ACC Weekly Recap: Down with the Big Ten
Upsets highlight a great week for the Atlantic Coast Conference
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?
Surprising depth is the early story of this season in the ACC, epitomized by a 10-4 rout of the Big Ten in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Despite five ranked teams at the start of the year, it has been the undefeated starts of Duke and North Carolina that have garnered the most attention amongst fans of the conference.
Louisville and NC State are still the top dogs, but conference wins may be harder to work for if the ACC has as many as 10 tournament-caliber teams rather than eight like they have sent the past few seasons.
Full ACC/Big Ten Challenge Results:
Pittsburgh win vs. Rutgers, 58-50
Wake Forest loss vs. Nebraska, 60–86
Georgia Tech loss vs. Purdue, 52–53
Virginia Tech win vs. Wisconsin, 70–60
Syracuse win vs. No. 18 Ohio State, 97–91
North Carolina win vs. Minnesota, 82–76
Boston College win vs. Penn State, 86–69
No. 24 Notre Dame win vs. Michigan State, 76–71
No. 10 Louisville win vs. No. 12 Michigan, 70–48
No. 2 NC State win vs. No. 6 Indiana, 66–58
Clemson loss vs. Northwestern, 61–72
Miami loss vs. No. 8 Maryland, 74–82
No. 25 Florida State win vs. Illinois, 67–58
Duke win vs. No. 9 Iowa, 79–64
Weekly Update:
NC State (AP: 2, HHS: 2) - The Wolfpack moved up one spot past UConn to No. 2 in the poll after an impressive win over Indiana and handling Elon at home. Their ranking is not nearly as important as the new role Elissa Cunane has early in the season.
Before her injury last season, the All-American was averaging almost 17 points a game, however the offense was sometimes forced to play through her. Cunane has taken a step back in terms of shot volume this year, averaging 12 PPG on eight shots, and it has allowed her teammates to shine.
Diamond Johnson continued her hot start against the No. 6 Hoosiers, scoring 19 off the bench. The backcourt, led by Raina Perez, locked up the Indiana guards, forcing an abysmal shooting percentage of 21.6%. The Wolfpack have allowed over 60 points just twice this season, and if they can sustain that level of defense in conference play then Wes Moore’s squad will be the team to beat in the ACC come February.
Louisville (AP: 7, HHS: 5) - The Cardinals welcomed a previously undefeated Michigan squad to their arena last Thursday and decimated the Wolverines right from the tip. A suffocating defense allowed just 15 first-half points, and Louisville collected 15 steals in the Top 25 showdown.
Syracuse transfer Emily Engstler led the team with 18 points and 14 rebounds, and the Cardinals walked away with an easier than expected 22-point victory while holding 2021 Big 10 Player of the Year Naz Hillmon to just 12 points.
Syracuse (AP: NR, HHS: 51) - Speaking of the Orange, the mass exodus from the program this offseason took with it any expectations of success. However, acting head coach Vonn Read and a new group of stars have Syracuse fans excited despite some early growing pains.
The Orange pulled off the biggest upset of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, handing a ranked Ohio State team their first loss of the season. Teisha Hyman (no relation) emerged as an offensive threat scoring 30 points on only 18 shots. It’s a big win for potentially bolstering their tournament resume come March, assuming they finish middle-of-the-pack in the ACC.
Hyman was named ACC Player of the Week due to her performance against Ohio State and Central Connecticut State, where in the latter game she recorded the 5th triple-double in program history with 27 points, 15 assists, and 11 steals (a Syracuse record). She was two rebounds shy of being the first NCAA Power 5 player ever with a quadruple-double.
Duke (AP: 19, HHS: 11) - After playing just four games last season, no one really knew what type of talent the Blue Devils would bring to the floor in 2022. Led by Head Coach Kara Lawson, Duke is off to an 8-0 start, including an impressive 15-point win against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
While Iowa may have been rusty coming off of a COVID hiatus, Duke’s ability to get extra possessions on the offensive glass and quality minutes off the bench are great signs for the rest of the season.
Georgia Tech (AP: NR, HHS: 35) - I had not originally planned on giving the Yellow Jackets their own blurb, but after their last two games they have certainly earned one. They mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to take down in-state rival No. 20 Georgia 55-54, and then four days later used another fourth-quarter run to pull away from No. 3 UConn for one of the best wins in program history.
Yes, this was the first game in the Paige-less era for UConn, but holding an Auriemma coached team to 44 points and only 5 in the fourth quarter is a very impressive feat. After some close losses early in the season, Georgia Tech appears to be back in the driving seat as one of the biggest contenders to Louisville and NC State in the ACC.
North Carolina (AP: NR, HHS: 13) - The last team that deserves its own highlight this week is UNC, who like their Tobacco Road rivals are 8-0 to start the season. While the Tar Heels have three Power 5 wins, they have yet to beat a tournament-caliber opponent.
Despite this, North Carolina came in at number two in the NCAA’s first release of NET rankings, in large part due to their massive margin of victory against far inferior opponents. Perhaps a more holistic evaluation would be their Her Hoops Stats Rating, which has UNC at number 13 in the country.
ACC Blunders of the Week:
There were a few games that ACC teams would like to have back from this week, notably those from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Tech and Virginia fell to Liberty and American, respectively, Tuesday night, with both teams struggling mightily on offense. The Hokies were ranked fourth in the ACC preseason poll, and having three losses already is a steep hill to climb if they want to be seen as a contender again.
Important Game Tracker:
Clemson at Syracuse, Saturday, December 11th
HHS Winner Prediction: Syracuse (79.8%)
No. 14 Kentucky at No. 7 Louisville, Sunday, December 12th,
HHS Winner Prediction: Louisville (80.1%)
No. 1 South Carolina at No. 19 Duke, Wednesday, December 15th
HHS Winner Prediction: South Carolina (75.8%)
James’ Weekly ACC Power Rankings:
NC State (8-1)
Louisville (7-1)
Duke (8-0)
Georgia Tech (7-2)
Notre Dame (8-2)
North Carolina (8-0)
Wake Forest (8-1)
Syracuse (6-4)
Florida State (6-2)
Virginia Tech (7-3)
Pittsburgh (8-2)
Clemson (5-3)
Boston College (7-2)
Miami (6-3)
Virginia (3-7)
This is the first installment of what will be a weekly recap of the ACC throughout the 2021-22 season.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.