Distributed by Universal Uclick • For release March 14, 2011

ACC STANDINGS(Through March 13)

ACC All PF PANorth Carolina 14-2 26-7 76.7 67.8Duke 13-3 30-4 81.1 64.3Florida State 11-5 21-10 69.3 62.3Clemson 9-7 21-11 68.2 60.9Boston College 9-7 20-12 71.6 69.0Virginia Tech 9-7 21-11 69.8 62.5Maryland 7-9 19-14 76.8 67.6Virginia 7-9 16-15 61.9 62.4Miami 6-10 19-14 71.2 67.3N.C. State 5-11 15-16 70.7 70.5Georgia Tech 5-11 13-18 67.8 67.1Wake Forest 1-15 8-24 67.2 77.2

TEAM LEADERSFIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .471Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .469Boston College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .459North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449Virginia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

FIELD-GOAL DEFENSEFlorida State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404Virginia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .413Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424

FREE-THROW PERCENTAGEDuke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .750Wake Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .746Boston College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .721Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .719Virginia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .709N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .694Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .693Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .690

REBOUNDSNorth Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.5Florida State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.0Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.0Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.3N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.2Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.4Georgia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.5Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.9

ASSISTSMaryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.9North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3Boston College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.2Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.3Georgia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.2Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.9Florida State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5

BLOCKSFlorida State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7Wake Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4Georgia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1

INDIVIDUAL LEADERSSCORING

Nolan Smith, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.3Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech . . . . . 18.6Reggie Jackson, Boston College . . . . . 18.4Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech . . . . . . 17.3Kyle Singler, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.1Jordan Williams, Maryland . . . . . . . . 16.9Harrison Barnes, North Carolina . . . . 15.0

REBOUNDSJordan Williams, Maryland . . . . . . . . 11.8John Henson, North Carolina . . . . . . 10.1Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9Reggie Jackson, Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4Mason Plumlee, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5Travis McKie, Wake Forest . . . . . . . . . . 7.7C.J. Leslie, N.C. State . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2

FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGETyler Zeller, North Carolina . . . . . . . . .538Jordan Williams, Maryland . . . . . . . . .538Reggie Jackson, Boston College . . . . . .502Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech . . . . . . . . . . .498Nolan Smith, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461Kyle Singler, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .426Joe Trapani, Boston College . . . . . . . .423

FREE-THROW PERCENTAGEMalcolm Grant, Miami . . . . . . . . . . . .862Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech . . . . . .850Durand Scott, Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . .829Kyle Singler, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .816C.J. Harris, Wake Forest . . . . . . . . . . .815Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech . . . . . . .806

ASSISTSKendall Marshall, North Carolina . . . . . 5.8Nolan Smith, Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2Reggie Jackson, Boston College . . . . . . 4.5Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech . . . . . . 4.0Lorenzo Brown, N.C. State . . . . . . . . . 3.7Derwin Kitchen, Florida State . . . . . . . 3.6Adrian Bowie, Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5

BLOCKSJohn Henson, North Carolina . . . . . . . 3.1Ty Walker, Wake Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5Jerai Grant, Clemson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4Bernard James, Florida State . . . . . . . 2.3Daniel Miller, Georgia Tech . . . . . . . . . 2.2Carson Desrosiers, Wake Forest . . . . . . 1.7

Looking to disprove the notion that defending national champion Duke and North Carolina were far superior to the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference this

season, Florida State will head to the Windy City on Friday afternoon for a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Texas A&M.

The Seminoles placed third in the conference standings this season with an 11-5 record that was two games behind second-place Duke and three wins fewer than regular- season conference champion North Carolina. If it had not been for the misfortune of losing top player Chris Singleton to a fractured right foot in a 63-56 win over visiting Virginia on Feb. 12, Florida State might just have played a role in determining the regular-season conference crown and earned a far better spot than the No. 10 seed it received from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

The latest stinging blow for Leonard Hamilton’s squad was a 52-51 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament. An apparent buzzer-beating field goal against the Hokies by Derwin Kitchen, which was overruled by replay, showed that Florida State is due for a fortunate bounce to come its way.

Florida State SeminolesSeed: No. 10, Southwest Region. Record: 21-10 (11-5 ACC). Coach: Leonard Hamilton (374-275). Second-round oppo-nent: Texas A&M 24-8 (10-6 Big 12); Chicago; Friday, 3:10 p.m. CT (TBS). Winner faces: Notre Dame or Akron.

Outlook: The Seminoles, who are making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in nine seasons under Hamilton, expect to have Singleton ready for their second-round contest against the Aggies. The 6-foot-9 junior missed the final five games of the regular season and his team’s ACC quarterfinal loss to Virginia Tech, but he earned third-team all-conference honors for averaging team bests of 13.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals in the games he did play. Florida State’s textbook perimeter defense was on display in the first half against the Hokies as they limited Virginia Tech to 17.9 percent shooting. However, Virginia Tech knocked down 12 of its 26 shots in the second half and finished the game with an 11-point edge from the foul line.

Texas A&M, which dropped a 12-point decision in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals to a Texas team that was once ranked No. 1 in the national polls, will be making its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Sopho-more forward Khris Middleton, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, is the team’s leading scorer with 14.3 points per game and second-leading rebounder with 5.2 boards per game. Junior and third-team all-conference pick David Loubeau is averaging 11.9 points on 50.2 percent shooting, while seniors B.J. Holmes and Nathan Walkup average a little more than nine points per game.

Clemson TigersSeed: No. 12, East Region. Record: 21-11 (9-7 ACC). Coach: Brad Brownell (188-96). First-round opponent: UAB 22-8 (12-4 Conference USA); Dayton, Ohio; Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET (truTV). Winner faces: West Virginia.

Outlook: The Tigers are one of eight teams that will play in what is being called the NCAA Tournament’s first round or the “First Four.” Clemson will battle former Indiana head coach Mike Davis’ UAB squad for the right to meet defending NCAA East Regional champion West Virginia in a second-round contest that will played shortly after noon on Thursday at the St. Petersburg Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. It will be a program-record fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Tigers, whose head coach Brad Brownell replaced current DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell following the 2009-10 campaign.

Clemson senior guard Demontez Stitt scored 20 points in a 70-47 ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Boston College before scoring 25 points in a 92-87 overtime loss to North Carolina in the semifinals.

The selection of UAB was one of the reasons why the pundits have ripped the selection process for this year’s tournament. The Blazers, who will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006, dropped a 75-70 overtime decision to eighth-seeded East Carolina in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament. While the Blazers’ resume is seen as lacking, Davis had enjoyed past tournament success, including an appearance in the 2002 national championship game, before being dumped by Indiana after six seasons in 2006.

Duke Blue DevilsSeed: No. 1, West Region. Record: 30-4 (13-3 ACC). Coach: Mike Krzyzewski (898-283). First-round opponent: Hamp-ton 24-8 (11-5 MEAC); Charlotte, N.C.; Friday, 3:10 p.m. ET (truTV). Winner faces: Michigan or Tennessee.

Outlook: The defending national champions showed that they have every intention of defending their title by ripping off three impressive victories in the conference tournament. A 75-58 victory over North Carolina avenged a 14-point loss to the Tar Heels in the regular-season finale and gave Duke its third consecutive conference tourna-ment crown. The Blue Devils’ reward for beating North Carolina was the 12th No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed in school history. The most positive aspect of Duke’s ACC Tournament run was the play of senior guard and ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith, who suffered a toe injury in an 87-71 quarterfinal win over Maryland. Smith had 27 points and six assists in a 77-63 semifinal win over Virginia Tech before collecting 20 points and 10 assists against North Carolina.

No 16th seed has beaten a top seed since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. So, Duke will most likely advance to the third round of the tournament and play either Michigan or Tennessee.

North Carolina Tar HeelsSeed: No. 2, East Region. Record: 32-2 (14-2 ACC). Coach: Roy Williams (640-162). First-round opponent: Long Island University 27-5 (16-2 Northeast); Charlotte, N.C.; Friday, 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS). Winner faces: Washington or Georgia.

Outlook: The Tar Heels frustrated head coach Roy Wil-liams to the point that he brought out five walk-ons to play in the first half of what turned out to be a dramatic 61-59 come-from-behind victory over Miami in the ACC Tourna-ment quarterfinals. North Carolina faced a 14-point deficit with 2:01 left in the first half and trailed by as many as 11 in the second half of a 92-87 overtime win over Clemson the following day. However, Williams’ squad was unable to continue its string of comebacks as Duke shot 62.1 per-cent over the first 20 minutes and built a 14-point halftime lead in Sunday’s conference tournament championship game. A day removed from his 40-point performance against Clemson, freshman forward Harrison Barnes was 6-of-15 from the field and led three North Carolina players in double figures with 16 points.

Long Island University, which is making its first tourna-ment appearance since 1996, probably deserved better than the No. 15 seed it earned. In addition to being the owners of the nation’s longest current winning streak, the Blackbirds have won a nation-best 13 road games this season. Sophomore forward Jamal Olasewere scored seven points in overtime and finished an 85-82 victory over Robert Morris in the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game with a career-high 32 points.

O P E N I N G - R O U N D G A M E S

NCAA Tournament Preview

© 2011 Sports News Bureau Inc.

’Noles overcome bad breaks

The Eagles were forced to settle

for a spot in the postseason NIT after dropping a 70-47 decision to fourth seed Clemson in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. Boston College, which has an all-time record of 16-11 in the NIT, was scheduled to play its first-round matchup at McNeese State despite being one of the NIT’s four No. 1 seeds.

The Tigers’ appearance in one of four first-

round NCAA Tournament games against Conference USA regular-season champion UAB will mark first-year head coach Brad Brownell’s return to Dayton, Ohio. Brownell, who previously served as the head coach of Dayton-based Wright State, has led three different teams to the NCAA Tournament in his first season on the bench.

With the Blue Devils’ three wins in the ACC Tournament,

head coach Mike Krzyzewski moved within four wins of tying his college coach, Bobby Knight, for the most career victories by an NCAA Division I head coach. Krzyzewski played for Knight at Army from 1966-69.

In addition to being selected third-team

all-conference, junior forward Chris Singleton was the second-leading vote-getter for the ACC’s All-Defensive Team. This marks the sixth consecutive season that at least one Florida State player was named either first-, second- or third-team all-conference.

Head coach Paul Hewitt was relieved of his duties

two days after the Yellow Jackets’ 59-43 loss to Virginia Tech in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Hewitt led the Yellow Jackets to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including a spot in the 2004 national championship game.

Head coach Gary Williams expressed

disappointment over the Terrapins being snubbed by the NIT despite a 19-14 record this season. “We worked very hard to get to where we were with 19 wins this year,” said Williams, who has led each of his last 15 Maryland teams to 19 wins or more.

The Hurricanes will look to improve to 20-1 all-time

against Florida Atlantic in the first round of the NIT. Miami garnered the No. 2 seed in one of the NIT’s four eight-team brackets, while the Owls snagged the bracket’s seventh seed after finishing the regular season with a record of 21-10.

Forward Harrison Barnes, who was the

top vote-getter for a spot on the ACC’s All-Freshman Team, scored a career-high 40 points in a 92-87 overtime victory over Clemson in the conference tournament semifinals. The 40-point performance was the Tar Heels’ fourth in ACC Tournament history.

Several published reports have speculated that

Sidney Lowe will be relieved of his duties after five seasons at the helm of the Wolfpack program. Lowe, a guard on N.C. State’s 1983 national championship team, compiled a regular-season conference record of 25-55 and failed to lead the Wolfpack to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Athletic department officials decided that

if the Cavaliers were not selected to play in the NIT that they would not pursue an opportunity to play in either the College Basketball Invitational or the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Head coach Tony Bennett agreed with the decision.

Despite finishing in a fourth-place tie with

Clemson and Boston College in the conference standings and advancing to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, the Hokies were shut out of the NCAA Tournament’s field of 68 teams. Virginia Tech was selected as one of the four No. 1 seeds for the 32-team NIT.

This season marked the sixth time in

school history that Wake Forest played the same team in the first round of the ACC Tournament that it played in the regular-season finale. The Demon Deacons suffered an 81-67 loss to Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament just four days after an 84-68 setback to the Eagles.

Illustration © 2011 Bruce Plante (planteink.com)