ACC Basketball: Thursday Night Recap

By: Justin Cates | Managing Editor

#8 Notre Dame 85 Virginia Tech 60

Virginia Tech gave a spirited effort for the most part but the depth and talent of Notre Dame was too much as the Irish pulled away in the second half for a comfortable 85-60 road win Thursday night over the Hokies.

Jerian Grant keyed the way for Notre Dame with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Pat Connaughton had 17 points and 10 rebounds while Zach Auguste finsihed with 16 and eight. Auguste has played very well since returning from a one-game suspension related to academics.

Demetrius Jackson added 12 points and four rebounds for the Irish (18-2, 6-1 ACC). Notre Dame is currently in second place in the ACC standings.

Freshman Ahmed Hill led Tech with 13 points while fellow frosh guard Kalen Hudson chipped in 12. Devin Wilson scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Hokies (8-10, 0-5 ACC) got a strong boost off the bench from Christian Beyer who scored seven points and pulled in three rebounds plus a steal.

The Irish outrebounded Tech 21-13 in the first half but the Hokies hung around down just 38-28 at the half. Notre Dame pushed the rebounding edge to 43-31 for the game and blew the score open in the second half while the Hokies struggled to make open shots. Tech was once again without leading scorer Justin Bibbs who missed his second consecutive game after sustaining a concussion. It was also publicly announced that redshirt junior forward Joey van Zegeren is no longer part of the team. Van Zegeren averaged 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season before he was indefinitely suspended following an incident at practice. Things don’t get any easier as the Hokies next host rival #2 Virginia Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Cavaliers remain undefeated and atop the ACC standings after a win over Georgia Tech Thursday.

Game Notes

  • This marks just the third time Notre Dame has ever played in Blacksburg.
  • Virginia Tech is now 0-5 against the Irish as members of the same conference including Big East and ACC play.
  • The #8 ranking is the highest for Notre Dame since the end of the regular season in 2011 when they were #5.
  • Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton became the 15th player in Irish history to score more than 1,000 points and pull down 700 rebounds.

 

 

#2 Virginia 57 Georgia Tech 28

UVA once again stifled an opponent and did just enough on offense to win with ease against the Yellow Jackets (9-9, 0-6 ACC).

The Wahoos (18-0, 6-0 ACC) held GT to just 12 points as a team in the second half. It’s a merciless slow grind that chews up every opponent.

Malcolm Brogdon was the only Cavalier in double-figures with 13 points with no other player scoring more than seven. Anthony Gill had seven points and six rebounds while Darion Atkins scored five and boarded eight.

This was an impressive defensive effort even for a program like UVA that prides itself on dominant defense. Virginia created 10 turnovers while giving away just four. The ‘Hoos will be heavy favorites Sunday in Blacksburg. Georgia Tech hosts fellow cellar-dwellar Boston College Sunday at 1 p.m. One of those teams will earn its first ACC victory of the season.

 

 

Game Notes

  • This game marks the third time Virginia has held an opponent to fewer than thirty points this season.
  • UVA had 13 assists as a team to just two for Georgia Tech.
  • GT shot just 24.5 % (12-49) while the Cavs were an efficient 45.3% (24-53).
  • Coming into Thursday, Georgia Tech had averaged just 56.9 points per game against Tony Bennett’s Virginia team’s in seven games.

 

Miami (FL) 65 NC State 60

Miami was able to just outlast NC State Thursday with a five-point victory in Coral Gables, Florida. Abdul-Malik Abu lead the scoring with 19 points for the Wolfpack. Trevor Lacey had 10 points and five rebounds but guard Ralston Turner had just eight points leading to a low scoring output for NC State (13-7, 4-3 ACC). Four players scored in double figures for the Hurricanes (13-5, 3-2 ACC) lead by Sheldon McClellan’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. Angel Rodriguez added 14 points, Davon Reed 10, and forward Omar Sherman had 10 as well. Tonye Jekri had six points and 10 rebounds. A sluggish start to the second half ultimately doomed the Wolfpack.

Miami was able to control the ball with the Canes’ talented backcourt and ride that plan to a home win.

This is a nice win for a Miami squad starting to think about resume wins as March Madness approaches with a bit more speed.

The Hurricanes now head to upstate New York for a match with the Syracuse Orange Saturday at 4 p.m. NC State gets a visit from #8 Notre Dame Sunday night at 6:30 p.m.

There was minor incident when a Miami fan at courtside gave a light shove to NC State’s Cat Barber. Canes coach Jim Larranaga apologized afterwards.

Game Notes

 

  • NC State won the rebounding battle 30-18 but Miami went 18-21 at the free throw line compared to just 3-4 for the Wolfpack.
  • State came into the game leading the conference in shooting percentage in ACC games with 47.5%.
  • Trevor Lacey is the fifth leading scorer in the ACC and Beejay Anya leads the conference in blocks.

 

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