Duke wins ACC Tournament

3/15/09 4:41 PM

The 2009 ACC Tournament is officially in the books and Duke is the conference tournament champion. The Blue Devils played very well this afternoon en route to winning their 17th ACC Tournament over Florida State 79-69. The 10 point margin of victory seems fairly close but it doesn't tell the story of the game. Duke dominated in almost every facet. Duke outrebounded the much bigger Seminoles while also making 12 three pointers and shooting 41 percent for the game. Perhaps the most impressive stat was that Duke only had four turnovers. Tournament MVP John Scheyer scored 29 points Sunday, hitting four three pointers and knocking down a tournament record 13 free throws. Gerald Henderson, who was the most impressive player in the Championship, poured in 27 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He also...

Championship Final should be a good one

3/15/09 12:30 AM

The ACC Tournament field has dwindled to two after three days of great action from the Georgia Dome here in Atlanta. There have been upsets (thank you Georgia Tech  and Florida State) and there have been games that went how all the projections foretold (Duke is in the finals, again), but all in all it's been a great three days of basketball. Because of that it's hard to believe that Sunday will be any different. No. 3 seed Duke (27-6) will take on No. 4 seed Florida State (25-8) in a game that has the potential to be a classic. Duke's outside presence shooting ability matched with Florida State's imposing size is a great story line. My gut feeling, at least initially, is that Duke will probably win the game. But that same gut feeling had me believe UNC would win Saturday and that...

Duke 67, Maryland 61

3/14/09 6:41 PM

Florida State may be the upstart, or surprise team in the ACC Championship game Sunday afternoon, but the darker blue team from tobacco road represents old reliable. Duke survived a game Maryland team this afternoon to earn a six point win and a trip to the championship game againt the Seminoles. Duke coach Mike Krzyewski said Saturday's game with Maryland was "tough." "Maryland has been on a mission and [Greivis] Vasquez has led them," he said. "I just thought we played good enough defensively to limit Vasquez from dominating the game." The Blue Devils held the Maryland star, who had averaged about 20 points and 10 assists in his first two games, to 14 points and four assists Saturday. That defensive intensity coupled with a 9-0 second half run which...

Florida State 73, North Carolina 70

3/14/09 4:19 PM

In a game that had several lead changes and several questionable officiating calls, fourth-seeded Florida State knocked out top seed and tournament favorite North Carolina on its way to reach the ACC Championship game Sunday. Without ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson for the second straight game due to a hurt toe, the Tar Heels had little to no answer for the POY runner up Toney Douglas. The senior guard from the Atlanta area poured in 27 points on 10 of 18 shooting to lead the Seminoles to the win. The 73-70 score was surely lower than Carolina would like it to be as the Tar Heels tend to like games that make it into the 80s or even 90s. Backup point guard Bobby Frasor started for the second game in a row and played well, but it has to be tough to lose a player like Lawson. Roy...

Day two done, semis set

3/13/09 11:07 PM

The ACC Tournament, as far as days go, is halfway done. Duke just wrapped up a hard fought 66-65 victory over sixth seed Boston College to finalize Saturday's semifinal matchups. The Eagles had a shot to win at the buzzer but couldn't get the bounce they needed to take the game. Looking ahead, the games on Saturday should be good, maybe even great, ones. Top-seed Carolina will face fourth-seeded Florida State in the first game, which tips off at 1:30 p.m. While I think the Tar Heels will win that game, I'm not too confident in that feeling. This tournament has seemed sort of strange and it wouldn't surprise me if the Seminoles pulled the upset. The big question in that match up is will Ty Lawson be available? Initial reports say no, but only time will tell. In the late matchup, the...