ACC Roundup - A Weak Thursday Slate But A Big Game Friday

As the Tar Heels travel out to Lawrence

In Thursday’s ACC Action, Wake Forest took out NC A&T 80-64, SMU thumped Florida A&M 102-73 and Cal handled Cal Poly 91-73.

As we suspected, the Aggies hung around for a while before falling behind: the halftime score was 38-33.

Wake is starting Efton Reid, Tre’Veon Spillers (transfer from App State), Parker Friedrichson, Cameron Hildreth and Hunter Sallis. Omaha Biliew, a transfer from Iowa State from whom much is expected, came off the bench for two points, two boards and two assists. He was a five star recruit coming out of high school.

Spiller had 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Speaking of Wake Forest, former Demon Deacon Kevin Miller nearly pulled off a triple double for SMU: he had 20 points, nine boards and nine assists. SMU shot 41.7 percent from behind the line and 53 percent overall. Florida A&M was held to 36.1 percent overall and 32.1 percent from behind the line.

We’re still getting a sense for Cal and Stanford but the Bears seemed to do well in this one. Our knowledge of the expansion teams is still rudimentary but we’ll figure it out. Worth mentioning: Cal Poly is on a 22-game losing streak, so it doesn't really mean that much.

Friday’s schedule is quite busy, with Cal State Fullerton at Stanford, VCU at BC, Presbyterian at NC State, Murray State at Pitt, SC Upstate visiting Pitt and St. Francis trekking down to Clemson.

The big game of course is UNC at #1 Kansas. With UNC’s weak showing at home against Elon, a trip to Lawrence will be very revealing.

Thursday’s ACC Action

• Cal State Fullerton @ Stanford || 4:00 || ESPN+/ACC Extra
• Army @ Duke || 6:00 || ACC Network
• VCU @ BC || 6:00 || ACC Network
• UNC @ Kansas || 7:00 || ESPN2
• Presbyterian @ NC State || 7:00 || ESPN+/ACC Extra
• Murray State @ Pitt || 7:00 || ESPN+/ACC Extra
• SC Upstate || 7:00 || ESPN+ACC/Extra

• Spillers has 15 points, 16 rebounds in Wake Forest’s 80-64 win over North Carolina A&T
• Column: A&T gives Wake Forest trouble before shooting goes cold
• Balanced Attack Leads Wake Forest Past North Carolina A&T
• Boopie Miller’s big night powers SMU to win over Florida A&M
• Rattlers lose to Mustangs 102-73 in Dallas
• Boopie Miller steers SMU to rout of Florida A&M
• WATCH: Coach Mark Madsen, Cal players review 91-73 win over Cal Poly
• Cal Pulls Away For Second Straight Win
• Cal Hands Cal Poly Its 22nd Straight Basketball Loss
• Instant analysis/reactions: Cal basketball shows depth and deep range shooting in win over Cal Poly
• Photos: Take an inside look at Allen Fieldhouse, before Tar Heels visit Lawrence, Kansas
• North Carolina-Kansas meeting only 2nd on-campus showdown between the bluebloods
• 5 Keys for UNC to Beat Kansas
• From Dean Smith to Roy Williams, UNC basketball’s history with Kansas is ‘rare and unique’
• Preview: Two keys for No. 9 UNC men’s basketball to upset No. 1 Kansas on Friday
• Notebook: Bill Self talks potentially tying Phog Allen’s all-time wins record, KU’s rotation vs. UNC and more
• Bill Self dishes on ‘awesome’ matchup with North Carolina