http://www.nfl-sports-betting.net
ACC Basketball Notebook
By Randy Rosetta
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
Two of the challengers to the Tobacco Road throne open up the ACC season tonight in a game that will be a homecoming for one coach.
Maryland visits Boston College in an intriguing early league starter between two veteran teams that could be dark horse threats to North Carolina and Duke by the time the ACC season winds down.
The Terrapins are 9-1, their best start since 1998-99 and take a team with five players averaging double digits in scoring to Chestnut Hill. Senior guard D.J. Strawberry leads the way with 15.2 points a game, while Mike Jones is logging 12.7 a game. Senior forward Ekene Ibekwe paces the frontcourt with 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds a game and is coming off a career-best 7-blocked shot performance vs. Fordham in a 79-59 Terp win.
Maryland coach Gary Williams won’t need directions to BC’s campus. He coached the Eagles from 1982-86, guiding them to 74 victories, a Big East championship and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Maryland assistant Michael Adams starred for Williams at BC and had his jersey retired after piling up 1,650 points from 1981-85 and earning All-Big East honors three times.
The Eagles have ticked off four consecutive wins since losing back-to-back against Vermont and Providence College. Senior big man Jared Dudley is making a push for All-ACC honors, leading Boston College with 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. He needs 17 more points to pass Adams for 11th place on the Eagles¢ all-time scoring list.
Maryland and Boston College, a 2-point favorite on WagerWeb.com, have met only six times, twice as ACC foes. The teams split last season with the Terrapins prevailing 73-71 in the league opener and the Eagles claiming an 80-66 triumph at the league tournament. The teams¢ first battle came in the 1958 NCAA tourney (86-63 UM win) and three regular-season matchups ensued in 1973, 1983 and 1990.
MIAMI: The Hurricanes have heated up with three wins in their last four games and now get a good home test from Mississippi State on Monday night. Sophomore guard Jack McClinton remains hot with 20 points or more in five straight games, and he leads the ACC with 21 points a game and 29 3-pointers made and also tops the list on 3-point accuracy at 55.8 percent. He is the league’s third-deadliest foul shooter at 90 percent (45-of-50). The ACC is 6-1 this season against the SEC.
NORTH CAROLINA: Tar Heels coach Roy Williams reached a significant milestone Saturday with his 500th victory as a college coach when UNC routed High Point 94-69. Williams became just the third Heels coach to reach 500, joining Dean Smith (879) and Frank McGuire (549). The UNC graduate was presented with jerseys from Kansas and North Carolina to honor the occasion. He won his first 418 games with the Jayhawks before taking over in Chapel Hill four seasons ago. UNC star Tyler Hansbrough led way with 24 points to inch his season scoring average to 19.4.
WAKE FOREST: The Demon Deacons get back to work after final exams and are looking to end a two-game losing skid with a road trip to Chicago to face DePaul. Wake Forest is 5-2 after stumbling to consecutive losses to Air Force and Georgia, the latter in Winston-Salem. The Blue Demons stunned Wake 84-81 on its home court last season. DePaul is coached by former Deacon assistant Jerry Wainwright and is headed the opposite direction from Wake with back-to-back wins against top-10 Kansas and then Chicago State. Wake center Kyle Visser is having a strong season, averaging 19.7 points (second in the ACC) and 8.9 rebounds (third in the league) per game. He has hit 71.2 percent of his floor shots (52 pf 73). Deacon freshman point guard Ishmael Smith is leading the ACC with 7.9 assists a game.
No comments:
Post a Comment