ACC Roundup - Louisville Crushes Hoosiers, UNC Has Issues

How ‘bout them Cardinals?

In Wednesday’s and (Thursday’s) ACC Action, Michigan State nicked UNC in overtime, 94-91, Louisville walloped Indiana 89-61, Virginia Tech fell to South Carolina 70-60, Syracuse knocked off Cornell 82-72, Georgia Tech grooved past Charleston Southern 91-67, SMU took Washington State 77-60, Cal hammered poor Mercyhurst 81-55 and Notre Dame fell to Houston 65-54.

UNC has developed an interesting pattern of falling behind in games and coming back. It happened against Kansas, Dayton, Auburn and now Michigan State. The Tar Heels have only won one of those games, Dayton.

Against Michigan State, the starting guards - RJ Davis, Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble - were a big part of the offense again but freshmen Drake Powell and Ian Jackson were major factors too with 18 and 14 respectively.

Jalen Washington had seven rebounds in 13 minutes but did not score.

Transfer Cade Tyson, who was recruited as a three point specialist, scored 11 against American and nine against Hawaii. Other than that, he has scored four points so far this season.

Here’s a question: was Indiana that bad or Louisville that good? Because Louisville, which was a devastated program for the last two years, just beat the everlovin’ snot out of the Hoosiers.

Probably a combination of both. Indiana was pretty bad. Of the four primary guards, only Myles Rice scored, and his three - his only basket - was lucky to go in at all.

The perimeter players overall shot just 9-43 and Louisville blew up for 52 points in the second half. Louisville shot 56.9 percent overall so it doesn’t sound like Indiana played much defense either.

Virginia Tech is not off to an impressive start. The Hokies fell behind and never caught up. Virginia Tech didn’t shoot well, hitting just 23-59. Former Blue Devil Jaden Schutt shot 3-9/2-4, finishing with 11 points. Vanderbilt and Pitt, both exceeding expectations, are up next. With losses to Penn State, Jacksonville, Michigan and now South Carolina, the Hokies really need a win. A six-game losing streak will not go over well.

Syracuse, playing without Eddie Lampkin, fell behind Cornell early before catching up. It wasn’t a great outing: coach Adrian Autry said it was “steps backwards” for the Orange.

Donnie Freeman paced the Orange with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Elijah Moore kicked in 19 points and seven boards of his own.

Naithan George and Baye Ndongo, who should be the linchpins for Georgia Tech, came through against Charleston Southern with 17 points each. Ndongo also had eight rebounds while George had seven assists. Jaeden Mustaf had 16 and Lance Terry added 15.

SMU pulled away in the second half to put away Washington State. The Mustangs had a whopping 51 rebounds, nearly doubling Washington State’s 25. It was a close game until the last 7:00 minutes or so when SMU broke it open. Boopie Miller had 17 to pace the Mustangs.

Cal had no trouble with Mercyhurst - big surprise. It was designed to be an easy win and it was.

Remember the reporter - just the one - who voted for Cal’s Jeremiah Wilkinson for ACC Rookie of the Year?

He’s doing very well. Wilkinson had 25 points, hitting 9-12 and 6-8 on his threes. In his first four games, he scored 11 points total. In the last three, he’s hit for 23, 16 and 25.

Finally, Notre Dame played Houston without Markus Burton, who injured his knee against Rutgers Tuesday night. Despite his absence, the Irish played very well, losing by just 11 without their best player. Houston is a load. That’s a very impressive loss.

Tae Davis had 22 points and eight boards while Braeden Shrewsberry finished with 16. The Irish got no points from the bench.

Fortunately, Burton’s injury is not season ending. He’s listed as week-to-week.

Three games on Thanksgiving as Louisville faces West Virginia, Wake Forest gets Florida and NC State has a major challenge with Purdue.

Thursday’s ACC Action

• Louisville vs. West Virginia || 12:00 || ESPN
• Wake Forest vs. Florida || 2:30 || ESPN
• NC State vs. Purdue || 3:00 || FS1

• How will UNC basketball shake off slow starts after back-to-back losses? Here’s an idea.
• Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s 94-91 overtime win over North Carolina in the Maui Invitational
• The Postgame: Another Sluggish Start Dooms Tar Heels vs. Michigan State
• Spartans Redeem Themselves in OT, End Maui Trip on a High Note With Upset Over No. 12 UNC
• Michigan State holds off No. 12 North Carolina 94-91 in overtime for 3rd at Maui Invitational
• Louisville basketball annihilates Indiana in the Battle 4 Atlantis
• Peegs’ Take: Rabjohns and Andershock discuss Indiana’s loss to Louisville
• My Two Cents: We Weren’t Supposed to See This Garbage From Indiana Anymore
• IU basketball vs. Louisville player ratings: What’s worse than a disaster?
• Louisville scores 52 second-half points to race past No. 14 Indiana in the Battle 4 Atlantis
• Virginia Tech men’s basketball team slips below .500 with loss to South Carolina in Fort Myers
• Virginia Tech Drops Fourth Straight Game In 70-60 Loss To South Carolina
• Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies fall to South Carolina in fourth consecutive loss
• Elijah Moore scores career-high 19 points in SU’s win over Cornell
• Syracuse men’s basketball tops Cornell 82-72, Autry says “we took steps backwards”
• Syracuse center Eddie Lampkin talks about back injury that kept him out of starting lineup against Cornell
• Freshmen lead Syracuse rally to defeat Cornell
• Jackets pick up much-needed win over Charleston Southern
• George and Ndongo each score 17 points, Georgia Tech defeats Charleston Southern 91-67
• Baye Ndongo scores 17 to lead Georgia Tech past Charleston Southern
• Georgia Tech 91-67 Charleston Southern (Nov 27, 2024) Game Recap
• SMU surges back with big second half to beat Washington State in Acrisure Invitational
• SMU’s strong second half sinks Washington State
• Southern Methodist University men’s basketball defeats Washington State in Acrisure Series
• Jeremiah Wilkinson has another career game as Cal tops Mercyhurst
• Cal Basketball: Bears Hammer Mercyhurst, 81-55.
• Jeremiah Wilkinson scores 25 points and Cal drops Mercyhurst 81-55