Busy ACC weekend slate
With the late-season standings tightening, seven key ACC games are on tap for this weekend, including a pair of matchups of Top 25 teams.
No. 3 Virginia travels to No. 18 Louisville, while No. 8 North Carolina welcomes No. 16 Florida State. Syracuse plays host to No. 1 Duke in a rematch of the Jan. 14 game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, which the Orange won 95-91 in overtime.
Other action finds No. 20 Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, Boston College at Clemson, and Georgia Tech at Miami.
Wake Forest visits NC State on Sunday night.
This week in the ACC
UNC’s road win at Duke on Wednesday night left the Tar Heels (7-0 in league road games this season) tied with the Blue Devils and UVA atop the ACC standings at 11-2 with five games remaining in the regular season.
Florida State has been the among the nation’s hottest teams in recent weeks with a school-record eight ACC wins, including three in a row by double-digit margins.
Five ACC teams have hit the 20-win plateau this season, and NC State owns 19 wins heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest seeks its second consecutive win and a sweep of the regular-season series against the Wolfpack after defeating NC State 71-67 at Winston-Salem on Jan. 15.
Virginia’s Kyle Guy has gone 15-of-32 from beyond the arc in his last three games and owns the ACC’s longest active 3-point streak with at least one successful attempt in 25 straight games.
ACC Notes
By winning at No. 20 Virginia Tech last Monday night, third-ranked Virginia tied an ACC record (previously set by five other teams) as it earned its fourth win of the season on the home court of an AP-ranked foe … the Cavaliers’ previous such wins came at No. 23 Maryland on Nov. 28; at No. 23 NC State on Jan. 29; at No. 8 UNC on Feb. 11 … Virginia travels to No. 18 Louisville on Saturday.
With 30 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday night’s road win at top-ranked Duke, North Carolina senior Luke Maye became just the second player in college basketball history to have a 30-point/15-rebound game against the AP’s No. 1-ranked team … Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes of Houston first accomplished the feat (39 points, 15 rebounds) against Lew Alcindor and UCLA in 1968 in the matchup billed as “The Game of the Century” at the Astrodome.
Florida State has extend its winning streak to a school-record eight straight ACC games heading into Saturday’s key road matchup at North Carolina … after starting conference play 1-4, the Seminoles have soared into a tie for fourth place in the current ACC standings, just two games behind tri-leaders Duke, Virginia and UNC.
Virginia Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr. is averaging 19.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in the month of February … he is shooting 60 percent from the floor, including 53.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and 86.8 percent from the free-throw line.
For the eighth time in ACC play, NC State saw at least four players score in double figures in Wednesday night’s overtime win over Boston College … sophmore Devon Daniels led the way with 19 points, a team-best 11 rebounds and a season-best five steals, the most steals by a Wolfpack player this season.
Junior guard Tyus Battle led Syracuse with seven assists in Wednesday night’s win over visiting No. 18 Louisville, surpassing the 200 mark in his career (now 201).
Share
Contributors
