Mid-Season Report: ACC
Tyrese Rice led Boston College to an upset win at North Carolina. (daylife.com)
By Shaun Albin
salbin@thehoopsreport.com
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
(Records, RPI, SOS, etc. are all as of Sunday, January 4. Rankings next to best wins and losses are RPI.)
CONTENDERS
DUKE
Record: 12-1
RPI: 3
SOS: 26
Best Wins: (N) #4 Xavier 82-64, (N) #39 Michigan 71-56
Worst Loss: (A) #39 Michigan 73-81
The Blue Devils have excellent depth and have used it thus far. Nine players average 10 minutes or more and Duke distributes the scoring nearly as well. Kyle Singler has been incredible to this point, leading the team in nearly every way. Behind him, Jon Scheyer, Gerald Henderson and Nolan Smith headline this marquee cast. Look for the Blue Devils as a No. 1 or 2 seed come tourney time.
PPG: Kyle Singler 16.5
RPG: Kyle Singler 7.8
APG: Kyle Singler 3.7
SPG: Kyle Singler 2.2
BPG: Brian Zoubek 1.1
CLEMSON
Record: 14-0
RPI: 5
SOS: 77
Best Wins: (A) #18 Illinois 76-74, (N) #23 Temple 76-72,
Worst Losses: None
The Clemson Tigers have an excellent bench. K.C. Rivers and Trevor Booker have led this team so far. If Booker continues his strong play he could find himself on the ACC First Team once the season is over. The team struggles from the free-throw line (68.6 percent), but their excellent field goal percentage (49.9) should make up for that.
PPG: K.C. Rivers 15.3
RPG: Trevor Booker 9.6
APG: Demontez Stitt 3.7
SPG: K.C. Rivers 1.5
BPG: Trevor Booker 2.5
NORTH CAROLINA
Record: 12-1
RPI: 11
SOS: 80
Best Wins: (N) #7 Michigan State 98-63, (H) #24 Evansville 91-73
Worst Loss: (H) #28 Boston College 78-85
Tyler Hansbrough (22.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg) is back in a big way. Hansbrough is a major piece of a star studded lineup that has dominated early on. All five starters average in double figures and as a team they are averaging 93.6 ppg. Few teams can run with the Tar Heels, and when their shots are falling they are absolutely unstoppable. However, they will have to beef up their defense to be a truly unstoppable force.
PPG: Tyler Hansbrough 22.8
RPG: Tyler Hansbrough 7.2
APG: Ty Lawson 6.4
SPG: Ty Lawson 2.6
BPG: Ed Davis 1.7
FLORIDA STATE
Record: 13-2
RPI: 17
SOS: 61
Best Wins: (N) #14 California 80-77, (N) #45 Western Kentucky 82-69
Worst Losses: (A) #40 Northwestern 59-73, (H) #1 Pittsburgh 48-56
Toney Douglas is the clear leader of this team. Douglas has nearly doubled the field goal attempts of his closest teammate (201 to 105). He hits the three as well as he shuts down opponents with his defense. If this team is going to continue their hot start, they are going to need someone else to step up and help out. Look for Chris Singleton, who leads the team in minutes played and gives FSU an interior presence, to be that guy.
PPG: Toney Douglas 18.4
RPG: Chris Singleton 6.5
APG: Toney Douglas 2.8
SPG: Toney Douglas 2.0
BPG: Solomon Alabi 2.1
BUBBLE TEAMS
BOSTON COLLEGE
Record: 13-2
RPI: 28
SOS: 101
Best Wins: (A) #11 North Carolina 85-78, (N) #32 UAB 83-77
Worst Losses: (A) #167 Saint Louis 50-53, (N) #74 Purdue 64-71
Once again Tyrese Rice leads Boston College. This season, he has help in the form of Joe Trapani, Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders. Look for the Eagles to make a run at a tournament berth. Their win over UNC to start conference play is a huge step in the right direction.
PPG: Tyrese Rice 17.3
RPG: Corey Raji 7.0
APG: Tyrese Rice 6.5
SPG: Rakim Sanders 1.7
BPG: Rakim Sanders 1.0
WAKE FOREST
Record: 13-0
RPI: 33
SOS: 252
Best Wins: (A) #38 Brigham Young 94-87, (N) #65 Baylor 87-74
Worst Losses: None
Wake Forest has skated by on a very weak schedule thus far. ACC play will definitely determine if this team can make a tourney push. Jeff Teague does the scoring for the Demon Deacons while James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu clear the glass. They have great size and shoot very well. This team has excellent potential, but they will have to quickly adjust to their schedule as they will face top 25 teams in four of their next five games.
PPG: Jeff Teague 19.6
RPG: Al-Farouq Aminu 8.9
APG: Jeff Teague 4.2
SPG: Jeff Teague 2.2
BPG: Al-Farouq Aminu 1.4
MARYLAND
Record: 11-2
RPI: 49
SOS: 158
Best Wins: (N) #7 Michigan State 80-62, (H) #39 Michigan 75-70
Worst Losses: (N) #34 Gonzaga 59-81, (N) #10 Georgetown 48-75
Maryland is a borderline team in the ACC. The Terps will be forced to rely on some big conference wins to get them off the bubble. Greivis Vasquez has used his excellent shooting touch to power Maryland past a pair of top 50 teams and they have no bad losses. Maryland's defense will have to lead the way as this team is a poor shooting squad (43.2 percent field goals).
PPG: Greivis Vasquez 18.0
RPG: Greivis Vasquez 6.2
APG: Greivis Vasquez 4.9
SPG: Greivis Vasquez 1.6
BPG: Dino Gregory 1.2
MIAMI
Record: 9-3
RPI: 52
SOS: 63
Best Wins: (A) #75 Kentucky 73-67, (N) #87 Southern Miss 70-60
Worst Losses: (H) #16 Ohio State 68-73, (N) #8 U-Conn 63-76
The Hurricanes could be looking at an NCAA tournament season, but they will definitely have to step their play up. Jack McClinton leads the way while Dwayne Collins adds a solid second option. McClinton will be counted on to continue his sharpshooting effort from downtown, as he is currently hitting on 45.9 percent of his long range attempts.
PPG: Jack McClinton 17.1
RPG: Dwayne Collins 7.8
APG: Jack McClinton 3.2
SPG: Dwayne Collins 1.2
BPG: Jimmy Graham 1.4
VIRGINIA TECH
Record: 9-5
RPI: 58
SOS: 65
Best Wins: (H) #100 Fairfield 74-57, (A) #134 St. John's 81-67
Worst Losses: (A) #214 Georgia 66-67, (N) #105 Seton Hall 73-77
The Hokies have played a tough schedule. However, their losses to Georgia and Seton Hall are tough to swallow. There's some talent on this team, but they just aren't ready to make that step to the next level. Virginia Tech will win some games this year, but they are destined to be near the bottom of the ACC. A.D. Vassallo, Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen are all very good players, but the team is completely void of any depth.
PPG: A.D. Vassallo 18.1
RPG: Jeff Allen 8.9
APG: Malcolm Delaney 4.1
SPG: Jeff Allen 1.9
BPG: Jeff Allen 1.7
PRETENDERS
VIRGINIA
Record: 6-5
RPI: 81
SOS: 12
Best Wins: (H) #90 VMI 107-97, (A) #182 Georgia Tech 88-84
Worst Losses: (H) #132 Liberty 82-86, (H) #103 Auburn 56-58
Virginia is a team that is going to lose a lot of games this season. Sylven Landesberg and Mike Scott have been the two keys to this team's success. Unfortunately for Cavaliers fans, they have very little help. Virginia has played an extremely difficult schedule thus far and it is reflected in the standings. The team will be lucky to win another four or five games all season.
PPG: Sylven Landesberg 19.6
RPG: Mike Scott 9.2
APG: Sammy Zeglinski 4.0
SPG: Sammy Zeglinski 1.5
BPG: Assane Sene 1.9
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Record: 9-3
RPI: 129
SOS: 273
Best Wins: (H) #136 Loyola (MD) 62-60, (H) #147 East Carolina 87-76
Worst Losses: (A) #47 Florida 66-68, (H) #30 Marquette 65-68
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