ACC 2025-26 | Page 9 | The Boneyard

ACC 2025-26

Ladeeeeda said:
Lol.....our inability to defend them in the interior couldn't possibly of had something to do with it. They made an obscene # of wide open shots with us no where to be foundšŸ˜¶ā€šŸŒ«ļø
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I watched the game casually, rooting for UNCā€™s demise - Iā€™m not even suggesting it was unfair officiating. Just a highly unusual situation.
 
Can anyone help me out with what to think of Syracuse? 11-4 in conference and 21-5 overall. I look at their season results. Nothing impressive. Best OOC win was Utah. Have beaten none of the good teams in the ACC (okay, maybe Virginia?--but they are basically the same as Syracuse). Goes to show there are a lot of pretty easy wins to be picked up if you don't stub your toe.
 
triaddukefan said:
If I didn't know any better, I'd think you have some baby blue gear hanging up in the closet
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I think I've made it clear. To put it mildly I was not a fan of Coach K. It makes it difficult for me to root for Duke. In anything. I did kinda like the women's hoops team when they had Georgia Schweitzer. And then the Waner sisters. But that's been a few years.
 
So some injuries? Stanford's season has gone from looking like a promising bounce back from last year, to a borderline disaster again. They have lost 8 of 10. 5-9 in a weak ACC.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
Huh. Sounds like some home cooking and barely squeaked out a win. Let's see what happens around the corner in Chapel Hill a little bit down the road.
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The fans crying and whining over in Chapel Hill over the FT's today is humorous to me. The fans over there were keeping their yaps shut when in the mens game last week, the baby blues were called for zero fouls in the last 19 minutes of the game. GTHC
 
triaddukefan said:
The fans crying and whining over in Chapel Hill over the FT's today is humorous to me. The fans over there were keeping their yaps shut when in the mens game last week, the baby blues were called for zero fouls in the last 19 minutes of the game. GTHC
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Well of course. When it goes your way, there was nothing wrong with the officiating. When it doesn't go your way, then it's a problem. I think we're all guilty of that.
 
triaddukefan said:
Did you watch the whole game?
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I did not. I've watched plenty of basketball. Will never believe that one team can avoid fouling for an entire game, or at least can manage to not commit a single shooting foul. Large FT discrepancies happen all the time. Sometimes they are legit, sometimes they are not.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I'll take Coach Speak for $100 Alex.


21-0 FT discrepancy is gonna get scrutiny. Spin away, it still looks really, really suspect.
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Noone seemed to have an issue when UNC attempted 14 FT against NC State last week while the Wolfpack Women only attempted 2 FT. But put the foot on the other foot and now, eyebrows are raised.

I agree, tho; that kind of FT disparity is not good.
 
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Teams that have completed the "California double victory":

UNC (2024-25)
Duke (2025-26)
Louisville (2025-26)
Virginia Tech (2025-26)
 
As eyebrow-raising as the FT disparity may be, the UNC-Duke game was officiated by three experienced referees with Final Four pedigree.

For that reason alone, it is certainly worth a look to go back and watch the replay.
 
LETTERL said:
Noone seemed to have an issue when UNC attempted 14 FT against NC State last week while the Wolfpack Women only attempted 2 FT. But put the foot on the other foot and now, eyebrows are raised.

I agree, tho; that kind of FT disparity is not good.
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I didn't know about that. 14-2 is certainly a discrepancy, but it pales compared to 21-0.

All year long Washington has struggled to get to the FT line. Most games their opponent shoot more. I can't understand why they can't figure out how to get themselves more chances at freebies. There are variances game to game, and then some teams just tend to get more attempts than others, I'm sure based on a number of factors (ie. do you have a dominant low post player, or multiple guards who are good at driving to the rim, etc).

I haven't watched many games this year. If I didn't see it, I obviously can't say whether the officiating was suspect, or if it was justified based on styles of play. But I can notice when there is a huge discrepancy. It's gonna raise eyebrows, that's just the way it is.
 
Coming down the home stretch for the regular season and the ACC is LOADED with bubble teams. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the teams who are in the mix for the tournament either as locks or bubble teams or teams just outside the bubble and see what their final stretch looks like.

Louisville Cardinals (24-4, 14-1)
Projected 2 seed
NET - 9
Q1 7-4, Q2 4-0, Q3 1-0, Q4 12-0
Non Con SOS 31
Remaining Games: Virginia (37), @GT (86), ND (28)
Outlook: 2 feels about the ceiling for UL, they have a couple of decent games left here to pad their resume but nothing that could truly move the needle. Now if they win out and then go on to win the ACCT and get a win over Duke (10), could that be enough to push them to a #1? Maybe. I think they would need some help most likely.

Duke Blue Devils (19-6, 14-0)
Projected 3 seed
NET - 10
Q1 5-5, Q2 5-1, Q3 2-0, Q4 7-0
Non Con SOS 2
Remaining Games: NC State (24), @Clemson (39), FSU (107), @UNC (19)
Outlook: I can easily see Duke moving up to a 2, they still have 3 games currently considered Q1. If they can sweep through the ACC and then win the ACCT, possibly having to beat UL to do so, Duke would be on an absolute heater and probably would have collected 5ish Q1 wins in the process pushing their Q1 record to 10-5. They'd have a top 5 strength of schedule in the nation and wouldn't have lost since early December.

North Carolina Tar Heels (21-6, 10-4)
Projected 5 seed
NET - 19
Q1 1-5, Q2 7-1, Q3 4-0, Q4 9-0
Non Con SOS 96
Remaining Games: @VT (41), Pitt (255), @UVa (37), Duke (10)
Outlook: The thing really missing from UNC's resume is Q1 wins, 1-7 isn't so stellar but they do have 2 more opportunities as things currently stand and I certainly don't think it's unreasonable for them to win @UVa and they nearly beat Duke in Cameron just a few days ago without attempting a FT. So it's possible. To me they lack high end wins, their lone Q1 win is a 2 point win @ NC State who is currently a projected 6 seed. They really don't have much to hang their hat on, their next best wins are home wins over Syracuse (in OT) and Clemson. They don't have any terrible losses but there isn't a ton on the resume to feel great about. Non-conference SOS is 96th nationally, so they didn't really challenge themselves either. I'm a little surprised they are a 5 seed looking at their results, but they do have a chance to potentially move up to 4 and host if they can run the table. I could also easily see them going 2-2 and being a 6 seed.

NC State Wolfpack (17-8, 10-4)
Projected 6 seed
NET - 24
Q1 3-7, Q2 5-1, Q3 3-0, Q4 6-0
Non Con SOS 6
Remaining Games: @Duke (10), Syracuse (38), WF (128), @Pitt (255)
Outlook: State is really lacking a signature win, they have been close but missed golden opportunities against OU, USC, UNC and UL. In those 4 games (all Q1) they led the majority of the game and honestly looked like the better team most of the time, but in each one they crumbled. The non-conference SOS is 6th in the nation, but really only have a neutral court win over Tennessee to brag about. Duke represents an opportunity for a major resume boost and signature win tonight, but State is coming off their worst showing of the season. If they somehow can get it together and play to their potential down the stretch then sure, they could move up to a 5 possibly a 4 if they get on a heater. Most likely they lose tonight and finish somewhere around a 6 or 7 seed depending on how they handle Syracuse and the how they fare in the ACCT.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-9, 8-6)
Projected 7 seed
NET - 28
Q1 4-6, Q2 2-2, Q3 2-1, Q4 8-0
Non Con SOS 33
Remaining Games: @WF (128), @SMU (195), Syracuse (38), @UL (9)
Outlook: With 4 Q1 wins, ND punches up well enough, their issue is they are just 4-3 in Q2 and Q3 games. You'd imagine they will easily handle WF and SMU but that wont help their standing at all, Syracuse at home is a very big game for them and @UL to close the season represents the BIG opportunity for the Irish to improve their resume. I don't really see a path to them hosting, but if they finished strong they could move up to as high as a 5 - of course that means winning at UL which feels unlikely. If they can hold serve and beat SU while handling the sisters of the poor I'd think ND might could wind up around the 6 line, maybe stay at 7 depending on what else happens around them. 2-2 dropping games to SU and UL might push them to the 8 line though which is probably something you'd want to avoid.

Syracuse Orange (21-5, 11-4)
Projected 9 seed
NET - 38
Q1 1-4, Q2 5-1, Q3 3-0, Q4 12-0
Non Con SOS 147
Remaining Games: @NCSU (24), @ND (28), BC (252)
Outlook: The next two games are huge for the Orange, State and ND represent opportunities to get their best wins of the year. If they can go on the road and get 2 Q1 wins I could see them pushing up to the 7 line. They will have a gaudy overall record granted against a very cake SOS (147 non conference). But if they got those wins they would then be 3-4 in Q1 and 5-1 in Q2, that's pretty solid. Then again if they get swept the Orange may drop on down to the 10 line. I think at this point they are locks to make the tournament though despite such an empty schedule and lacking quality wins.

Virginia Tech Hokies (20-7, 10-5)
Projected 10 seed
NET 41
Q1 2-4, Q2 4-2, Q3 3-1, Q4 11-0
Non Con SOS 257
Remaining Games: UNC (19), GT (86), @UVA (37)
Outlook: VT has amassed a nice record and been solid in league play, however their SOS is really dragging them down. 257th in non-conference SOS is pretty bad, they have played 8 teams with a NET 250 or worse including the 2 lowest ranked teams in the nation (Niagra 0-25, 362 and Presbyterian 1-23, 363). VT has wins over Syracuse, Clemson, UVa and Stanford to help bolster their resume but really could use another to help solidify things. They get 2 more Q1 opportunities starting tonight against UNC which would give them their best win of the year. Similarly they end the season at rival Virginia, which also would qualify as their best win to date if they are unable to beat the Heels tonight. The question is what happens if VT loses both of those games? I'm assuming they probably stills squeak in but that's a scary place to be if you're the Hokies. Gotta go 2-1 to close the season to feel good, a win tonight would be massive.

Clemson Tigers (18-9, 9-6)
Projected 12 seed
NET 39
Q1 2-8, Q2 1-0, Q3 1-1, Q4 14-0
Non Con SOS 274
Remaining Games: Duke (10), @Cal (55), @Stanford (44)
Outlook: Clemson is currently listed as the next to last team IN the field, so very little room for error. Obviously if they did the unimaginable and beat Duke it's case closed and they are a lock. Assuming that doesn't happen, it feels like they probably need to beat both Stanford and Cal on the road. A tall task for a team of their caliber, Cal and Stanford aren't great, but that's proven to be a tricky road trip over the last 2 years for the conference. They had a golden opportunity against Syracuse to give themselves some breathing room, but came up short in the final seconds. Their calling card is that they have wins @ Notre Dame and against NC State, two teams solidly in the tournament and top 30 according to the NET. Much like VT though, Clemson will only have themselves to blame for scheduling such a cupcake non conference schedule littered with teams between 240-363 (8 of them and then of course 2 more in conference with Pitt and BC).

Virginia Cavaliers (18-8, 10-5)
Projected 1st team OUT
NET 37
Q1 1-5, Q2 2-2, Q3 4-0, Q4 11-1
Non Con SOS 130
Remaining Games: @UL (9), UNC (19), VT (41)
Outlook: Once again, scheduling. While UVA scheduled much more respectably than VT or Clemson - it was still loaded with Q4s and to top it off they dropped one to pesky UMBC (198)! UVa has just 1 Q1 win which came against the Irish. However they have 2 Q1's left and VT represents a team they are directly competing with on the bubble, so plenty of opportunity to prove their worth. I have felt all season that UVa has the talent on the roster to be a top 4 or 5 team in the ACC but they have underperformed and disappointed IMO. Losing to Cal, VT, Syracuse, State and Nebraska are prime examples. I sort of look at UVa as being on par with all of those teams talent wise and struck out in those games - the only 'coin flip' games they won were Clemson, ND and Stanford and honestly I think they have a better roster than those teams and quite frankly a few of the others I listed that they lost to. UVa could play themselves into the tournament pretty easily by going 2-1 in these final 3 given the level of competition. 1-2 is going to be a major sweat and probably not quite enough if they are truly already sitting on the outside looking in currently.

Stanford Cardinal (16-11, 5-9)
Projected 3rd team OUT
NET 44
Q1 2-5, Q2 3-4, Q3 2-1, Q4 9-1
Non Con SOS 91
Remaining Games: @Miami (57), @FSU (107), SMU (195), Clemson (39)
Outlook: I have a hard time seeing Stanford sneaking in without winning out. Unfortunately for them the remaining games on their schedule don't exactly boost their resume even if they win them. Clemson is the only one that has a chance to help out a little. Certainly would seem safe to assume any loss would be a death nail for the Cardinal. I'm curious what the vibe is around the program and among fans, I believe they had made the NCAAT 36 years in a row and now Coach Paye may be 0-2 in her 2 seasons since taking over.

California Golden Bears (16-11, 7-7)
Projected 8th team OUT
NET 55
Q1 0-8, Q2 3-2, Q3 2-1, Q4 11-0
Non Con SOS 169
Remaining Games: FSU (107), @Miami (57), Clemson (39), SMU (195)
Outlook: Similarly to Stanford, it feels like a bit of a longshot for Cal to get an at-large bid at this point. They definitely can't take a loss and really only have 1 game of any significance to add to their resume. They will finish the season without any Q1 wins - if they win out and get to 20-11...is it enough? Feels like they will need quite a bit of help.
 
Florida St. had Cal in trouble for most of the game. But then the 4th quarter happened. There seem to be a lot of teams that don't realize the game isn't over after 3 quarters. My team is one of those. Seems like something pretty basic to have a misunderstanding about.
 
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Congrats @triaddukefan. My Pack laid down in the first half and continued to do what they did in South Bend, couldnā€™t match Dukes energy and intensity.

The third quarter was fun. Almost elicited a fist pump at one point from me. But you canā€™t just show up for an 8 minute stretch. Kara has Duke playing together and with purpose. Iā€™m jealous. This team is giving off the Diamond Johnson/Jackia Brown Turner team vibes down the stretch. And that ainā€™t good.
 
FanInNC said:
Congrats @triaddukefan. My Pack laid down in the first half and continued to do what they did in South Bend, couldnā€™t match Dukes energy and intensity.

The third quarter was fun. Almost elicited a fist pump at one point from me. But you canā€™t just show up for an 8 minute stretch. Kara has Duke playing together and with purpose. Iā€™m jealous. This team is giving off the Diamond Johnson/Jackia Brown Turner team vibes down the stretch. And that ainā€™t good.
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I couldn't see the game, so I'll take a look at it Saturday. I thought we would win, but surprised it wasn't a nail biter decided in the last minute of the game.

 
triaddukefan said:
I couldn't see the game, so I'll take a look at it Saturday. I thought we would win, but surprised it wasn't a nail biter decided in the last minute of the game.

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You'll enjoy the watch a lot more than I did. State played good defense in the first 3ish possessions, but was equally bad on offense to offset that early. Then the defense merged to be closer in line to what was happening on offense and it got ugly quick. From a macro level I really liked how Duke played as far as motor and energy and passion. They were the scrappier team. They were active defensively and on the glass and offensively the ball moved, they forced rotations and attacked gaps. Conversely State got whipped on the boards, which that is generally a staple of all Wes Moore teams, rebounding - so a little surprising and definitely disheartening. On offense State made themselves easy to defend. The ball just doesn't move side to side, they rarely cause teams to have to help and rotate and therefore have trouble generating easy shots. State had 5 assists on 27 made baskets. They went 0/6 from 3! 2 of those attempts were bad bad shot attempts. I think that illustrates just how poor the ball movement was when you can't get open looks from 3.

Unfortunately I don't think State's pieces fit together well. I appreciate all the girls on their roster and fully believe in their abilities, but as a team they don't mesh well. Zam and Zoe are super talented but it's a small backcourt and neither one is a true PG, they are more combo guards who more times than not are looking to score and create for themselves rather than teammates. Khamil is a WNBA talent, I thought Lobo nailed her (and the team) in the 2nd when she said something to the affect of Khamil is dripping with WNBA talent but has got to improve her motor to reach her potential. This whole team seems to be running at 30 mph in a 55 at all times. There never feels like a sense of urgency. It rarely feels like you see someone pouring it out and giving it their all. They run the 4 out 1 in with KP being the 1 inside and when that ball goes in, it never comes out. She's fantastic but settles for faders and difficult attempts too often. It's not just her, they all can get in modes where they are just hunting their own too much. It's hard to watch because you know the potential is there to be so much better than what you are seeing.

Conversely Duke plays with the energy and pace that I prefer. Kara has a loaded team talent wise, but she's also getting them to buy in and play team ball. She catches heat when things don't go well, but I give her a lot of credit.

I'm fascinated to see what the offseason holds for State. There are no Seniors, so in theory they could all be back. I'm not sure if that's the best move for the team IMO. Wes is a very loyal guy and has always prioritized retention and culture and building in his program, so I'm curious how he responds to this situation. Wes does not have a GM and I'd be shocked if he got one, he's old school. I sort of wouldn't mind if he did get one on staff, but there are some tough decisions to make going forward with the roster. Can these pieces work together? If so, why haven't they so far? State is working with less of a budget from a NIL perspective than UL, Duke, UNC, UVa, and ND I assume - I think it'll max you out to retain the roster they currently have. So not being able to add anything meaningful from the portal, are you confident running it back with the same core and being a year older?
 
I mentioned elsewhere that several teams either on the bubble or close to the 8/9 lines would be playing Duke or Louisville at least once before closing out their seasons and how that could either boost their resumes (with a win) or leave them more vulnerable (with a loss). NC State getting blown out by Duke last night is an example of what happens when you lose a game like that this late in the season. According to Creme, they dropped two seed lines to 8. šŸ˜¬

I'll be interested in seeing if something similar happens to Clemson (Duke), UVA (@ Louisville), UNC (Duke), and Notre Dame (@ Louisville).
 
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WBBTakeover said:
I mentioned elsewhere that several teams either on the bubble or close to the 8/9 lines would be playing Duke or Louisville at least once before closing out their seasons and how that could either boost their resumes (with a win) or leave them more vulnerable (with a loss). NC State getting blown out by Duke last night is an example of what happens when you lose a game like that this late in the season. According to Creme, they dropped two seed lines to 8. šŸ˜¬

I'll be interested in seeing if something similar happens to Clemson (Duke), UVA (@ Louisville), UNC (Duke), and Notre Dame (@ Louisville).
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NC State has the look of a one-and-done team in the NCAAT. In the last few weeks, poor play has dominated court time and good, sound stretches have been few and far between when playing teams at or above their skill level.

As @FanInNC so eloquently put it earlier in the thread, the ladies don't always play together or give 100% effort all the time. That kind of thing isn't leading to success here late in the conference season and certainly won't work in the post-season.
 
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