Good news: only about 1,000 were in the building at the tip.
Final: Boston College 54, Virginia Tech 36.
Credit to the Hokies: they had 11 at halftime.
As in, points and turnovers.
This season, the power conferences in college basketball have produced some horrendous offensive and defensive performances.
And the ACC owns them both.
On defense, Miami‘s worst game of the season by a power conference team was its AWOL defensive effort in a 117-74 home loss to SMU.
Tuesday night, we might have watched the worst offensive game by any so-called power conference team this season.
In a down year for the ACC, it makes sense that two league teams have given college basketball two different looks of lousy basketball.
Bobby Knight would have no place in the college game
Two-time defending NCAA champion UConn has fallen well short of its preseason expectations.
The Huskies are in fourth place in the Big East standings, and if you have watched head coach Dan Hurley, you are well aware of his ability to lose it with the officials, his players, and the media.
Many believe his act has grown old, and he’s lost the support of his players.
A former college coach told me that’s entirely possible.
Players have all the control.
Today, the challenge in college basketball is keeping players content and happy, especially with the threat of the transfer portal hanging over a coach’s head.
Can you imagine Bobby Knight being concerned about his players’ happiness?
This time of year, players start exploring options for resigning from their current programs for greener pastures next season.
Hurley commented on this just last week: “This is a tricky time of the year. With the season maybe not going the way (players) have wanted it to go for them, if you have too many of those types of players on your roster, it’s like never before because of the portal,” Hurley said.
If you watch enough games, you see it.
Many players already have one foot out the door.
It’s impossible to ignore what’s happening behind the curtain of college basketball because the curtain has been permanently removed.
With UNC on life support, NC State could pull the plug
Earlier this season, the Tar Heels survived the Wolfpack, 63-61, in Raleigh, but needed a blocked shot at the buzzer to preserve the win.
Despite NC State’s dismal season, they match up with UNC.
UNC (15-11, 8-6 ACC) has no margin for error, with many believing the Tar Heels’ path to the NCAA Tourney requires a minimum appearance in the ACC Tournament title game.
The Wolfpack, who have had an unforgettable year (10-15, 3-11 ACC), would like nothing better than to put the Heels out of their misery in the Smith Center.
Can the one more year talk about Duke’s Cooper Flagg stop?
First, I saw Cooper Flagg play in person against Virginia on Monday evening.
The fact he’s even having to play one year of semi-professional (college) basketball is criminal.
He should be in the NBA now instead of pretending to be a college student at Duke.
Regardless of what the Blue Devils are paying Flagg, and qualified sources say it’s in the $3 million range, he needs to say so long to college basketball sooner than later.
If Flagg were to return to college foolishly, he would delay his second NBA contract by a year.
A contract that many projects to be in the $400 million range.
A rookie deal lasts four years, so by returning to college and opting out of the 2025 draft, he wouldn’t start his second contract until the 2029-2030 season.
College players entering the NBA draft are looking at their second contract as a payday.
So, end of discussion.
But, shed no tears for Duke; they currently have the projected top-ranked recruiting class for next season.
They will be fine without Flagg.
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