We ask the three biggest ACC basketball questions for this week.
Does Duke right the ship against Baylor?
Duke has been a bit of a disappointment this year. Outside of Michigan State who have had their own struggles, they’ve lost to every decent team they’ve played this year. They haven’t been good on the glass in losses to Arizona, Arkansas, and Georgia Tech. Now they get a Baylor team that was boat-raced by Michigan State but has looked good otherwise. If Duke loses this game, they could be headed dangerously close to the start UNC had last year. Duke really really needs this game.
Can North Carolina right the ship against Oklahoma?
North Carolina has built up more equity than Duke with wins over Arkansas and Tennessee, but in their recent losses to UCONN and Kentucky, you saw just enough lapses where you know that UNC isn’t quite among the elite teams in college basketball at least not yet. Oklahoma is another opportunity this week. The Sooners are 10-0 and have been one of the country’s biggest surprises. The game is in Charlotte, so it will be a heavy UNC crowd. UNC can play with anyone, now it’s time to start finishing off more games against the better competition.
Can Georgia Tech make noise in the Diamond Head Classic?
Georgia Tech has been an interesting team with a couple of ugly non-competitive losses, 2 ranked team wins, and a neutral site win over a Penn State team that beat Ohio State. Their stretches of good solid play seem to be increasing. It’s been an encouraging start for new HC Damon Stoudamire. While most teams have finished their pre-season tournaments, the Diamond Head Classic is one of the last ones. The field is decent but not overwhelming for Georgia Tech. TCU, Nevada, and UMASS are the other top contenders, but Georgia Tech if they play can come out of this tournament 8-4 or in the best case 9-3. I like the way they are playing coming in as winners of 4 of their last 5. I think Georgia Tech can make a little noise this weekend.
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