Technician Online

March 15th, 2008

Day 3: ACC Semis

Will purple spoil battle of the blues?
Updated 5:54 p.m.
It’s been the talk all week, heck, ever since Duke and UNC played last Saturday: The two would certainly meet again in this Sunday’s ACC Tournament championship.
But with the way Clemson is playing right now, it could be the guys in purple and orange getting a shot at the boys in baby blue. And after the two games between Clemson and Carolina this season, who couldn’t get excited about seeing the two play again?

Devils erase 9-point deficit
Updated 5:38 p.m.
Ever since Clemson took a 41-32 lead, Duke has kicked up the intensity. The Devils retook the lead, and it is now a back-and-forth thriller similar to what we saw in today’s first game. But as DeMarcus Nelson prepares to attempt two free throws at the 7:57 mark, the Tigers have responded well and hold a 56-54 lead despite stalling on offense for a few minutes in the middle of the second half.

Tigers make fast 2nd-half start
Updated 5:15 p.m.
Clemson has gotten off to the start to the second half that it needed to stay in position to win this game. On the Tigers’ third shot of their first possession, K.C. Rivers hit a 3-pointer. Then Trevor Booker slammed home two more points to give his team a 35-31 advantage and force Coach K to call a timeout. Clemson coach Oliver Purnell then emphatically motioned to the crowd, further exciting the atmosphere in Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The Tigers don’t look like they’re going anywhere other than here any time soon.

Clemson frustrating Devils
Updated 4:47 p.m.
How many times do you see Duke getting flustered by a full-court press? Not very often. Well, welcome to the world of Clemson’s great ACC Tournament display of defense and all things basketball. This team is looking like a real contender once again — and making the Blue Devils uncomfortable in the process.

Duke squanders early momentum
Updated 4:27 p.m.
Duke has gotten off to a good start to this semifinal, leading 14-13. But it is living quite dangerously, constantly throwing up 3-pointers. Some have gone in, but unless the Blue Devils plan to make an unreal number of them, they can’t keep shooting behind the arc at this rate.

Greenberg makes his case for Tech
Updated 4:10 p.m.
After his team’s narrow 68-66 loss to North Carolina on a late fade-away jumper by Tyler Hansbrough, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg made a vigorous case for his Hokies and their NCAA Tournament worthiness.
He said anyone who saw how his team played against UNC and didn’t think the Hokies were among the 65 best teams in the country was “certifiably insane.”
Tech finished 19-13 overall and 9-7 in ACC regular-season play, including a win against ACC No. 5 seed Miami on Friday before dropping the heartbreaker to the Heels.

Key 3s not falling for either team
Updated 3:11 p.m.
Just when it seems like Tech has a 3-pointer that could give it full momentum and a large lead, it doesn’t fall. Just when it seems like Carolina has an opportunity to score an easy basket inside or behind the 3-point line to punctuate its comeback, the shot misses.
For now neither team seems to be able to take control.

Hokies holding off Heels for now
Updated 3:04 p.m.
After a 38-38 tie at the half, Virginia Tech flexed its muscles some and took a 50-42 lead before allowing Will Graves to cut it to 50-48 just moments ago. The Heels are coming back. Despite some misses close to the basket, Carolina appears ready to make a run that could give it control. But the Hokies are still holding their own, as Deron Washington’s three-point play has pushed the lead back to 53-48.

Charles honored as Legend
Updated 2:54 p.m.
Lorenzo Charles, whose putback of Dereck Whittenburg’s long airball won the 1983 NCAA championship for N.C. State, was honored as an ACC Legend at halftime of today’s first game. Each school has one honoree per season at the tournament, and Charles actually stood beside Carolina’s Legend for this year’s tournament, Dean Smith, during the ceremony.

Heels fans none too pleased
Updated 2:16 p.m.
A highly partisan crowd in UNC’s favor has not been enjoying the calls in recent minutes, greatly protesting almost any foul call against the Heels and conveniently ignoring a walk by Quentin Thomas.

Delaney, Vassallo leading Hokies
Updated 2:07 p.m.
Freshman point guard Malcom Delaney is the driving force right now in the Hokies’ attack as he has nine early points. But junior A.D. Vassallo is also taking the ball to the basket well, scoring nine so far. It is Deron Washington’s 3-pointer, though, that has given Virginia Tech an eight-point lead at 29-21 with 7:04 remaining in the first half. The Hokies’ all-around effort and execution is showing this team seems to have long forgotten its 92-53 loss at Carolina on Feb. 16.

Hokies hanging tough very early
Posted 1:49 p.m.
Despite being called for four fouls compared to UNC’s two in the first 4:16, Virginia Tech is tied 7-7 with the Tar Heels and has two free throws coming from Jeff Allen that could give the Hokies the lead.
It’s a good start, but there’s still plenty of time to go. Once the fouls even out a little more, though, and if Malcom Delaney can keep hitting from the outside, Tech just might have a chance.

Clark Leonard
Sports Editor

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 1:49 pm and is filed under Charlotte Chatter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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