a row, and though it's not against any opponent to speak of, it's ... something. But the only real intrigue here is head coach Buzz Williams heading back into the proverbial lion's den in Charleston, W.V. -- the place where he did this.
Cincinnati (8-3) at NC State (10-3), Tuesday, 4 p.m.
Should NC State win this game -- and it needs to win it, by the way -- it will be the highest-ranked KenPom team it has beaten this year (Cincinnati is currently 53). The Wolfpack's best win right now is either Boise State or Louisiana Tech, and they need to fix that quickly with just one non-conference game to go. Cincinnati will be physical, and NC State has had problems with that at time this season, so they'll need to be both tough and sharp. It will be a test for the Bearcats as well; their best win was over San Diego State at home and they have no other wins over the Ken Pom top 100 (but no bad losses, either).
Florida (7-4) at Florida State (7-5), Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Florida was -- and maybe is -- still reeling a bit, but the Gators still have plenty of talent and will ultimately be just fine. They've won four in a row since losing four of their first seven (all to good teams), but this will be just their second road game and first since December 5 (a surprisingly close loss at Kansas). Florida State has won three in a row, and though the Seminoles aren't close to the team they could have been without Aaron Thomas, their freshmen are coming along and they will be at home against the Gators, so anything could happen.
Charlotte (6-5) at Georgia Tech (8-3), Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Talk about a must-win -- Charlotte doesn't have any awful losses at all, and the 49ers have ben downright frisky even, knocking off both Penn State and South Carolina in the early going this season. They have just one double-digit loss this season, and none has come to a team outside KenPom's top 77. Georgia Tech has some okay wins, some bad losses (Marquette and USC Upstate) and just generally needs a good win headed into ACC play to gain some semblance of confidence.
Pittsburgh (9-3) at NC State (10-3), Saturday, Noon
These two teams will likely be among a small group contending for that so-called second tier in the ACC -- below Duke, Louisville, Virginia and maybe even North Carolina and Notre Dame. Other than Syracuse and Miami, though, no one else has shown the consistency or the wherewithal to be part of that second tier. The second five in the ACC will all have a real shot at the NCAA Tournament, and this game could be an indicator of where both teams are in regards to that.
No. 3 Virginia (11-0) at Miami (9-3), Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Virginia is a lot better than Miami at this point in time -- no offense to the Hurricanes, who have obviously improved quite a bit this year, recent skid aside -- but you never know what will happen when a team goes on the road for the first time in league play. As Miami has shown at times this season, the Hurricanes have the personnel that could give anyone fits with transfers Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan, and they're certainly comfortable playing at a slow pace.
No. 19 North Carolina (9-3) at Clemson (7-4), Saturday, 8:15 p.m.
Again, North Carolina is far and away better than Clemson this year. But the Tar Heels have shown they're not always focused, and Clemson is a team that has given ACC opponents fits at their home gym in recent years. Clemson is 10-7 at home in ACC play with wins over three NCAA Tournament teams (including Duke last year and Virginia the year before) while just 5-14 on the road in league play. Clemson will make the game as ugly as possible, too, and if they're hitting shots, anything can happen.
