ACC Week In Review: Nov. 16-23

Boston College- Record: 3-1 (2-1 last week) The Eagles looked great after opening their season with three double-digit victories including a 12 point win over Saint John’s. Newcomer Joe Trapani is proving to be a key addition to this Eagles squad with 14.5 PPG to go along with 5.3 RPG. Rice looked like his old self in last week’s wins over Loyola (MD) and St. John’s. But when BC ran into the tight defense of Rick Majerus’ Billikens, Rice struggled mightly from the field in their 53-50 loss to Saint Louis.

Eagles Player of the Week: Joe Trapani- 15 PPG, 5.25 RPG

This Week’s Slate: 11/26 vs. Purdue

Clemson- Record: 5-0 (3-0 last week) Oliver Purnell and the Tigers have shown that they can really put points on the board during the first few games of this young season. They had a 93-40 dismantling of Wofford, but their other two games weren’t so lopsided. On the 16th, they beat Temple by a score of 76-72, a pretty nice neutral floor win over a talented Temple team led by Dionte Christmas. Later in the week, they traveled to Charlotte for a road test against the 49ers. Charlotte gave Clemson a scare, but Rivers and the Tigers showed composure in their nailbiting 71-70 win.

Tigers Player of the Week: K.C. Rivers- 12.3 PPG, 7 RPG and 2 SPG

This Week’s Slate: 11/25 vs. Savannah State, 11/28 vs. Presbyterian

Duke- Record: 6-0 (4-0 last week) The Dukies have been one of the most impressive teams in the early going. They had a bit of a hiccup at home against Rhode Island but came out unscathed. Duke then went on to win the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic with convincing victories over Southern Illinois and Michigan. Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas look much better than they did last season and Kyle Singler’s added muscle mass is making him a force to be reckoned with down low. Nolan Smith is doing a great job starting at point guard both offensively and defensively.

Blue Devils Player of the Week: Kyle Singler- 15.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3.8 APG

This Week’s Slate: 11/28 vs. Duquesne

Florida State- Record: 4-0 (3-0 last week) The Noles first week has shown that Toney Douglas needs more support. He’s averaging 22.5 PPG and almost four assists and rebounds per contest. Freshman Chris Singleton is the only other player averaging double figures with 11.3 PPG. This lack of balance has caused Florida State to struggle against teams like La Salle and Stetson. Their first real test is next week at Cincinnati. If Douglas doesn’t get support, the Bearcats have a good chance of downing the Seminoles.

Seminoles Player of the Week: Toney Douglas- 24.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 3.3 APG

This Week’s Slate: 11/24 vs. Western Illinois, 11/28 @ Cincinatti

Georgia Tech- Record: 2-0 (1-0 last week) Tech’s lone game this week was an overtime win against Mercer. The Jackets found themselves down by 18 midway through the second half after a 16-0 Mercer run. You can look at this in two ways. The bad side is the fact that this team was losing by 18 to Mercer. The good side is that they used their pressure defense to battle back and force overtime, where they dominated. Every team will face its fair share of adversity over the course of a season and teams are defined by how they deal with this adversity, but should Georgia Tech be down by 18 to Mercer?

Yellow Jackets Player of the Week: Gani Lawal- 27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks

This Week’s Slate: 11/25 vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff, 11/28 vs. Jacksonville

Maryland- Record: 3-0 (2-0 last week) Maryland started off the week with a blowout win over Youngstown State. Later in the week, they had a little more trouble with Vermont. Greivis Vasquez hit a fall-away three pointer with six seconds in regulation to send the game into overtime. The Terps hit the ground running in the overtime period, scoring the first 17 points in the extra session. They held on 89-74 to give Gary Williams his 400th victory as a coach at Maryland.

Terrapins Player of the Week: Greivis Vasquez- 27 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.5 APG

This Week’s Slate: 11/27 vs. Michigan State, 11/28 vs. Oklahoma State/Gonzaga.

Miami- Record: 2-1 (1-1 last week) Jack McClinton and Dwayne Collins have been running the show so far for the Hurricanes. They’ve combined for 35.3 PPG and Collins has corraled 13 RPG. In their first loss of the season, Frank Haith and the Canes just didn’t have an answer for UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet. He was 8-11 from the field and had seven blocks in their contest. McClinton compiled 27 points while Collins grabbed 14 rebounds, but the Huskies never looked back after they opened a 24-7 lead in the early going.

Hurricanes Player of the Week: Dwayne Collins- 15 PPG and 11.5 RPG

This Week’s Slate: 11/24 vs. San Diego, 11/29 vs. Stetson

North Carolina- Record: 3-0 (2-0 last week) The Heels have played like the best team in the land. They dismantled Kentucky on ESPN without Hansbrough, who had 13 points and seven boards in his first game back. Deon Thompson and Ed Davis have both looked great in the opening three games of the season. UNC sustained another injury after Tyler Zeller broke his wrist, which will likely prevent him from playing at all this season.

Tar Heels Player of the Week: Deon Thompson- 16 PPG and 9.5 PRG

This Week’s Slate: 11/24 @ Chaminade, 11/30 vs. UNC Asheville

North Carolina State- Record: 2-0 (1-0 last week) The Fells-McCauley-Costner trio is showing what they’re capable of. They’ve combined for 44.5 PPG – over two thirds of NC State’s points – 17 RPG and 5.5 APG in the Wolfpack’s two games this season. NC State’s only game this week was a 69-56 victory over High Point. Their first real test isn’t until they face Davidson in early December.

Wolfpack Player of the Week: Courtney Fells, 23 points

This Week’s Slate: 11/25 vs. Winthrop, 11/30 vs. UNC Greensboro

Virginia- Record 3-0 (3-0 last week) The most surprising player in the ACC thus far has been Cavalier freshman guard Sylven Landesberg. He’s averaging 23.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG after three contests. After downing VMI 107-97, the Cavs have played two games that have come down to two points, a 77-75 victory over South Florida and a 68-66 win over Radford. VMI and South Florida are two decent wins for the consensus bottom team in the ACC. The Cavs have five players in double figures in scoring and forward Mike Scott is almost averaging a double-double.

Cavaliers Player of the Week: Sylven Landesberg- 23.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 2.7 APG

This Week’s Slate: 11/25 vs. Liberty, 11/28 @ Syracuse

Virginia Tech- Record: 3-2 (2-2 last week) I expected the Hokies to surprise a lot of people in the ACC, but Tech’s first couple haven’t been very impressive. They beat Gardner-Webb and Mount Saint Mary’s by a combined eight points and lost to Seton Hall, one of the bottom teams in the Big East. They did lose to a strong Xavier team by way of a half court shot as time expired, giving Tech fans flashbacks to Sean Dockery’s game-winner. Jeff Allen, Malcolm Delaney and A.D Vassallo all have over 16 PPG, but the next highest scorer is Cheick Diakite with 4.8 PPG. Somebody needs to step up for Seth Greenberg or the Hokies will have a tough time living up to their expectations.

Hokies Player of the Week: Jeff Allen- 17.5 PPG and 11.3 RPG

This Week’s Slate: 11/26 vs. Elon

Wake Forest- Record: 3-0 (2-0 last week) Wake has yet to be tested this season, but they have three blowout wins to start the year. They won 94-48 over North Carolina Central, 120-88 over UNC-Wilmington and 62-31 over Winston-Salem. Jeff Teague and Jeff Johnson have been very impressive in the early going and Chas McFarland has made great strides in his game. Freshman Al-Farouq Aminu is averaging a double-double. The Demon Deacons have certainly put their explosiveness on display so far.

Demon Deacons Player of the Week: Jeff Teague- 22.5 PPG 4 APG and 3.5 SPG

This Week’s Slate: 11/27 @ Cal State Fullerton

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