1. North Carolina- The Tar Heels end the season where they were picked before the season, atop the standings. The Big Four of Kendall Marshall, John Henson, Tyler Zeller, and Harrison Barnes once again led the Heels this week, this time to a romp of archrival Duke. Zeller was announced as the conference player of the year, Henson was named the defensive player of the year, and those two were joined by Barnes on the first team all-conference. There is a good argument that Marshall, who set a single season school record in assists while leading the conference at 9.6 per game, should have made it as well. The Heels enter the conference tournament as the one seed and look to be hitting their peak at the right time.
2. Duke- The Blue Devils also ended their season in the same spot they started, second in the conference. Freshman Austin Rivers was named rookie of the year in the conference and all-conference first team while Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry both earned a spot on the third team. A successful season ended with a 13-3 record in the conference but also concluded with a disappointing blowout loss to Carolina at home. Duke can go one of two ways now, rebound or falter. I expect Coach K will have them ready to make their traditional push in the conference tournament: they have won 10 of the last 13 tournaments. This just in: They are going to have to do it without forward Ryan Kelly, who is out of the tournament after a foot injury in practice Tuesday.
3. Florida State- The Seminoles moved back up to number 17 in the national polls after a last second win at Virginia and a good home win over Clemson. Ian Miller hit the game winning three as time expired to ruin Mike Scott's senior night at Virginia. Miller had a combined 29 points while Michael Snaer had 35 in the two wins. Snaer was named all-conference second team while Bernard James missed out on the third team by one vote. Both players were named all-defensive team and the Seminoles clinched their number 3 seed for the tournament. They should be opening up play against Miami, an intriguing first round matchup that means a lot to both teams' futures.
4. Virginia- While the Cavaliers' senior night was ruined by Florida State they came back and won a hard fought, overtime game at Maryland. Mike Scott came in second in the voting for conference player of the year, and showed why in his career high 35 point, 11 rebound effort against the Terps. Scott finished the week with 63 combined points and 21 rebounds while the Wahoos wrapped up their first round bye with a four seed in the tournament. Jontel Evans was named all-defensive team this week, but Malcolm Brogdon was determined out for the season with a foot injury. Joe Harris is getting better, and should be fully functional by the end of the tournament.
5. NC State- The Wolfpack began to erase memories of a four game losing streak by beating Miami at home and Virginia Tech convincingly on the road. CJ Leslie led the Pack with a combined 39 points and 22 boards in these two victories, while Scott Wood broke out of a slump with a combined 34 points while shooting 8 of 17 from three. State gets Boston College, a team they have beaten twice already this year, in the opening round of the ACC tournament. The good news? A winnable game against Virginia awaits them in the quarterfinals. Bad news? They have to play North Carolina, a team that has dominated them this year, if they reach the semis. Leslie, who has played like an all-conference talent the last month, garnered second team honors, while point guard Lorenzo Brown was named third team. NC State is perfectly on the bubble and could stand to win two or three games to be more comfortable going into selection Sunday.
6. Miami- The Hurricanes drop below NC State this week after they lost to the Wolfpack in Raleigh by four. If any good came out of the loss, they improved on their five point loss at home back in January. The Hurricanes got a good draw for the ACC tournament, facing Georgia Tech in the first round. They already beat the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta (where the tournament is being held) by 15 and get Florida State if they win. Miami beat Florida State by 16 just a week and a half ago and a second win over the Seminoles would certainly boost Miami's NCAA chances. As for individual awards, Florida transfer Kenny Kadji was named third team all-conference while junior Durand Scott got an honorable mention. Point guard Shane Larkin was also named to the all-freshman team.
7. Clemson- The Tigers came back down to earth a little bit this week. Perhaps the hottest team in the conference not named UNC or Duke entering the week, Clemson snuck by Virginia Tech by two before losing to Florida State. Tanner Smith and Andre Young had a successful senior day, leading the team with 14 and 10 points, respectably, in the victory over the Hokies. It was a preview for the teams' opening round matchup on Thursday, with the winner getting Duke in the quarterfinals. Clemson has to find an answer for Jarell Eddie, who led Virginia Tech with 15 points in their last meeting. They did do a good job on the Hokies' leading scorer, Erick Green, by holding him to just eight points on 3-11 shooting. The only individual award for the Tigers was Young making the all-defensive team while being an honorable mention for an all-conference selection.
8. Maryland- The Terps held on as long as they could before being blown out by North Carolina and then came back to have their senior night spoiled by Virginia in overtime. Senior Sean Mosley did his part, pitching in 17 points and 10 boards in the losing effort to the Cavaliers, while leading scorer Terrell Stoglin scored 25, but chucked up 24 shots. The Terps get Wake in the first round, a team they beat by six back in the beginning of January. They may be fighting for nothing, as the winner gets North Carolina. Stoglin was named to the second team all-conference after leading the league in scoring, while Nick Faust was named to the all-freshman team. I think Mosley, their leader (especially on the defensive side of the ball), may have been a snub from the all-defensive team.
9. Virginia Tech- While the Hokies are the 10 seed, they have proven in recent weeks that they cannot be taken lightly. That was, until a meltdown in their home finale to NC State. The Hokies got the lead down to four with 10 and a half minutes left but ended up losing by 12, which was the deficit for most of the contest. It may have been a blessing in disguise for the Hokies, as they now get a chance at getting serious redemption. Their first round matchup with Clemson gives them a chance to forget the two point loss from this week, while they could get Duke in the quarters, a team that beat them in overtime two weeks ago. Erick Green got a very deserving mention on the all-conference second team while Dorian Finney-Smith made the all-freshman team.
10. Georgia Tech- The Yellow Jackets jump Wake Forest in this week's rankings after beating the Deacons at home. The Jackets now take a two game winning streak in Atlanta going into being the host for the tournament. Jason Morris had a break out game against the Deacons, scoring 22 points while grabbing 5 boards. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech's week was tainted by losing to lowly Boston College in Chestnut Hill by four. The Yellow Jackets get Miami in the opening round, and need to find an answer for Kenny Kadji, who went off for 21 points and eight rebounds in their only meeting this year. The Yellow Jackets were the only team without representation on any all-conference teams.
11. Wake Forest- Wake lost to both teams it played this week, but gained attention by giving Duke a scare in Winston-Salem. Senior Nikita Mescheriakov wants to go out with a bang, putting up a career high 18 against Duke and following that up with a 12 point, 5 rebound, 7 assist performance in the loss to Georgia Tech. Travis McKie scored a career high 25 points in the Deacons early-season loss to Maryland, who they get in the opening round of the tournament. McKie was recognized with honorable mention all-conference while teammate and leading scorer CJ Harris was named to the third team.
12. Boston College- The Eagles had an up and down week, beating Georgia Tech in their home finale, and then being blown out in Miami for the Hurricanes' senior night. The Eagles put a scare into NC State, their first round opponent, earlier this season, and cannot be taken lightly. Freshmen are what fuel this team, and it was noticed, as leading scorer and rebounder Ryan Anderson was named to the all-freshman team.
No comments:
Post a Comment