ACC Roundup - Historic Loss For UNC

In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Clemson fell at Syracuse - big surprise - 91-78. But UNC? What the hell?

The Heels lost to Miami by 28. That’s so bad by historical standards, but UNC is worse than we imagined. Twenty-eight? Wow.

Our thought was that Armando Bacot would be too much for Miami but that was off. They limited him and just crushed the Heels.

Once again, Hubert Davis had to question his team’s effort, saying this after the game: “We were prepared. We just didn’t play, and that’s the frustrating part, was that we were prepared. And at this moment, I’m just not sure why we didn’t play.”

Hard to argue: no one else scored more than nine points. Take Bacot out and the starters shot 7-32. Take him out and the team as a whole shot 16-56.

Davis has consistently questioned his team’s effort. After some really dreadful efforts this year, fans may be justified in questioning Davis.

We’ve mentioned before that Duke and UNC tend to mirror each other in odd ways. So how about this?

Both teams went to Florida for road games. Both teams lost (although Duke’s loss was not nearly as devastating). And both teams had a serious injury scare and both players appeared to be okay by the time the respective games ended.

Just kind of of interesting. You can add the transitions from Hall of Fame coaches too although we think (hope) that Duke’s is going to go better.

UNC visits a resurgent Wake Forest Saturday and if they’re not ready, Wake Forest will rip their head off too.

We were half right on Wednesday: we did think Syracuse would hold serve at home against Clemson and they did.

Clemson hung around in the first half before Syracuse pulled away. The Boeheim Boys combined for 38 points and 15 rebounds. Joe Girard had 23 but Cole Swider shot poorly.

However, center Jesse Edwards is quietly becoming one of the better big men in the ACC. He had 15 points, 11 boards - four offensive - and four blocks.

Four games on Wednesday as BC visits Louisville, Virginia Tech heads down to Raleigh, Wake Forest challenges Georgia Tech on the road and Virginia stops by Pitt. BC has no business beating Louisville and if they do, that’s really bad news for Chris Mack. NC State is improving and Virginia Tech is not. So we’ll take State. We think Wake should take Tech. Finally, Pitt is playing better. Could they pull off Virginia? This year, yeah.

Wednesday’s ACC Action

• Boston College @ Louisville || 7:00 || ACCNX
• Virginia Tech @ NC State || 7:00 || ACCN
• Wake Forest @ Georgia Tech || 7:00 || ESPNU
• Virginia @ Pitt || 9:00 || ACCN

ACC Standings

• ACC Now podcast: Kevin Keatts opens up about his time at NC State and his ACC roots
• What is this UNC basketball team’s identity after 28-point loss at Miami and ahead of game at Wake Forest?
• Leaky Black has made his mark guarding ACC’s top scorers. As he thrives, so does UNC
• Jesse Edwards carries Syracuse past Clemson, 91-78
• Clemson struggles continue as Orange pull away in Carrier Dome
• Hurricanes race to 27-point halftime lead, rout UNC Tar Heels 85-57 to stay atop ACC
• As ACC play continues, a top-heavy Pitt team might need to expand its rotation
• Swamped: ACC leader Miami leaves UNC reeling after another disaster