*yawn* Duke vs Carolina for ACC Championship

ACC College Basketball31

The Clemson Tigers held a ten point lead at the start of the second half of Saturday’s ACC semi-final against UNC-Chapel Hill. It was then that StateFansNation tweeted the following:

Poor Clemson. They actually know what is getting ready to happen to them. It’s happened dozens of times in the past.

Like clockwork, it began (again).

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what was coming; only someone with an IQ above 75 who had ever watched a few ACC Basketball games (and aren’t biased towards the North Carolina Tar Heels).

Before you could blink, three of Clemson’s star players had been whistled for three fouls each. With 13:44 to go in the game – just 6 minutes and 16 seconds into the second half – the Tigers had been whistled for seven fouls and the Tar Heels were shooting one-and-ones. (Compare this to multiple games – including Carolina’s hosting of Clemson and the Tar Heels visit to the RBC Center – where the mighty Tar Heels managed to play more than 19 minutes of the second half without getting close to being called for the most minimal of seven team fouls.)

Not that any of that would be a surprise –North Carolina shot 48 MORE FREE THROWS than Clemson in the three games the teams played against each other this season. We all knew.

Who really f*ing cares anymore?

Want to know why a large majority of longtime ACC fans don’t give a shit anymore? Just look at today’s rematch for the ACC Championship between…who would’ve guessed it…Duke and Carolina. Since 1997, only Maryland and the belligerent Gary Williams have been able to crack the strong hold that the color blue and the vertical black and white stripes of officials have had on the conference tournament.

It is at this point where strongly encourage you to read this conversation for a lot more on the topic of the broken ACC.

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ACC College Basketball

31 Responses to *yawn* Duke vs Carolina for ACC Championship

  1. choppack1 03/13/2011 at 8:09 AM #

    I agree 100%.

    I don’t think UNC will advance too far in the tournament w/out the help of the officials.

    However, I will say this: I don’t think you can blame the officials for the outcome in the last 5 minutes of the game.

    I also missed that critical stretch of the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. I was shocked to peek my head in and w/ more than 10 minutes left in the second half, see the Heels already in the DOUBLE bonus.

    I don’t think there’s much integrity in this league whatsoever. As I said to my wife, you have to beat UNC and Duke by about 15 points to beat them by 1.

  2. Cosmo96 03/13/2011 at 8:25 AM #

    Congratulations, ACC admin. You got the matchup you wanted. I’m sure your Bristol, Connecticut overlords are quite pleased.

  3. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 03/13/2011 at 8:25 AM #

    It is a shame that UNC and Duke get away with whatever they want. Amazing how UNC in both the Miami and Clemson games were able to play very aggressive defense in order to overcome large deficits only committing one or two significant fouls. Often times it appeared the Heels were trying to foul Miami to stop an easy shot but nothing would be called but the shot would miss.

    The deck is stacked against a team that can’t touch the other team without the whistle, while the other team can mug at will. This happened for UNC for much of the month of February (well, for at least 3 decades). How else can a team play as poorly as UNC and not lose a one game in over a month?

    UNC did hit their shots but when the d has to lay off it becomes much easier, but still not easy. UNC’s players do have the talent to respond once the field is cleared.

  4. Wulfpack 03/13/2011 at 8:56 AM #

    If Clemson had decided to check Harrison Barnes, they’d be playing today. They didn’t, not even close.

  5. wolfonthehill 03/13/2011 at 8:56 AM #

    It’s amazing these two haven’t faced each other in the finals since 2001.

    I didn’t watch the unc-ch game… I just have no interest anymore. The outcome is decided before the tip, and not because unc-ch is actually BETTER than everyone. I’ve just lost my appetite for ACC hoops in general, and this kind of crap is the reason why. It doesn’t take a huge foul disparity to change a game… just one or to well-placed calls by the refs are enough to swing it… and unc-ch is on the happy end of those calls every single night. I’m just done…

  6. GAWolf 03/13/2011 at 9:35 AM #

    With the right hire, I think we can push our way back into that select group of Tobacco Road stories of interest where maybe we get a “lucky break” or three due to the consumer interest in our program.

    Again, that’s with the absolutely best hire we can make. There are about 3 names out there who would make us immediately a media darling. We all know the media is all but lazy as hell, so they’d love an easy positive story about NCSU as they would the easy negative one they’ve pumped the last 30 years or so.

    If you can’t beat them (and there’s repeated evidence that indeed you cannot), JOIN THEM.

  7. wufpup76 03/13/2011 at 9:51 AM #

    The refrain from the talking heads (espn) was that Clemson “quit executing their offense” down the stretch.

    I wonder why? Why would they all of a sudden quit doing what had been working so well? It is a mystery.

    It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with one team being allowed to play balls-to-the-wall defense while the other team sneezed and drew a foul. Let’s check with Miami and Clemson and see what they think. We can’t possibly be the only ones seeing black helicopters.

    Anyway, I LMAO at Roy getting upset with the officiating yesterday.

  8. ruffles31 03/13/2011 at 10:31 AM #

    I was in the car listening to Gary and Tony yesterday and early in the second half and Gary said that after a foul called on…Clemson, that it was Clemson’s 8th foul and UNC had 3 or 4. He then said that UNC has a big favorable differential in fouls…”where have I seen that before.”

    Truer words have never been spoken.

  9. WV Wolf 03/13/2011 at 10:33 AM #

    I too am losing my appetite for ACC basketball. Because of the decline in talent in both players and coaches and the preferential treatment given on the court and in promotion of the 2 blue schools.

    In my opinion the ACC has easily been surpassed by the Big East as the premier basketball conference. Do you think that if back in the day the Big East had picked say, Georgetown & Syracuse, to be the poster boys that will get all the calls and all the primetime coverage, that the Big East would have 11 NCAA tourney teams? While it helps that the BE has 47 teams, the conference seems to be balanced and very competitive. Unlike the ACC.

  10. StateofthePack 03/13/2011 at 11:14 AM #

    And the worst part is that your everyday Joe Schmoe who pulls for the blues dismisses this as ABCD whiners who are jealous of their success. Clueless. The beauty of the 80’s and 90’s was that ANY one of the member eight/nine institutions had a legitimate chance to win on championship weekend. You think the league would be where it is today without Holland, Ellis, Dreisell, and/or Cremins NOT getting a fair shake. Brett Friedlander had an article in the Wilmington paper stating that for the good of the league an all blue Championship game was necessary to keep the league credible this year. I would argue the opposite that the problem is that the league has become the two giants and 10 dwarfs. How that has occured over the past decade is up for debate and has been touched on in this discussion and in other topics but it is not to be ignored. The commenters on the Wilmignton article obviously have no clue due to “their team” being the successful one, regardless of how that is obtained.

    Ticket books for the tournament being unsold, allotments being reduced from non-area teams in Greensboro are just a few of the warning signs rearing their heads from the non Duke Carolina contingent of fans.

    An interesting dynamic facing the league is the national perception among coaches that if they were to take their coaching talent to this league, would they get a fair shake in games and by the league office. And I think due to the complete lack of quality/proven coaches currently in the league, that question doesn’t need an answer. It’s obvious.

  11. RickJ 03/13/2011 at 11:17 AM #

    WV Wolf – That is a great point about the Big East. While the ACC Tournament is a shell of what it once was, the Big East tournament is better and more successful than ever.

  12. choppack1 03/13/2011 at 12:36 PM #

    I was thinking today – that beating Duke and UNC w/ ACC refs is like boxing.

    You rarely beat the champ on points. You usually have to knock the champ out. (And no one looks at boxing as a sport of integrity.)

    You aren’t going to get the bang-bang calls against UNC or Duke – so you literally have to blow them out of the building to win by a few points.

    There’s also the famous baseball story of a young pitcher facing Ted Williams. The pitcher throws a pitch right over the plate, squarely in the strike zone. The ump calls a ball.

    The pitcher questions the call – the ump tells him, if it was a strike Mr Williams would have swung at it.

  13. 98st8 03/13/2011 at 12:49 PM #

    I hope duke beats them by half a hundred

  14. NCSU84 03/13/2011 at 1:00 PM #

    I’m sorry, but I’m not buying it. There are questionable calls in all games and they go both ways. To add up the number of fouls called on one team over another and then to make the accusation that the team with the least number of calls was favored is ridiculous. The reason UNC and Duke dominate us and the rest of the league is because they get the best players – period. ALL top notch high school players want to play in the Duke/UNC game. We (and the rest of the league) get the crumbs that are left. I know this sounds harsh, but the truth sometimes hurts. Until this trend ends, which I do not see happening anytime soon, the ACC will continue to be dominated by the two blue teams. And please spare me the “you’re wrong…our next coach will…with our freshmen talent..blah blah blah.” I have over two decades to support my statements. I’m going downstairs now with my wife (an UNC grad) to watch the ACC championship game. Duke and UNC – again.

  15. Pack84 03/13/2011 at 1:01 PM #

    I hope the roof falls in on the lot of ’em.

  16. hoop 03/13/2011 at 1:37 PM #

    Coach K said in a press conference yesterday:
    “To have the first and second place regular season teams play, ya know, I think, ya know, makes Vitale and those guys happy you know because there will be a lot of people watching the game.”

    And there it is.

    They think Duke vs UNC in the title game is good for the league. So, you know, if those teams get some calls along the way, well, you know, it’s just for the good of the league.

  17. swamppack 03/13/2011 at 4:19 PM #

    Thanks for not being scared to tell it like it is StateFans. The refs in the ACC see blue and they are intimidated.

    Thank God for Duke and K. If it were not for them, Xarolina would be even more unbearable. Yes, the refs still give Duke preferential treatment, but I would rather see them get it any time than UNSux.

  18. bradleyb123 03/13/2011 at 4:51 PM #

    It’s not the “number of calls” that makes officiating biased. Usually it’s the timing of them. A well-timed bad or missed call can easily swing momentum, or continue it.

    One example: In the game today, Kelly rebounded a Carolina miss. Zeller landed on top of him and knocked him out of bounds. The call? Ball out on Kelly. Carolina ball. Barnes promptly hit a three, cutting the lead to nine. Had they made the right call (a rather easy call, I might add), it’s Duke ball and a 12 point lead. If Duke scores, Carolina is looking at a 14-15 point deficit. Instead, the lead is down to nine, the Holes are hopeful, and Zeller has one less foul.

    These things make a difference if and when the lead gets into single digits with a few minutes left.

    But here’s why I call bias. When refs miss easy calls, it’s either ineptness or bias. If it’s ineptness, then all things being equal, about half of them will go Carolina’s way, and half will go in their opponent’s favor. But when the game is still undecided, these calls go overwhelmingly in Carolina’s favor. So I contend it is bias.

    But the refs can only help a team. They can’t give the game away. Carolina wasn’t able to make their shots, so it didn’t matter if a few calls went their way. But imagine if Carolina has just made ONE or TWO plays after the lead had been cut to nine on that bad call. The lead could have literally been cut to less than five. Some teams would panic (which has been the case more often than not for Carolina’s opponents this year). Thankfully, Duke did not panic today.

    I am thoroughly convinced that Carolina get some help. And this was Karl Hess’ crew today. What a shock that they would help Carolina.

    Once the game was pretty well out of reach, I felt like they called it right. Guess they need to save some face once they figured out Carolina had folded.

  19. Master 03/13/2011 at 5:25 PM #

    NCSU84 – Yes, Duke and UNC have the best players in the league. However, there are plenty of teams in the country with just as many great players that also win a lot of games and an occasional National Championship. I think there are at least 3 or 4 teams in the Big East that are just as good or better than Duke and Carolina. Frankly, I think that proves out in the Tournament.

    I say that to make the point that they don’t win everything and there are other great coaches and teams. State did not win 10 ACC Championships and 2 National Championships in a league without Duke and Carolina. They were just as competitive then as they are now, but we had coaches who recruited great kids to OUR school.

    I can’t tell you not to watch the game with your UNC wife, but I can’t imagine that going well with me. Too close to the Dark Side.

  20. wolfmanmat 03/13/2011 at 5:35 PM #

    While Duke and UNC do get alot of calls, it is not the reason they win. The reason they win is recruiting and coaching. Arguing different sounds bitter. Since 2000 Duke and UNC are tied for signing the most McDonals All-Americans. They have signed 22 EACH. In 3rd is Kansas with 12. That means Duke and UNC get 2 McD’s All Americans for every 1 that chooses Kansas. The drop of from there is insane 2. And they coach the McD’s talent and make them better. NCState actually has 5 since 2000, which is top 15. However, only 1 had a career even worth mention at State(Hodge). 2 completely fell off the map(Costner/Scooter) and 2 left as freshman(Leslie assumed/Hickson). If we hope to begin to compete with Duke and UNC, we got to improve coaching and recruiting.

  21. MrPlywood 03/13/2011 at 6:28 PM #

    bradley – I’m glad someone else saw that play. Looked like a no-brainer to me. Another odd call was the “holding” on Curry. As is usually the case, it was quite mild compared to what had gone on for both sides during the game, but UNX was building momentum and the call seemed out of place.

    BTW, did I say that I cannot stand John Henson? Things go his way and he’s in your face – hit him with a little adversity and he’s a world-class whiner.

    And a question for the Rules Committee: why is it not ball interference when a guy grabs the ball after a made basket and throws it to the ref. It’s an obvious ploy to slow the offensive team down as they try to inbound the ball

  22. camel77 03/13/2011 at 6:45 PM #

    NCSU84. You must not watch the same game I watch. Our guys get mugged on our end, and a touch foul is called on the other end.

  23. packof81 03/13/2011 at 8:06 PM #

    Talk about the timing of bad calls and no-calls, there were several key no-calls in the UNC-Miami game that made a big difference. The commentators on the wolfpack radio network commented that the officials “swallowed the whistle”. But for those, Miami might have played Clemson on Saturday.

    Touch fouls on one end vs. muggings on the other has been SOP for decades!

    Yes, Duke and Carolina are good. But they are also the beneficiaries of biased officiating. Over the long haul, this has _contributed_ to the marginalization of the remainder of the conference. They might as well just hold a Carolina Duke game to decide the winner of the ACC tournament.

  24. blpack 03/13/2011 at 8:24 PM #

    Number one we have to get better. So do the other 9 teams not called Duke or UNC-ch. However, look at the lack of excitement in the ACCT. Yes, tickets are expensive, but people will pay if they think the product is worth it. People know it is a two team league. The league is suffering because of this coddling the blues.

  25. packof81 03/13/2011 at 9:35 PM #

    “An interesting dynamic facing the league is the national perception among coaches that if they were to take their coaching talent to this league, would they get a fair shake in games and by the league office. And I think due to the complete lack of quality/proven coaches currently in the league, that question doesn’t need an answer. It’s obvious.”

    You’re not the first I’ve heard make that point. Sounds like in addition to a new coach, we need to get into another league.

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