GREENSBORO - Because the four top seeds get byes, the opening day of the ACC tournament often gets a lukewarm reception from the media and fans.
Beginning at noon today, there will be four games at the Greensboro Coliseum that don’t showcase the best the ACC has to offer.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons to tune in today as Wake Forest’s Jeff Bzdelik coaches in his first ACC tournament and Sidney Lowe may coach N.C. State for the last time.
Here are five things to watch today:
N.C. State will open the ACC tournament against Maryland on Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. UNC, the No. 1 seed, and Duke, No. 2, have the first day off.
The Wolfpack finished the regular season at 5-11 in the ACC and as the No. 10 seed. The Terps, No. 7, have won eight straight against the Wolfpack, including an 87-80 win in College Park on Feb. 20.
GREENSBORO – In the second game of the ACC women's basketball tournament, No. 9 seed Wake Forest rallied in the second half to knock off No. 8 seed Virginia 74-68 at Greensboro Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons (15-16), who trailed 32-27 at halftime, advance to the quarterfinals, where they face top-seeded Duke on Friday at 3 p.m.
For the second season in row, the Deacs moved into the second day of tournament play. This time it took a collective effort as four players scored in double figures, senior Brittany Waters leading the way with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — You can't win the game in the first six minutes of each half, but you can lose it.
N.C. State figured that out the hard way Tuesday night in a 69-58 loss at Virginia.
Although Duke finished 3-9 on the football field last season, the Blue Devils were No. 1 in the ACC in the classroom by a wide margin, according to the All-ACC Academic awards announced this morning.
Duke led the conference with 13 All-ACC Academic selections. Clemson was next with six, and Virginia Tech had five.
To be eligible, athletes needed to have at least a 3.00 grade-point average for the past semester and to have maintained at least a 3.00 GPA throughout their college career.
North Carolina had four All-ACC Academic selections - fullback Curtis Byrd, offensive tackle James Hurst, tight end Zack Pianalto and offensive tackle Michael Ingersoll. N.C. State had one selection - quarterback Russell Wilson.
Duke senior forward Kyle Singler is a quiet guy to begin with.
On the rare night when he doesn’t perform well, he looks as if he dreads the questions that he knows are coming.
“Just couldn’t get going,” he explained Wednesday night after tying a career low with two points in the No. 5-ranked Blue Devils’ 56-41 win at Virginia.
He said it so quietly that a reporter who wasn’t sure he heard it asked Singler to repeat himself.
The big question surrounding a Duke team that has won five in a row is whether Singler is in a slump.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - For the second time in four nights, one of Duke’s big senior scorers had difficulties in a road game.
Once again, though, the No. 5-ranked Blue Devils had little trouble dismissing an overmatched ACC opponent as they won 56-41 at Virginia on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.
Four nights earlier, Duke defeated Miami 81-71 even though an eye injury and foul trouble held guard Nolan Smith to two first-half points.
On Wednesday, forward Kyle Singler had the frustrating start. He was limited to 23 minutes because of foul trouble and scored two points, 15 below his average.
ESPN is trying something new with Duke’s game tonight at Virginia, which will be televised on ESPN2.
The network will train a camera exclusively on Blue Devils guard Nolan Smith and run that video feed live on the Internet on ESPN3.com. At times during the regular broadcast on ESPN2, the regular game will be shown in split screen, with the camera on Smith as part of the action.
It’s part of a weeklong initiative of utilizing different production techniques and enhancements to show fans different perspectives on games.
N.C. State eked out a win to at least temporarily take the heat off Sidney Lowe. Duke had a new scorer emerge, and Florida State made a case for itself as the second-best team in the ACC.
These were the headlines from an eventful weekend in the ACC:
1. Richard Howell needs to play more for N.C. State.
The sophomore forward scored a team-high 17 points in 27 minutes after entering the starting lineup for C.J. Leslie, who was ill.
DURHAM -- After a huge crisis of confidence, Duke bounced back in the second half behind guards Nolan Smith and Andre Dawkins on Saturday afternoon to defeat Virginia 76-60 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils trailed by 10 points in the first half and by nine with 16 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the game before Smith and Dawkins got hot. Dawkins scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a driving three-point play with 12:15 remaining that put Duke ahead for good at 45-44.
After Dawkins added three 3-pointers in less than three minutes, the Blue Devils led 62-52 with 6:55 remaining and were well on their way to bouncing back from a 66-61 loss Wednesday at Florida State.
