Skip to main content

Beltway Basketball Beat: Georgetown is back, while the best take a break

By Dave Preston

Man, does No. 4 Michigan look good! Have you seen the Wolverines play lately?

If you didn’t catch their 70-53 win over Purdue last Friday, you’ll have to wait a while. The entire University of Michigan Athletic Department has shut down for 14 days after positive COVID-19 tests, much like No. 3 Villanova had a 27-day intermission.

The Wildcats looked rusty returning to action last week and one can only imagine how the Big East’s first place team will fare in the nation’s toughest conference after 14 days away.

Georgetown returns after an extended hiatus with a vastly different view (the Hoyas are tied for last place in the Big East), while Maryland had its matchup with Wisconsin moved from this weekend to this Wednesday. Adapting a game plan is one thing, adapting a schedule is the 2021 thing.

Wow of the Week: Maryland went on the road Saturday and beat No. 17 Minnesota 63-49, holding the Golden Gophers to 30% shooting while winning the battle of the boards by eight. I’ve long maintained that teams should just get 50 points for rolling the balls out à la the SAT, but that’s not my point here. The Terps have now posted three road victories against ranked teams this winter (a program record).  And this was the kind of game previous teams at Maryland would lose after a rough road defeat at Michigan.

Player Spotlight: American guard Jamir Harris scored 23 points in American’s one-point victory over Loyola last Saturday, and then upped his game by hitting 9-15 three-pointers en route to a 33-point performance in a triple overtime triumph over the Greyhounds on Sunday. The Eagles weren’t expected to contend in the Patriot League this winter — but if they do, it’ll be behind Harris’ hot shooting.

League Look: Conferences are often perceived by how their blue bloods are faring. North Carolina and Duke are having unusual seasons, as the Tar Heels and Blue Devils are both unranked for the first time since December of 1982. But don’t despair — there’s plenty of good basketball beginning in Charlottesville (No. 8 Virginia is the last remaining unbeaten in confidence play) and continuing in Tallahassee (No. 16 Florida State has won four straight).  ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the ACC getting five NCAA Tournament bids, with schools like Pitt and Syracuse joining UNC and Duke on the wrong side of the bubble. No. 20 Virginia Tech has looked great in spots, but lost by 18 at the Carrier Dome last weekend. Clemson was once ranked 12th in the nation but has lost three straight to slip under .500. Two games currently separate sixth and 12th place in the league. Plenty more scrambling to follow.

Ballot Battles: For those who thought Alabama was merely a football school, think again. The ninth-ranked Crimson Tide are 9-0 in the SEC and have swept Kentucky for the third time in program history. They’re in my Top 25 for the moment, but there will be tough tests ahead against Oklahoma and Missouri. I could really use that December Virginia/Villanova game that was canceled to determine who’s third and who’s fourth this week. And even though the Monday games will go toward next week, it was reassuring to have my No. 10 team West Virginia beat my No. 15 team Texas Tech the night after the poll was released. Non-Power Five High Fives go to Boise State, Belmont, Drake and Winthrop. Difficult omissions include St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Starting Five (local games of note)

Wednesday

Maryland (9-7, 3-6 Big Ten) vs. No 14 Wisconsin (12-4, 6-3), 9 p.m. (BTN). The Terps are still looking for their first home conference victory, but their program-record three wins over ranked foes began with their Dec. 29 triumph in Madison. Eric Ayala scored 17 points in the 70-64 win over Wisconsin, and scored 21 in Saturday’s win at Minnesota. D’Mitrik Trice led the Badgers with 25 points that evening, and is one of seven seniors on the veteran roster. Wisconsin allows the fewest points per game in the conference and leads the league in turnover margin. The Terps have had offensive issues all season, ranking 11th in the Big Ten in shooting, 13th in scoring and 14th in three-point shooting.

Saturday

Georgetown (3-8, 1-5 Big East) vs. Providence (8-7, 4-5), noon (FS1). Cue up “Roundball Rock” as the Hoyas are back after a three-week absence. Before they took their COVID-19 hiatus, Patrick Ewing’s team had lost five in a row. There’s no telling how they’ll be against a Providence team that’s fresh off a Wednesday night game against Marquette. The Friars have an upset win at No. 11 Creighton and boast one difficult duo to deal with in guard David Duke (19 points and five assists per game) and center Nate Watson (19 points and seven rebounds per game).

American (2-2 Patriot League South) vs. Lafayette (5-3 Patriot League Central), 2 p.m. (ESPN+). The Leopards bring the conference’s leading scorer to D.C. in Justin Jaworski (22 points per game) but are coming off getting swept at home by Boston University last weekend. AU is coming off two wins over Loyola of Maryland by a combined three points. Was last weekend the start of something special or simply the mirage that happens when one meets a winless foe?

Morgan State (8-4, 3-2 MEAC North) at Coppin State (6-9, 5-1), 3 p.m. Both programs are enjoying a bit of a resurgence: The Bears haven’t had a winning record since 2013 and the Eagles haven’t finished over .500 in league play since 2011. And while Coppin State Head Coach Juan Dixon is a household name as a member of Maryland’s 2002 National Championship team, Morgan State’s Kevin Broadus has been an assistant for the Terps as well as Georgetown, George Washington and American. The two teams split their series two weeks ago, with each team posting a double-digit victory. Coppin State’s Anthony Tarke averaged 17 points with 14 rebounds and six assists that weekend while Malik Taylor (26 points and 12 rebounds on 66% shooting) was the player to watch for Morgan State.

No. 8 Virginia (11-2, 7-0) at No. 20 Virginia Tech (11-3, 5-2), 6 p.m. (ACCN). The two Commonwealth schools’ Jan. 2 game was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. They’ve both posted wins over Notre Dame, Clemson, and Wake Forest, but in the last week the Hokies lost 78-60 at Syracuse, while the Cavaliers routed the Orange 81-58. U.Va. leads the conference in scoring defense, but they’re also top in field goal percentage as well as three-point shooting. Virginia Tech won’t have the suspended Tyrece Radford, so they’ll be leaning more on Keve Aluma (14 points and seven rebounds per game) as well as Jared Cone (11 points and 37% from three-point range).

2022 ACC Tournament Bracket: How to watch, dates, preview, location

By Matt Weyrich
ACC Tournament Bracket and preview originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe ACC has been one of the most dominant conferences in the history of NCAA men's basketball. With three of the last six March Madness champions calling the conference home, the 2022 ACC Tournament will feature some of the NCAA’s premier men’s basketball programs going head-to-head before the big event the following week.However, this is a bit of an unusual year for the ACC — there are only four teams you could actually claim to be tournament 'locks' at this point in the season. There are three more on or around the bubble and everyone else is in an auto-bid or bust mentality. Duke is projected to earn the best seed for the NCAA Tournament. In head coach Mike Krzyzewski's final season, the Blue Devils could be anywhere from a No. 2 seed to a No. 4 seed. Where they fall in the ACC Tournament will likely dictate where Duke is slotted. Early season losses put them in a hole, but the unpredictability of the rest of the conference evened the score to help them claim the No. 1 seed.That could create a more competitive field than in years past. North Carolina, Miami, Florida State and Virginia all have shown they can best the Blue Devils. Three of those losses even came on their own floor. And on top of that, Wake Forest, the Cavaliers, the Seminoles, Syracuse and more are playing for their seasons.How will the 2022 ACC Tournament shake out? Here’s everything you need to know.ACC TOURNAMENT 2021 INFORMATION:  When is the 2022 ACC Tournament?The ACC Tournament will be held from March 8-12. The ACC Championship Game is on Saturday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET.Where is the 2022 ACC Tournament? The ACC Tournament will be held at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, NY. This is just the second time the event has been held in Brooklyn.How to watch the 2022 ACC Tournament The First Round of the ACC Tournament will be broadcast on ACC Network. The Second Round will be broadcast across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be on ESPN and ESPN2. The ACC Championship will be broadcast on ESPN.All ESPN programming is available for streaming at Watch ESPN with a valid cable subscription.Who is the defending 2021 ACC Champion? Georgia Tech shocked the ACC - thanks to an assist with Virginia missing their semifinal contest due to a positive coronavirus test - to win the 2021 ACC Championship over Florida State. Head coach Josh Pastner became a household sensation with his face shield.2022 ACC TOURNAMENT BRACKET:ACC Tournament First Round (3/8, Times ET) - No. 13 Boston College d. No. 12 Pittsburgh 66-46- No. 10 Clemson d. No. 15 NC State 70-64- No. 11 Louisville d. No. 14 Georgia Tech 84-74ACC Tournament Second Round (3/9, Times ET)- No. 9 Syracuse d. No. 8 Florida State 96-57- No. 13 Boston College d. No. 5 Wake Forest 82-77 (OT)- No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 10 Clemson 76-75 (OT)- No. 6 Virginia d. No. 11 Louisville 51-50ACC Tournament Quarterfinals (3/10, Times ET)- No. 1 Duke d. No. 9 Syracuse 88-79- No. 4 Miami d. No. 13 Boston College 71-69 (OT)- No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 2 Notre Dame 87-80- No. 3 North Carolina d. No. 6 Virginia 63-43ACC Tournament Semifinals (3/11, Times ET) - No. 1 Duke d. No. 4 Miami 80-76- No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 3 North Carolina 72-59ACC Tournament Championship (3/12, Time ET) - No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 1 Duke 82-672022 ACC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Far and away, Duke is the best team in the ACC this season. The Blue Devils are coached by the best coach in the league, have a top-three NBA Draft pick on their roster and may have a multitude of playmakers - which is rare in the rest of the conference.Yet, the consistency is not there for the team with the No. 1 seed. Quiet nights by ACC Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero paired with off-shooting performances by Wendell Moore Jr. are huge reasons for their four conference losses.Then again, no one in the ACC has shown any level of consistency either. Notre Dame has silently put together a solid year behind Blake Wesley and Dane Goodwin. A favorable schedule - where they never played any of the top eight teams more than once - led them here and the Fighting Irish took advantage. The lack of playmaking guards that run an offense, though, and a deep bench are concerning. It's not conducive to winning three games in three days.North Carolina - after their stunning upset in Cameron Indoor over the weekend - and Miami both showed they have what it takes to topple Duke and have a favorable bracket to see the Blue Devils later in the tournament.Injuries are no longer a hindrance for the Hurricanes, following the lead of Kameron McGusty's 17.5 ppg and 36.8% shooting mark from deep.Let's not forget ACC Player of the Year and the conference's second-leading scorer Alondes Williams at Wake Forest. His Demon Deacons are the deepest team in the conference. Can they finally put it all together for one weekend? If so, they may be the darkhorse team to try and make the semifinals.Everyone else, though, is in desperate mode besides those five teams. Virginia Tech and Virginia need a significant win or two to be considered for an at-large bid. The teams behind them just have eyes only on a championship to extend their seasons.Pick: No. 1 Duke Blue Devils
Read Next Story

Related News

Terps guard Darryl Morsell enters transfer portal, declares for NBA Draft

Maryland adds point guard Fatts Russell in second major transfer of the day

Sweet Sixteen: Maryland women’s basketball tangles with Texas