Duke, Wake Each Lose By 27 (Good Link Updates @ Noon)

I can’t say that I saw this coming. Miami forced the Deacons to shoot from the perimeter – and they couldn’t do it. Looks like a good roadmap for other ACC teams. On the other hand, Clemson just beat Duke senseless with defensive pressure and transition baskets (as they and Carolina are uniquely suited to do). Don’t look now, but despite early evidence to the contrary, we might be looking at yet another Duke team that stays down once hit in the mouth.

And freaking Boston College – the team that lost by double digits to Harvard at home – beat a pathetic UVA squad to go to 6-3. Just another Wednesday night in the ACC.

Many all over the country were pleased with the results of the Duke game as evidenced by Deadspin’s lead story – Duked!

The 27-point pasting was Duke’s worst loss since 1997. Their impotent 47 points was their lowest output since 1994. It was their first regular season loss to Clemson in 20 games. Coach Mike Kryzewski called timeout in the final minute, just so his team could savor the delicious pain of one the school’s most pathetic non-lacrosse efforts in nearly two decades.

If you want an excellent read, then jump over to this entry about the ‘Duke Swoon’ at Rush the Court.

The following chart is an example of some of the great work RTC does.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

08-09 Basketball

98 Responses to Duke, Wake Each Lose By 27 (Good Link Updates @ Noon)

  1. W0LFPack 02/04/2009 at 11:24 PM #

    I’ll bring this on over…

    I hate to bring it to this…WHO AM I KIDDING? NO I DON’T…

    Wake loses by 27 to Miami, who we beat.

    Duke loses to 27 to Clemson, who we played semi-alright.

    The ACC is not the best conference, nor does it have the top 3 teams in the land. Any given night, anyone can beat anyone in this league. NC State can still manage it’s way to 7 ACC wins..but more probable is a 6 win league record and an NIT berth. I’ll accept that this year, with the NCAA Tourney my goal next year.

    Let’s go take care of business this weekend in Blacksburg. Oh and for the record, if BC keeps this trend up, it could look really good for us when we take care of them when they come to RUFF Raleigh

  2. 61Packer 02/04/2009 at 11:49 PM #

    Tonight’s 3 ACC games showed that UVA is clearly the league’s worst team, that the Holes are probably the league’s best team, and that we’re lucky we don’t have to play Clemson again in the regular season.

    The bad thing about seeing Duke and Wake losing like this is that as a result, one or both of them could end up seeded 5th or lower in the ACC Tournament. If the Pack enters the tourney needing a win for post-season consideration, facing Duke or Wake on Thursday would be the end of the season.

    The Georgia Tech game on February 14 could well be the battle for 10th place in the ACC. Looks like the city of Atlanta will play a big part in the Wolfpack’s final destination this season, both on Valentine’s Day and in March.

  3. wufpup76 02/05/2009 at 1:37 AM #

    Wake’s offensive inefficiency is finally catching up to them a bit, combined with some letdowns defensively …

    There is a ton of talent on that team, but executing a decent halfcourt offensive set seems to be a major dilemma for them … Hadn’t been a problem for them to this point as they were able to force turnovers / bad shots and run with Teague and Smith – not so much all of a sudden

    Duke looked like a total disaster against Clemson … No contest

    Not surprised either team won, but the margins are simply wild

    Edit: Watching Ogelsby try to dunk was pretty funny … I think that truly would’ve brought the house down

  4. JimValvano 02/05/2009 at 7:31 AM #

    61Packer is reading it the wrong way. Last night’s three ACC games didn’t show that the Holes are the league’s best team. It showed that Clemson has to be considered when you debate who is the league’s best team. Ever since I can remember, any time Clemson has a good team…I’ll ask my Dad if he thinks they’ll win the ACC, and he’ll laugh and say, “Does their jersey still say Clemson? They’ll find a way to frig it up” Usually their downfall is at the free throw line, but this Clemson team might be the one that bucks the trend. I’ll ask my Dad, but maybe its time to consider the Tigers as a possibility.

    WOLFpack has it wrong too…those games don’t prove that the ACC isn’t the best conference. If anything I would think the ACC strengthened its argument. Its a league where a middle tier team can come out and beat a top ten team on any given night. Wake has shown they belong with a top 12 ranking. So have Duke and North Carolina. Then you’ve got Clemson which if they weren’t Clemson I’d put them with the other three. We’ve got 4 top 12 teams, and we’ve got Miami, FSU, B.C., Va Tech which all look like NCAA tourney teams to me. I think these games actually prove that the ACC is the BEST conference.

  5. Rochester 02/05/2009 at 7:57 AM #

    I watched a bit of the BC-UVA game. BC had a huge lead on them and let it evaporate in the blink of an eye. UVA came out like a different team after the half. I’m not saying they’re good, but they looked good for a stretch and BC looked pretty bad. Of course, BC held them off to win on the road, but they looked like they’d never make it out of the first weekend of the NCAA tourney, if they get that far.

  6. Rick 02/05/2009 at 7:59 AM #

    Each of the top 4 ACC teams has a fatal flaw.
    1) Wake cannot shoot outside. If you slow them down and force them to shoot jumpers they can be in trouble.
    2) If you stop UNC’s fast break, put a big body on Hansblow and have a PG that can score you can beat the Holes.
    3) Duke has two good players and if Singler or Henderson have a bad night they are in trouble. They also have no size. It looks to me like K has become a HWSNBN discipline. Shooting a ton of threes. They also appear to struggle when pressed defensively.
    4) Clemson also will struggle if forced into a half court game. They do have shooters though. There other problem might be mental. I am not sure they know how to win in the big situations.

    I would argue that the ACC is the best league in the land. The problem is all the good teams show find each others weaknesses so when it comes tournament time other teams have video on how to beat us. Not so much for Memphis or Gonzaga.

  7. Alpha Wolf 02/05/2009 at 8:11 AM #

    What kills me is that our team has to be below par during this period of beatability for the top end of the conference.

  8. BJD95 02/05/2009 at 8:16 AM #

    When playing their best, Clemson may well be the best team in the league. They are at least in the conversation.

    As a fan, it’s just a joy to watch them play. They bust their asses on every possession. If they had one truly elite scorer, the Tiggers might be unstoppable.

    If Teague is in the POY conversation, then Booker should be, too.

    I loved the slow-mo replay of Purnell’s reaction to Oglesby’s dunk attempt. You could read “crazy white boy” in the thought bubble over his head.

  9. Wulfpack 02/05/2009 at 8:16 AM #

    “It showed that Clemson has to be considered when you debate who is the league’s best team.”

    Yea, they should be considered, but UNC handled Clemson pretty darn easily in Chapel Hill. It’ll all play itself out in the end. If Duke beats UNC next week, then we really have something with the first place roundrobin between Duke, UNC, Clemson and Wake.

    I think the ACC and the Big East are neck and neck for the top conference. The Big East will get more teams in the tourney, but they have some crap teams at the bottom. Notre Dame is about 12th in that league right now and they are a good team. Let’s hope the ACC will get 7 or even 8 bids this year.

    I’m not sure I know what to think about last night. While it’s good to see that Duke and Wake are very beatable, it strengthened UNC’s argument as the best team in the conference. Clemson is looking as if they are goign to make a push for it but they can’t seem to beat UNC.

    BC has already won 6 conference games. That is amazing. They were not picked to do well this year. A couple more wins and they are tourney bound. Hats off to Skinner.

    I just hope we finish ahead of UVA, GT and MD. Let’s beat the Hokies.

  10. BJD95 02/05/2009 at 8:29 AM #

    Skinner has done a great job this year. I expected them to be as bad as State, GT, and UVA. Instead, they’re a half game out of first.

    I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, but ACCT Saturday should be fantastic viewing – assuming Wake, Duke, UNC, and Clemson are all there.

    UNC is a challenge for Clemson because they are able and willing to play Clemson’s speed. To a lesser extent, so is Wake (thus, their win in Littlejohn). That’s what stands between the Tiggers and an ACC title – learning how to adjust when playing a team who likes their pace.

  11. ktoh 02/05/2009 at 8:58 AM #

    Granted ,GT,Maryland and UVA stink as well this year but they all have a ton of underclassman who are getting a great deal of playing time.

  12. Mike 02/05/2009 at 8:58 AM #

    Gaudio is a terrible coach and needs to be fired. Lost to GTech and Miami in back to back games. No adjustments, just a poor coaching effort for a group of guys who could not throw it in the ocean. They shot like 15% on 3’s, and league cellar dweller NCSU shot 50% on 3’s against that Miami team. Gaudio should be gone immediately.

    K is a terrible coach and needs to be fired. Got absolutely squashed at Clempsun and those guys acted like they ahd no clue what they were doing. They did not even score 50 pts. K has no business coaching these guys as obviously he does not know how to coach. Even the lowly Pack scored more than 50 against Clempsun and held them below 70. K should be gone immediately.

  13. LRM 02/05/2009 at 9:01 AM #

    This is no different than any other year in the ACC — top to bottom strength. There simply is not that wide a gap between the 12-4 upper tier teams and the 8-8 mid-tier teams during 16 games of conference play, where even the 4-12 bottom-feeders (ahem, State, Virginia and Georgia Tech) squeak one out against the upper tiers occassionally.

    For all of the arguments that the Big 40 — er, Big East — is the best conference, consider the fact that “contenders” West Virginia (4-5), Georgetown (4-6), St. John’s (3-6), Notre Dame (3-7), and Seton Hall (2-6) have all been recently ranked, even though all of these teams have at least seven or more losses — Notre Dame is barely .500, with nine losses. To put this into perspective, State and Maryland have fewer losses than Notre Dame.

    Carolina, Duke, Clemson, and Wake have a combined 10 losses, while VPI, Boston College, and Florida State are all .500 or better, with Miami still very much alive for a 9-7 finish.

    This is why, despite the fact it’s so painful to be a State fan, ACC basketball is still great to watch.

  14. Mike 02/05/2009 at 9:04 AM #

    Obviously my last post was tongue in cheek. What I am trying to say is relax all, we are getting better. The record is not saying it completely but we are improving.

    Yes, Sid has had some struggles but he is learning on the job. Yes, he may not have been qualified when he was hired, but that was not his fault. We are improving and we have recruits coming in. I know that sounds like WTNY, but patience is a virtue. Sorry if I am looking through my red colored glasses, but can get back to the glory days.

  15. primacyone 02/05/2009 at 9:18 AM #

    Anybody checked on Marquette lately????

    20-2 and sitting on top in the Big East at a perfect 9-0!

  16. Alpha Wolf 02/05/2009 at 9:18 AM #

    Mike, the record is the bottom line. I for one do not accept moral victories.

  17. primacyone 02/05/2009 at 9:22 AM #

    Anybody checked on Florida lately????

    19-4 and sitting on top of the SEC Eastern Division at 6-2!

  18. LKNpackfan 02/05/2009 at 9:27 AM #

    (As of yesterday morning), Ken Pomroy ranks the conferences as
    1. ACC
    2. PAC-10
    3. Big East
    (link)

  19. Mike 02/05/2009 at 9:36 AM #

    Alpha, I do not accept moral victories either, and posted as such last week. A loss is still a loss. A bad win is a still a win.

    I want to win as bad as anyone here. I just think the negtivity towards the coach hurts all of us. If I were Wall, I would be reading the boards. And I am not saying Wall will come here, nor am I saying Wall will be the saviour of the program. The negative talk does affect recruiting, and if I am looking for a place to play, I dont want to go somewhere where hte coach will be gone.

  20. BJD95 02/05/2009 at 9:40 AM #

    Is it just me, or was anyone else enjoying talking about good ACC basketball and not re-hashing why we suck again? There are plenty of threads for that.

  21. jbpackfan 02/05/2009 at 9:55 AM #

    Guess what- we don’t suck. Let the damn season play out.

  22. Rick 02/05/2009 at 9:57 AM #

    BJD
    Agreed. I love watching basketball.
    I tried to go to the WOG/Ravenscroft game. I got there an hour an dten minutes before the game started. They had closed the gym and started giving out numbers. We were around 50 so we left.

  23. kyjelly 02/05/2009 at 10:02 AM #

    Mike ^ very funny and nice try about K and Gaudio ,but if they had finished on the very very bottom the last 3 years without signs of improvement ,theirs heads would be on the block as they should.

  24. primacyone 02/05/2009 at 10:14 AM #

    I had personally emotional enjoyment and sincere satisfaction watching Duke get DESTROYED by Clemson.

    There have been GREAT games the last few weeks in the ACC.

    If you are a Clemson fan, you’ve got to like their schedule the rest of the way.

    If you are a Duke fan, you’ve got to be a little worried about thier schedule the rest of the way.

  25. Classof89 02/05/2009 at 10:19 AM #

    what these games show me is that there is an enormous gulf between the bottom three and the top 9. Actually, bottom three, inexplicable two (I can’t figure out Maryland and Miami this year) and top 7.

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