Mike Barber | ACC Basketball Writer, Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Call 562-314-4603 for details. We just talked a little bit about the ACC, so let's dive more into it now with Mike Barber, who joins us from Washington, D.C., covering this tournament and covering the conference for the Richmond Times Dispatch. So let's first look at this upset. The biggest question, Mike, what's gotten in North Carolina State in this tournament? Yeah, it's interesting. I think we all came here and the storyline around NC State was, you know, was this going to be it for Kevin Keats?

And now the storyline is, is he going to win an ACC tournament championship? So it's funny how things can flip so quickly this time of year. But no, they're playing with a lot of energy. And it was an interesting thing in today's game, I thought, one, because of how daunting the matchup was, but two, once you've played, right, where's your energy level to come back and reload? And I really thought that they looked energetic, aggressive, going to the basket the way they defended. It's the proverbial team on a mission, which I'm sure if you're a Wolfpack fan, you think, man, if you'd started this a few weeks ago, we wouldn't be in this spot, right? This is a team that lost its last four games down the stretch in the regular season. And I think if they had some of this juice, they wouldn't be in that hole. But certainly they're making some noise here and changing the narrative really about their season.

Three wins in three days. And as you point out in the late stages, even when Duke was making that charge and got within a couple of points, they were still quick to the ball, quick to rebounds, quick to defend, even running the fast break. Why is it that they've got a little extra energy than what Duke has, who was coming off of a couple of days of sitting around?

It's interesting, right? Because everybody responds differently. Some teams take that rest and then they come out and they're unstoppable because they're fresh and they're ready to go. Some teams come out and they're a little shaky, rusty shooting the ball.

Everybody kind of responds differently. I thought Duke looked a little bit complacent, like maybe this was going to be easy. And I think sometimes when you're playing a team that's played a couple of days, the thought in the back of your head, and we saw it in the nightcap here with Virginia and Boston College, is they're going to wear down. If we just stick to it, they're going to wear down.

And to your point, NC State did not. If anything, they got energized. And I think when you're in that setting and you are the Cinderella, the underdog, when you get to the point where you can taste it, you get that extra adrenaline. I'm sure all those guys are sleeping well right now. I asked Casey Morsell if he was going to watch this game to see who they were going to play. And the reaction I got was kind of like, I'm going to say hi to some family in the lobby and then get some sleep.

And that's probably wise. The outside shooting certainly hurt Duke going just 5 of 20 from beyond the yard. But what does it say to you that the Wolfpack outscored the Blue Devils 21-zip with the bench? Yeah, and that was a big part of this game. And what we just talked about, right, if you're playing multiple games back to back to back, you have to get contributions from your bench. Nobody makes a run like that. Nobody I can think of makes a run like that with 5 guys or 1 guy off the bench.

You have to have some depth and you have to have some guys that maybe don't normally contribute. And I think that was really the story of the day here in D.C. for a bunch of teams was, you know, what could you get to get yourself through some of these games? And certainly NC State did that. Mike Barber is with us from Washington, D.C., which is the host for the ACC tournament, and he's covering for the Richmond Times Dispatch.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. North Carolina doesn't seem at this point to have a whole lot of concern, maybe not a care in the world. What's the strength of that Tar Heels team?

One, they're incredibly talented. We knew that. We knew what R.J. Davis was offensively.

We know what Armando Baycott can be. I think Harrison Ingram has been maybe better than advertised. Cormac Ryan has fit in really well since transferring. The big change with North Carolina this year and why I think they're a Final Four certainly caliber team and why I expect them to be the team that wins it all here in D.C. is defensively. Defensively, they're so much more locked in. They're such a better defensive team this year.

Individually, that's true. You know, R.J. Davis has been a great scorer for a long time. He's a better defensive player this season and then as a team. But the job Hubert Davis has done, really molding them into a strong defensive team, they are clicking on all cylinders right now. And I know things can change on you fast, but right now it would be pretty crazy, I think, to bet against the Tar Heels. Who else in the conference can rebound with the Tar Heels when they really put their minds to it?

There's really nobody. I mean, Florida State certainly is built in terms of being big and deep and doing some of those things. But I don't think there's anybody who combined the size and the athleticism right there. And there's two ways to kind of go for the rebound. You can be the big guy who boxes out and the ball kind of comes to you or you can be like a Ryan Dunn from Virginia who goes and gets it.

And you look up and down this Carolina lineup and you see a mix of both and guys who have both skill sets. I mean, they are really tough in the glass. And that's hard because if you defend them and you are able to get a stop and then they get an offensive rebound, it's just a backbreaker. Whether they put it straight back up the way Armando Baycott is big on doing, or if they just kick it back out and run offense again and you're forced to defend again, they can really wear you down in those regards. Can be so demoralizing for a team after they played a whole possession to give up an offensive rebound, even though the Heels are going for a number one seed and it seems like they're a perennial power in the ACC. But I didn't realize it had been since 2016 that North Carolina had won the ACC tournament. Yeah, and Roy Williams was here today sitting kind of behind the bench, not luring over up in the stands with the fans, but they've played such high level basketball. They've played in so many big games. They've been a team that competes for championships. But the ACC tournament is special. It is hard to win. And part of what makes it exciting is it does mean something, right? And even if you are a team that feels like you're locked up for the NCAAs, winning this event means something that the history and we've all seen the 30 for 30s and everything they do with what this tournament has meant over the years. So and then you add in, you want the ACC certainly to be bigger than this, but the Carolina schools and the rivalry they have, right?

Whether it's Duke, whether it's NC State, whether it's North Carolina, Wake Forest wants to be in that conversation too, it adds something when those are some of the matchups. How is Coach Williams? How is he doing? I miss him. He seemed to be enjoying himself. He was shaking hands, taking pictures with fans.

We were laughing. He was wearing one. If you ever watch, you know, the old games from the 80s and people would have the button on, you know, go state, go Carolina.

He had one of those old school buttons on. So he is very much still the same doggone Roy that we all appreciated. Oh, good.

I'm so glad. Mike Barber is with us from D.C. where the ACC tournament moves into the semifinals on Friday. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. So Virginia is able to scrape by. We talked about Virginia in the past, right? There would be that defense and the way that they played and they want to slow everybody down and kind of grind it out. What is their style now? Yeah, I think they still want to do that. The problem is they just haven't been as good.

I think the best way to describe it is they're trying to do the same things and maybe they're a little less effective. They played great defense in the overtime tonight, but there were plenty of breakdowns that got them there. Offensively, they've just been kind of a disaster all year. Games where they can't hit shots, they haven't been able to shoot free throws, they're on pace to have the worst free throw shooting season at the school since 1967.

That's a long time. That's bad. And they haven't moved the free throw line. It's not like the three point arc or some of the things that move.

So when you stink worse than anybody since the 60s, that is a fair comparison point and not a good sign. So offensively, they're very limited. They struggle to shoot the ball.

They have some guys who they feel good about. But I think what happens to this team is they put five guys on the floor and oftentimes there are two guys out there that you don't feel like you have to guard too tightly. And that allows defenses to fluff off and pay attention to a guy like Isaac McNeely, who can beat you with his three point shooting.

He's done it in a number of games this year. The limitations they have are on film. You get to this point this year and then everybody understands that. What you're seeing is I think people kind of are mimicking game plans that have worked and a big part of it is taking away the three point shot and asking them to hit long twos to beat you and Virginia struggles with that. So they do survive because, as you point out, the defense is still there. What do they have to say about trying to conjure up some offense and find some spark?

Yeah, I mean, the thing helps, Amy, is it's been the same story all year. So I think it's not a sense of, oh, my gosh, where did our offense go now that we're here in D.C.? They haven't had it all season long.

So the answers are the same as they've always been. They need to get good shots. They need to try to hit those shots because hitting shots sets up their defense. And that's been one of the things that's been off this year is when they miss shots and there's long rebounds, things like that, they don't get back and set on defense. And now you're not playing against the Tony Bennett pack line, you're playing against some sort of broken, broken scheme where, you know, you've got four guys back or somebody scrambling or they're in rotation.

So they're really it sounds terrible that there really is no solution. You know, they've looked their best when Reese Speakman is able to drive to the basket, when Ryan Dunn is able to slash a little bit to the basket and when they're able to put more shooters on the floor. Tony Bennett has changed the lineup here in the last few weeks to get more shooters, to get guys like Tane Murray and Jake Groves onto the court. Not necessarily that they're going to light things up, but there's somebody that the defense is going to have to pay attention to, creates a little more space and things seem to work a little better. Well, as you point out, the free throw line, not their friends as they miss what, 10 of them, but it leaves them so little margin for error.

I can imagine it's great angst for anyone who is a part of that fan base. It's kind of unbelievable. And I always say it this way, because Virginia plays a low possession style, right? They're going to be in more close games and a free throw, which is, we all understand, is worth one point. In my map, it's worth more for Virginia because there are so few opportunities to score. So if you've got the clock stopped and you're not being defended and you give a chance to cash in for two points and you leave that on the table, that's pretty devastating. I mean, this team scores oftentimes in the fifties to leave 10 points on the table. That's pretty huge. How many teams do you think are headed for the tournament?

That's a great question. You know, it was a few weeks ago that we thought it might be four coming here. I thought there was a chance for it to be six. I think that the Wake Forest Pittsburgh game today felt like a playing game. The winner there was going to be hopefully in the loser probably put themselves on the way out. And certainly Pittsburgh won there.

It's going to be tough because you have to look across the country, right? You look at Brooklyn today in the 8-10 and Dayton losing, you know, the one, two and three seeds, I believe, in that tournament are out, which means that's a big thief. That's one less bid for the ACC. I think certainly Carolina, Duke and Clemson are in. I think Virginia is in at this point.

I think Pittsburgh is kind of the most bubble-licious, if you will. And then what's interesting here, when we started by talking about NC State, well, what if NC State goes and runs a table and wins this thing? What if Pitt does that? Does that change the math? You know, are they taking a bid away from another ACC team at that point?

Because there's a finite number of spots. So it's very fluid. I think there are four teams that feel good and then a bunch of teams that are probably pretty nervous. Without a Duke-UNC final, which I think a lot of people were hoping for or maybe anticipating, how do you think the crowds will be through the weekend? It's going to be interesting because the crowd today was great for Virginia, great for Duke, great for Carolina. And I can't imagine any of the Virginia people are leaving, although they may just try to spend the day in the hotel sleeping in tomorrow.

That was fairly exhausting. So the crowds have been good. The energy has been fantastic. I think it's going to be a good finish here, coming down the stretch. I think it's a good mix of, you know, you've got your power in Carolina, who everybody expects to be cutting down the nets when this thing is done. You've got your Cinderella, if you will, in NC State and the rivalry aspect there with Carolina. You have Virginia, who feels like they maybe are still playing to put themselves in position.

Pittsburgh still playing to put themselves in position. So everybody's got a good storyline here going into the final four, at least of the ACCs here. Does it feel like they're run up to madness? You know, it's funny because for Virginia, I think it's felt like this for three weeks. Because it just seems like every night has been a referendum on, you know, they win a game and all of a sudden everybody's okay, they're in. And then they lose a game and all of a sudden they're out. I think they've been riding that emotional roller coaster, which is tough. But I'll tell you, you know, the guys said one of the things that helped push them through tonight in what was a very physical game, too, was the fact that when it came down the stretch, they remembered, hey, we are playing for something, right?

It's not some sort of long shot. Hey, if you win this game, people are saying you're in. I think that helped propel them through here down the stretch and gave them some good energy. And then they'll probably need that again tomorrow. And we're headed for the semifinals on Friday night in Washington, D.C. The ACC always has some delicious basketball and certainly always well represented in the tournament.

You can find Mike Barber on Twitter at RTD underscore Mike Barber covering the conference and the tournament for the Richmond Times Dispatch. It's been a very long day for him. So we appreciate a couple of minutes. Mike, thank you so much.

Thanks for having me. Old Man Winter here. If I had it my way, it would stay winter all year long. Short days, wind chill, black ice and a good polar vortex.

Heaven. Wait, is it getting warm in here? Your cold snap is over, Old Man Winter. Spring has arrived.

Spring. Spring is here, which means it's the perfect time to get away in the Hyundai you've always wanted. Visit the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event, where you can get great deals on all of our award winning Hyundai models like the tech filled Tucson and Kona, as well as the spacious Palisade. Enjoy wherever you go with the peace of mind that comes with America's best warranty and three years or thirty six thousand miles of complementary maintenance.

But hurry in. These deals won't last. Add more joy to your journey at the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Now get zero percent APR or up to fifteen hundred bonus cash on the Hyundai Tucson. Now during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Offers end soon.

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