A Three-Point Threat Transforms Offenses
There are multiple things that held Syracuse back this season. Maybe the biggest though was the lack of three-point threats. Outside of Chris Bell there wasn’t a single player on the SU offense who seriously scared teams from beyond the arc. While both Pitt and North Carolina struggled from deep, the threat of a potential deep shot allowed their offense to open up and create space. Someone like Guillermo Diaz-Graham at for the Panthers or Harrison Inghram for the Tar Heels forces defenses to not just sit in the paint.
When the SU offense is so focused on the slashers like Judah Mintz and JJ Starling getting to the hoop that got so much harder. In the first game, you truly saw how important it is to have multiple three-point shooters on the court at once, even if they aren’t hitting their shots.
You Can’t Understate The Importance Of A Great Center
Another section on roster building, having a great center is something that feels lost at times in today’s age of basketball. SU fans know it first hand, with the difference between having Jesse Edwards last year compared to what went down this year. North Carolina dominated the boards in the second half against Pittsburgh and Armando Bacot played a massive part in the Tar Heels victory. Bacot got a number of key rebounds and make key defensive stops that won his team the game.
Pittsburgh Deserves To Be In The NCAA Tournament
I’ve been someone all year who just doesn’t think the ACC is that great of a league this year. That being said, the Panthers deserve to be dancing. Every metric points in Pitt’s favor yet they are still on the bubble for some reason. Pittsburgh is 42nd in KenPom and 40th in the NET rankings. They have been one of the best teams in the country over the past two months yet for some reason there’s a chance they’ll miss the tournament. Pitt proved tonight that they should be dancing, and if they aren’t it’ll be a big miss by the committee.
Virginia Basketball = CHAOS
How is it possible that maybe the most boring team in the country plays the two overtime games so far in the ACC tournament? Not just the two overtime games, but in BOTH CASES the Cavaliers gave up a buzzer-beater to send it to the extra period. The real question though, is how do you not foul up by three? That should be instilled into the brain of every single basketball player. Then, NC State just straight-up bullies Virginia in overtime.
NC State Cinderella Run
The incredible story of NC State continues! Ever since Jim Boeheim disparaged the Wolfpack on national TV, they’ve been playing incredible basketball. It’s hard to understand how exactly this run has happened. NCST was awful at the end of the regular season. I think the only thing you can say is that this is March.
Virginia & NC State Bands
As someone who loves the little things of college basketball, I have to give a major shoutout to the pep bands that UVA and NC State have. A lot come through the ACC tournament but these two are far and away the best. The Sour Sitrus Society comes at a close third place but our Orange just aren’t quite as good. Also, I love what the ACC tournament does during media timeouts, having the bands play for the majority of the break. it feels like the purest form of the game.
