First two games of the tournament have little excitement

Maryland's Terrell Stoglin (12) played one of his most rounded games in a win over Wake Forest. Can he do it against North Carolina?

The first two games of the 2012 ACC Tournament were expected to be decent at best, but instead they came up flat. Maryland and Wake Forest met in the first game, an eight-nine matchup, with Maryland taking the romp 82-60. The second game featured what was supposed to be the largest margin of any of the first round games as fifth seeded NC State met twelfth seeded Boston College. The Wolfpack took the win 78-57. If nothing else, the first two games showed off a couple of the young stars in the league, while the boredom of it all was the theme.

In the first game Maryland pulled away in the second half to defeat Wake Forest and complete a season sweep of the Demon Deacons. Terrell Stoglin led all scorers with 25 points, and, in one of his most complete games of the season, added seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman Nick Faust added 19 points while ten players scored for the Terps. Travis McKie led the Deacons with 22 points, while Nikita Mescheriakov added 16 and CJ Harris 14. The rest of the team combined for eight points. Maryland, especially in the second half, was a Terrapin team we have not seen this year. They were playing as a team, sharing the ball (18 assists) and were not settling for Stoglin jacking up 25 shots. While walk-on Spencer Barks was one of the players that scored, the ten that made it into the scoring column showed a sense of playing as a team that Maryland has not shown on a consistent basis. This all happened against Wake Forest though. The Terps are lucky they were able to rest their regulars as they have a noon matchup with mighty North Carolina tomorrow.

NC State had to be thinking win or go home for their NCAA chances. It did not really come across that way in their win over Boston College in the second game of the day. While the Wolfpack won by 21, there was a lull during the second half where their lead stuck between seven and ten points for about 10 minutes. Boston College came out of the halftime locker room angry, bringing the lead back to six after being down 13 at the half. Scott Wood led NC State's scorers with 22 while going 5-9 from beyond the arc, while Lorenzo Brown had 12 points and 8 assists. The most impressive player for either team had to be Boston College freshman Ryan Anderson, who also put in 22 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. The season may now be over for the Eagles but Anderson gives fans a reason to think the Eagles would have been right there without 19 turnovers. CJ Leslie added 11 points and grabbed 11 boards but was almost unheard of for a the section of the second half where the Eagles remained in the game. The Wolfpack get Virginia next, and Leslie is going to need to show up the way he has the past month in order to matchup with Mike Scott. The Cavaliers beat the Wolfpack by one on January 28th.

Hopefully the games tonight will be more interesting. Virginia Tech and Clemson promises to be the best matchup of the first round while it will be a surprise if Georgia Tech sneaks up on Miami.

Top 40 Players of the ACC: No. 20-16

Seth Curry drives on Lorenzo Brown in last night's victory for Duke. -photo via rivals.com

20. Glen Rice, Jr., Georgia Tech- In all reality the best player and prospect on this Georgia Tech team, Rice needs to improve on consistency and his headiness. His numbers (13 ppg, 6.7 rpg) continue to rise year to year but there have been stretches where he seems lost, not sure whether to depend on his shot or his natural ability. Certainly a prop prospect you can see his dad's genes coming out at times from deep.

19. Lorenzo Brown, NC State- What a difference a new coach can make. The minute Mark Gottfried got to Raleigh he decided Brown was going to be his point guard, skyrocketing his numbers (12.1 ppg, 6.6 apg, 4.3 rpg). Not only that but Brown has turned into a leader for this squad, calling out the plays and pushing through hard times when others look down. Brown has a natural build to be a two guard with the offensive skills of a point guard.

18. Seth Curry, Duke- When you think of Duke's players this year it's hard to pick out one that has been consistently good. Curry is the closest to that fit, coming on more so in recent games. He started off the season as the point guard but, like his brother Stephen, needs to be able to find his own shot. An underrated driver, Curry has unquestioned ability from deep and is getting better on defense.

17. Durand Scott, Miami- When you talk about consistent players for teams, Scott leaps off the page for his Miami squad. The junior leads his team in minutes (34.2) while posting solid numbers (12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.3 apg). Scott is slowing becoming a leader for the Hurricanes and should show up on next year's preseason all-conference team. A bulky 205 pounds, the shooting guard continues to impress on defense, as well.

16. Andre Young, Clemson- Without Young, Clemson would be by far the worst team in the conference. A 5-9 senior, the leader of the Tigers plays as if he were 6-5. A strong, quick defender, Young also leads his team in scoring (13.6) and assists (3.3). If there was an award for toughness given out, Young would be in the lead right now. This is the kind of guy that Clemson is going to miss going forward.