Friday's Shootaround: Is the ACC shaking itself out?

There were only three games in the ACC last night, but they all held a lot of significance in terms of the structure of the conference race and who still has a shot at an at-large bid:

• Duke 86, Georgia Tech 67: We thought that Georgia Tech was a team that struggled on the road coming into the game, and we think no different afterwards. Kyle Singler hit eight threes and scored 30 points despite having a banged up wrist, and Jon Scheyer added 21 points as the Blue Devils bounced back nicely from the whupping they took at the hands of Georgetown. To show how much the Yellow Jackets struggled, Zach Peacock scored the first 11 points for Tech, but didn't score again the rest of the game, and still was their leading scorer. In their defense, Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors battled foul trouble all night, but that doesn't change the fact that Georgia Tech took some terrible shots, made some terrible basketball decision, and played some terrible defense last night.
  

• Maryland 71, Florida State 67: If you haven't bought into it yet, maybe it is time: Maryland may be the best team in the ACC. The Terps completed a sweep of the Seminoles last night on the strength of 23 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists from Greivis Vasquez to remain tied with Duke in the loss column atop the ACC (they are a game back in the win column). Maryland had the lead most of the second half, but Florida State made a late comeback to tie the game. Greivis answered by hitting a jumper to take the lead back, and after Michael Snaer picked up a charge, he hit two free throws to ice it. Florida State isn't out of the race just yet, but at 4-4 in the league without a truly notable win, FSU is in danger of ending up on the wrong side of the bubble. Derwin Kitchen had 29 last night in the loss.


• Virginia Tech 74, UNC 70: Malcolm Delaney scored 21 points as Va Tech hung on to beat UNC. The Tar Heels, barring a miraculous turnaround, seem to be all but out of the race for the ACC and the NCAA Tournament. Its not an issue of talent - this team is good enough to earn a bid. The issue seems to be motivation and effort - they are just getting out hustled and outworked these days. Va Tech still needs to add some quality wins to their resume, but this is a good start.
  

Purdue 78, Indiana 75: The Boilermakers hung on to beat a scrappy Indiana team in Assemby Hall for the first time since 1999. JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel both had 21 points for Purdue, who needed a late 7-0 run to build a 73-69 lead. Purdue has won five straight games and will now prepare for a date with Michigan State on Tuesday.

Tennessee 59, LSU 54: The Vols showed off their defensive prowess in the first half, holding LSU to just 16 points. And they were just good enough offensively to build a 51-37 lead with eight minutes left in the game. But LSU would go on a 17-4 run to cut the lead to 55-54 with just 17 seconds left. After Bobby Maze hit two free throws, Scotty Hopson knocked down two of his own and Tennessee held on for the win.

Notre Dame 83, Cincinnati 65: Luke Harangody scored 37 points and added 14 rebounds as the Irish flat out beat Cinci. The Bearcats are a team that is supposed to be physical, tough defensively, and aggressive on the glass, but they lost by 18 to a Notre Dame team that is 255th in the country in defensive efficiency, got outrebounded by a team that has trouble on the glass, and allowed the Irish to score 83 points. Yeah, Cincinnati is not going to the NCAA tournament.

Florida 66, Alabama 65: In the game of the night, Florida got a short jumper from Erving Walker with 11 seconds remaining to give the Gators another nail biting win. It was a game Florida had to have to keep their SEC East title hopes alive.

Gonzaga 76, Portland 49: With eight minutes to go in the first half, Gonzaga broke open a tie game with a 20-2 run. They would go on to cruise to the win, bouncing back from an embarrassing loss on the road to San Francisco. We find out just what kind of team the Zags are, as they head to Memphis for a showdown on Saturday before hosting St. Mary's on Thursday.

St. Mary's 74, Santa Clara 62: Omar Samhan had 22 points, 12 boards, and 8 blocks as the Gaels kept pace with the Zags atop the WCC.

Butler 63, Detroit 58: The Bulldogs got 18 points and 10 boards from Gordon Hayward as they held on to beat a scrappy Detroit team that wouldn't go away. Butler has now won 11 straight games.

Thursday's Best

• Omar Samhan nearly had a triple double, going for 22 points, 12 boards, and 8 blocks in St. Mary's win over Santa Clara.
• Derwin Kitchen scored 29 points in a losing effort to Maryland.
• Luke Harangody went for 37 points and 14 boards against a big, talented Bearcat front line.
  
• Derrick Nelson had 28 points and 10 boards as Oakland knocked off Centenary.
• Morehead State's Maze Stallworth finished with 26 points and 11 boards in a win over Tennessee State.
• Some big numbers posted in the Pac-10 - Quincy Pondexter had 30 and 12 in a Washington win over Arizona, Jerome Randle went for 29 in Cal's loss to USC, and Landry Fields had 35 points and 10 boards in Stanford's loss to UCLA.