In Tuesday’s ACC Action, Cal beat D-II Dominican 93-71, Virginia clobbered Maryland Eastern Shore 84-60 and Clemson just missed a major upset, falling to BYU 67-64 in the Jimmy V Classic.
And what a game it was.
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Clemson played beautifully in the first half, slicing and dicing #10 BYU. The Tigers put a blanket over AJ Dybantsa and the Cougars looked very uncertain. And Clemson really heated up, taking a 43-22 lead into halftime.
Things changed in the second. BYU began to chop into the lead and took it back with 55-54 with 3:17 left. Dybantsa personally outscored the Tigers in the second half, 22-21.
Read that again.
You got the sense that it was over and a BYU win was inevitable. But Clemson wasn’t quite ready to yield.
BYU was up 56-62 with 1:10 left but the Tigers roared back and with :05 left, the game was tied 64-64.
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And then this happened. This play will be on loop for BYU for years to come. It’s just outrageously cool.
Clemson lost of course, but in this game and their game against Alabama, the Tigers proved that they could play with top-rated teams. It’s too early to really say, but to us, today, Clemson certainly looks like an NCAA tournament team.
You can’t judge much from Maryland Eastern Shore, but Virginia looks like it could be a factor in March too.
Generally speaking, exam period games are essentially glorified scrimmages, just a chance to keep everyone loose and to get some runs in.
That’s exactly what Virginia got out of UMES. It was an easy win and 14 guys got in. Johann Grunloh got another four blocks and Chance Mallory had 5 assists, 6 steals and no turnovers.
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Somehow though, UMES managed to hit 46% of their shots and to nearly match Virginia on the boards (32-29).
Speaking of Mallory, we haven’t watched closely, but he appears to be Virginia’s best option at point. They could probably make it work to keep having him come off the bench, but you’d think at some point, you’d want your best option to start. Maybe the staff sees the 5-10 Mallory as a defensive liability. If he keeps stealing the ball like that though, maybe not.
There’s no reason to take Dominican seriously, but Cal, now 9-1, is quietly putting a decent season together. They have wins over UCLA and Utah and the only loss it to K-State on the road by three. Both Dai Dai Ames and Chris Bell, ACC refugees from Virginia and Syracuse respectively, have found new life in the bay.
But the hottest player of the night was Justin Pippen, son of Scottie, who finished with 24, which is his best scoring night in college. And so far this season, he’s only failed to score in double figures once. He may be having a breakout season.
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On Wednesday, Notre Dame welcomes Iowa to South Bend, Liberty visits NC State, and BC takes on UMass in Springfield.
Wednesday’s ACC Action
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Idaho at Notre Dame || 7:00 || ACC Extra
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Liberty at NC State || 7:00 || ACCN
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UMass vs Boston College || 7:00 || ESPNU
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