By Connor Dietrich
First and foremost, hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving with friends and family. A holiday in which people gather around eating delicious food and giving thanks and watch some good old American Football. However, Thanksgiving is not only a day for the NFL, rather plenty of games from NCAAB were played as well.
Throughout the season, KCOU Sports’ Connor Dietrich has covered the Atlantic Coast Conference, and one of the games from that conference played on “turkey night” was Texas vs. No. 7 North Carolina, in which the Longhorns dealt the tar heels their first loss of the season. This was disappointing for the Tar Heels, who were looking to still hold their position at the top of the ACC after a loss by arch rival Duke in its tough game against No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs the night before.
Luckily, with a win against No. 17 UCLA the following day kept the Tar Heels in the AP poll. Soon after, an ugly loss to No. 7 Michigan dropped the Heels down to the 14th spot on the AP poll. Although it might not have been where the they wanted to be, it did end up making the history books. With that 14 spots on the AP poll, the tar heels became the first program in NCAA Division-I history to be ranked 900 times on the AP poll.
With UNC’s losses, other teams have either started to make their mark on the college basketball world or have consistently been able to hold their reputation. No. 4 Virginia stands alone as the only unbeaten ACC team, and 1 of only 11 teams in all of Division I. UVA is a team without an all-star player; they are team built around teamwork and moving the ball on offense to find their best opportunity to score. Nonetheless, Junior Guard Kyle Guy, and Senior Center Jack Salt provide experience. Even so, a potent combo of younger players provide a spark. Sophomore Guard De’Andre Hunter. With their amazing start to the season, the Cavaliers hold the lone lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
C onference play begins on Jan. 3, 2019, and there is no clear favorite for the ACC title- and it will probably remain that way thorough March. Teams like Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Florida St, and Virginia Tech are ranked currently in the AP Top-25, but other teams have chances to make statements further down the line. Teams like the Cardinals picked up a big win against No. 9 Michigan St on Nov. 28. Syracuse went down to the wire with No. 15 Ohio State picking up a quality 72-62 win.
This shows that a lot can still happen in the world of college basketball. The NCAA Tournament is on every team’s mind, and is a very attainable goal for some teams. However, there is no saying that one team can ruin any teams chance of making it to that dance. Conference play is just around the corner, which means more upsets, rivalries, and games that come down to the final buzzer.
Edited by Garrett Jones | [email protected]