In Thursday’s ACC Action, NC State fell to Purdue 71-61, Wake Forest lost to Florida 75-58, and Louisville took care of West Virginia, 79-70.
The Cardinals started slow but it heated up and Chucky Hepburn had a career game with 32 points, six steals, three rebounds and two assists. He also shot 8-12/2-5 and drew 13 fouls. This was after another terrific game against Indiana, where he hit 7-10/2-4 and had 10 assists and seven steals.
Ten assist and seven steals one night and 32 points and six steals the next? That should absolutely get your attention. Louisville closes out the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday night and you’d have to think that Hepburn is the odds-on favorite to be the tournament MVP.
By the way, there’s a decent chance that this trip completely rewires this team. It’s like the cure for the Payne that ailed them for what, a couple of years now?
NC State’s travel plans got screwed up and the Pack left for the West Coast five hours late, arriving at 3:01 Pacific time.
That was for Purdue, the team that knocked State out of the Final Four last spring and you know the Pack wanted this one.
Didn’t happen.
State stayed close in the first half, down just 33-32 at the break before Purdue got some separation. Trey Kaufman-Renn heated up in the second half, scoring 15. NC State hung around but the Pack didn’t have enough firepower to pull off the upset. Jayden Taylor had 15 to pace the Pack and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 13 points and eight rebounds.
It’s a loss, but it’s not a terrible loss. Mostly it’s a lost opportunity. They’ll have others.
Wake Forest had a chance too but it was over after halftime as Florida State pulled away on the back of a 10-0 run. But Wake didn't shoot well from behind the line (3-20 compared to 8-27 for the Gators) and got just pounded on the boards: Florida had 44 total and 15 offensive to 30 total and eight offensive for Wake.
And to top it off, Steve Forbes got ejected for arguing about a call and the ensuing free throws put the Gators up by 16. it must have been a frustrating game for Forbes.
Friday’s a busy one for the conference. Check out the games below.
Friday’s ACC Action
