On a day where most are looking forward to the Duke/UNC matchup tonight, there were two great games last night in conference play. Georgia Tech beat NC State 74-65, despite trailing by double-figures for nearly all of the first half. It took a 75 foot shot (from the opposite free throw line) from Javaris Crittenton at the end of the first half to make it an 8 point game.
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In the second half, the Yellow Jackets played with a different level of intensity, forcing 18 turnovers from the Wolfpack and generally wearing down the Pack as all 5 starters played 33 minutes or more.
Georgia Tech was led by Javaris Crittenton once again with 21 pts, 7 asts, and 3 stls. The freshman point guard's success is crucial to Georgia Tech, and for the second straight game Crittenton has led the Yellow Jackets to the win.
Four other Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures, including Thaddeus Young (15 pts, 7 rebs), Zach Peacock (11 pts), Jeremis Smith (10 pts), and Alade Aminu (10 pts).
NC State had four players in double-figures, as Gavin Grant (17 pts, 5 rebs) and Brandon Costner (17 pts, 6 rebs) each led the Pack with 17 pts. Ben McCauley added 16 pts, 6 rebs, and 4 asts and Courtney Fells also added 13 pts. Engin Atsur had just 2 pts, 6 asts, but also 6 turnovers in the loss.
In the other ACC matchup of the night, Virginia held on late to win at Maryland 69-65. Maryland had an Eric Hayes three point shot that could've tied it in the final seconds, but UVA grabbed the rebound and made free throws.
Maryland scrapped back into the game behind defensive pressure that forced UVA into 20 turnovers. The Terps managed to stay out of the bonus, a must to keep Sean Singletary and JR Reynolds off the free throw line, but it wasn't enough.
Virginia opened up the lead early in the game behind the sterling play of JR Reynolds, who finished with 23 pts and 5 rebs, while Adrian Joseph scored 13 pts off the bench in just 16 minutes. Sean Singletary added 10 pts and 8 rebs, while Tunji Soroye came off the bench and played some big minutes scoring just 3 pts, but adding 11 rebs and 4 blks.
Maryland was led by 18 pts from Mike Jones, while James Gist added a near double-double with 10 pts and 9 rebs.
Also last night, Wake Forest jumped out of conference and the Demon Deacons beat local rival Winston-Salem State 87-71.
Now that we've wrapped up last nights' wins in the conference, let's look ahead to one of the more anticipated games in ACC play, Duke and North Carolina. There certainly is no shortage of stories in the rivalry, and Duke Basketball Report takes a look at that from a Duke fan's perspective. Barry Jacobs (once again at DBR) takes a look at the idea of both teams coming into a matchup after a loss.
While the history of the matchup is entertaining and could be studied and written about, let's look at the current teams and some of the things about the rivalry that aren't always discussed.
- How about a Duke fan putting a Duke sticker on Tyler Hansbrough's truck?
- Or Danny Green going to a party with a girl only to find out her roommate was Sean Dockery. Not to mention the rest of the Duke team was at the party as well.
- Or high school teammates and best friends, Wayne Ellington and Gerald Henderson competing against each other for the first time.
There are so many stories surrounding this game that it is often easy to forget about the factors on the court that are going to decide the game. Here are three key factors to watch tonight...
- Tempo, Tempo, Tempo: UNC and Duke are on opposite ends of the spectrum in Tempo. The Heels lead the league with 76 possessions per game while Duke is last at 66 possessions per game. Where will the tempo reside?
- Defensive Intensity: Both teams will come into this game with a renewed fervor on the defensive end, but which team will be able to sustain that defensive pressure for 40 minutes?
- Taking care of the ball: More importantly, which team's offense will be able to take care of the ball? Duke leads the league in turnover percentage, turning the ball over 22.9% of their possessions, while the Tar Heels are 3rd best at 19.2% of their possessions.
Check out the Duke/UNC Game Notes for the Webmaster's prediction, an Efficiency Predicted Final Score, and more Duke/UNC game links.
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