No. 5 North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech
Saturday, Noon
Seven straight losses plague the Yellow Jackets as they head to Chapel Hill. Gani Lawal is the lone bright spot on the basement dwellers of the Atlantic Coast Conference. He averages a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. North Carolina comes off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Maryland in which the Terrapins bench outscored the Tar Heels reserves by an astounding count of 41-5. With a tough game at Virginia Tech, which is fighting for its postseason hopes, and an always-draining battle at the Smith Center with Duke coming up, North Carolina could use this game to rest its starters and to get its bench involved -- especially if things get out of hand early.
No. 25 Florida State vs. No. 13 Clemson
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Florida State relies on slowing down its opponent, while Clemson prefers a fast-paced, high-scoring style of play. The team that sets the tone early will win this match-up. Tiger Guards K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby each score about 14 points per game and shoot around 40 percent from behind the arc. Toney Douglas leads the Seminoles with 20 points per game. He is the only FSU player to average in double figures. Saturday, for both the Tigers and Seminoles, is about establishing seeding for the ACC Tournament. The winner of this match-up begins to gain momentum for March, with both clubs in the hunt for a slot in the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia vs. No. 14 Wake Forest Saturday, 8 p.m.
After taking on N.C. State Thursday night, the Demon Deacons have one day of rest as they travel to Charlottesville. The Cavaliers, who defeated Clemson and Virginia Tech just a week ago, will be playing on short rest, too, as they host Miami on Thursday before playing on Wake Forest Saturday night. The young Virginia team, led by Sylven Landesberg (18 ppg), would certainly love to burst some bubbles this weekend and continue the mix-up of the ACC, but Jeff Teague, the ACC's third-leading scorer, plays for the Deacs. Wake also owns two of the top six rebounders in the conference, Al-Farouq Aminu and James Johnson, who each average eight points per game. At 20-5, Wake Forest is a lock for the tournament and needs the win simply for seeding and momentum. At 9-14, Virginia has to settle for upsets and building for next season.
N.C. State vs. Maryland Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
There are few teams that can say they beat North Carolina and Duke in consecutive games, and Maryland was 11 points away from taking down the ACC powerhouses. Based on their record, the Terrapins are teetering on the edge of the National Invitational Tournament and the NCAAs. Beating North Carolina certainly helped, but losing to the Wolfpack would damage an improving reputation. North Carolina State is not out of the picture, but it certainly needs to beat the Terps when they come to town. Maryland is led by the intense guard Greivis Vasquez, who erupted for 35 points against North Carolina. Vasquez also leads the Terps with 5.6 rebounds per game (23rd in the ACC). N.C. State, however, is led by its big men: Brandon Costner, Courtney Fells and Ben McCauley, who each average more than 11 points per game. This match-up, unlike the other ACC battles, is between two schools on the edge of making the tournament. The team that pulls down the most rebounds will more than likely win this contest.