It was not the best of weeks for the Atlantic Coast Conference as Virginia fell two spots to No. 13, Miami went from 12th to 16th and Duke tumbled all the way to 24th in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Then, North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, the top scorer and rebounder in the conference, suffered an ankle injury early in the much-anticipated matchup with Virginia.
The Tar Heels came into the season as the top-ranked team in the country. However, when the next poll comes out, they probably won’t even be among the “other teams receiving votes.”
According to the college basketball playoff odds, Virginia (+2500), North Carolina (+2800), Duke (+3300) and Miami (+6600) lead the way among ACC teams in the odds to win the national championship.
Here’s a look at a full slate of ACC action on Saturday.
Let’s check the latest NCAAB picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAB predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAB expert picks for you to consider.
Game of Week
Duke vs Clemson
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 5 p.m ET (ACC Network)
Kyle Filipowski wasn’t the highest-rated player in the much-hyped Duke freshman class. However, he is certainly playing like that was the case. Filipowski had 28 points and 15 rebounds as the Blue Devils held off a much improved Pittsburgh team 77-69.
Classmates Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead were touted as the top incoming freshmen. Whitehead had a bit of a tough shooting night while Lively had six points and four rebounds in 12 minutes before fouling out for the Blue Devils (13-4, 4-2 in the ACC).
Clemson is one of five ACC teams still undefeated at home. The Tigers (14-3, 6-0) might be unranked, but they currently sit in first place in the ACC. Fifth-year senior Hunter Tyson leads the way with 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
Duke has won seven of the last eight meetings with Clemson.
Rest of the Schedule
Miami vs North Carolina State
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 5:00 p.m ET (ACC Network)
This could easily have been the game of the week.
Miami (14-2, 5-1) bounced back from a loss to Georgia Tech to dispatch visiting Boston College behind 22 points from Isaiah Wong. He made seven of his nine field goals after missing 17 of 22 over the last two games.
North Carolina State (13-4, 3-3) opened 2023 with a 24-point blowout of Duke and then won at Virginia Tech so the Wolfpack is a team to keep an eye on. That is especially true at home where NC State is 9-1.
Terquavion Smith had 46 points and six steals in those two wins.
Miami has won the last three matchups with the Wolfpack.
North Carolina vs Louisville
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 2:00 p.m ET (ESPN)
North Carolina (11-6, 3-3) figures to be without national player of the year candidate Bacot. Facing a two-win Louisville might be just what the doctor ordered.
Report: X-rays on Armando Bacot’s ankle come back negative, timeline still unclear https://t.co/xi9EdqXWKe
— Tar Heel Times (@TarHeelTimes) January 12, 2023
More of the offensive burden will be on guards R.J. Davis and Caleb Love until Bacot returns. The good news is that Bacot’s injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term one.
North Carolina native El Ellis, who is averaging 17.5 points per game, has been the lone consistent offensive producer for Louisville, the only team yet to win in ACC play this season.
Pittsburgh vs Georgia Tech
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 3 p.m ET (ACC Network)
Jamarius Burton, who is averaging 22.5 points over his last four games, looks to help the Panthers (11-6, 4-2) snap a two-game losing streak.
Georgia Tech (8-8, 1-5) has one ACC win this season but is 7-2 at home even though leading scorer Miles Kelly is putting up better scoring and shooting numbers on the road than at home.
Georgia Tech has won five of the last six games against Pittsburgh and covered in 10 of the last 11.
Pittsburgh is 12-4-1 against the Las Vegas odds, the top mark in the ACC.
Virginia vs Florida State
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 4 p.m ET (ESPN2)
Florida State has lost all three of its games against ranked teams and now Virginia (12-3, 4-2) makes its way into Tallahassee with those who bet online likely going with the Cavaliers to win on the road.
Ben Vander Plas came off the bench to have 17 points and eight rebounds in the Cavaliers’ win over North Carolina the last time out.
Defense continues to be Virginia’s calling card and right on cue, the Cavaliers limited the Tar Heels to 40% shooting and 33% on 3-pointers.
Florida State (5-12, 3-3) owns a recent win against Notre Dame and when Matthew Cleveland, Darin Green, and Caleb Mills are making their shots, the Seminoles can play with anybody.
Notre Dame vs Syracuse
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m ET (ACC Network)
Both programs have seen better days. Still, this is an intriguing matchup as Nate Laszewski (13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds) leads four Notre Dame double-digit scorers while Joseph Girard has topped the 20-point mark in three of the last four games for Syracuse.
Four of the last seven meetings have been decided by either one or two points and that includes visiting Syracuse’s 62-61 win thanks to a Judah Mintz basket with 13 seconds left. Four of the last six games went over the Las Vegas odds total.
Wake Forest vs Boston College
- Date, time: Saturday, Jan. 14, 8 p.m ET
Saturday’s slate of games wraps up with visiting Wake Forest going after its third win in a row.
Cameron Hildreth, Andrew Carr and Damari Monsanto all topped the 20-point mark in the Demon Deacons‘ 90-75 win over Florida State on Wednesday.
Quinten Post has proved some inside scoring since he made his season debut in late December for the Eagles as he is contributing 11 points in the four games he has played in.
