ACC Notes: First place still up for grabs

Boston College had it for a while. So did Virginia Tech. Virginia also spent some time on top of the standings alone. But when North Carolina seized command of first place with an 83–64 victory over N.C. State on Wednesday, all of the baton passing figured to be finished.

Unquestionably the league's deepest and most talented team, the Tar Heels were a game clear of everyone and simply needed to win out to secure the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament. Only it wasn't that simple.

UNC blew a 10-point lead with 6 1/2 minutes remaining Sunday at Maryland, falling to the Terrapins 89–87. The Tar Heels dropped to 10–4 in the league, the same record as Virginia and Virginia Tech, but the Hokies have the upper hand thanks to their two victories over UNC.

"This league should have been ours from Day 1," UNC sophomore point guard Bobby Frasor said. "There's no way this team should have four losses. We've been kind of missing out on opportunities. Every time we're at the top, we seem to screw up and give everyone else a shot. We've just got to take care of business."

The Tar Heels have failed to do that down the stretch of close games, compiling a 3–5 records in games decided by eight points or fewer this season. UNC has lost three of its last seven games, with all three defeats coming by four points or fewer.

Of particular concern for the Tar Heels is that they've struggled in all areas during crunch time. They blew assignments while trying to run set plays late in losses to Virginia Tech and Maryland, and they managed just one field goal in the final five minutes while holding on for victory at Boston College. They missed key free throws against the Hokies and Terrapins. And defensively, they allowed Maryland to score on 13 of its final 18 possessions Sunday.

The Tar Heels have identified their problem — "We've got to be much tougher," UNC coach Roy Williams said — but they have not found a solution. Sophomore swingman Marcus Ginyard said UNC has held team meetings to address lapses in focus such as the one Sunday that led to Maryland's 15 offensive rebounds in the first half, but the meetings haven't produced results so far.

"We've had a meeting with Coach before, we've had a meeting with just the players, we've had Sean May and then Marvin Williams and David Noel come speak to us," Ginyard said, naming former UNC players now in the NBA. "And it seems like we're just running over the same stone all the time, just hitting that same bump all over again. We're just starting to repeat ourselves."

Repetition is a good way to learn, but it's not the preferred method in this case. Still, it might be necessary, given the makeup of UNC's roster.

The Tar Heels' lack of consistent toughness likely stems from their lack of experience and absence of knowledge of what it takes to compete in the ACC night after night. Eight of the team's top nine players are freshmen or sophomores, and three of the team's top four scorers are freshmen. The Terrapins and Hokies, meanwhile, fought their way past UNC with senior-laden teams.

The bad news for the Tar Heels is that their freshmen and sophomores won't become seniors in the next couple of weeks before the NCAA Tournament. But on the positive side, losing control of the ACC race might increase the intensity level of a team that Frasor said has lacked a sense of urgency in recent weeks.

"Hopefully, we can take this as a wakeup call and go from here and head in the right direction," Frasor said. "Maybe it's that one loss that we need. I know we've said the same things over and over, but hopefully this time we can take it for real."

Key development
N.C. State fell 83–64 at North Carolina on Wednesday, but the loss to its archrival was far from the Wolfpack's biggest worry.

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe, who had been experiencing flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to the game, felt dizzy and faint at halftime and didn't return for the second half. He was given oxygen at halftime and taken to UNC Hospitals, where he was treated for dehydration.

Lowe, in his first season as a college head coach, learned a valuable lesson during the episode.

"You just have to make sure that you take time out to take care of yourself," he said. "We coaches, you get into a rut sometimes where that's all you're doing. Twenty-four hours a day, you're watching film, you're working, you're thinking about it and you don't take time out for yourself."

The Tar Heels and Wolfpack are fierce rivals on the court, but no animosity exists between their coaches. Williams, who as an assistant coach tried to recruit Lowe out of DeMatha High nearly three decades ago to play point guard for UNC, visited Lowe at the hospital after the game. He checked on Lowe again the next morning after sharing how he handles the stress of life on Tobacco Road.

"It was a very nice thing that he did," Lowe said. "He left the game and came directly over there and really gave me some encouraging words and some wisdom, having been in it for such a long period of time. He talked about taking that time out and just getting away from it during the course of the day — not necessarily in the morning but in the middle of the day when you kind of break it up and get away from it — and how important that's been to him.

"He reminded me that at certain periods of time during the day, you can't reach him _ no one can reach him because he's away from it. He's getting his workout in or something or walking with the guys or whatever. That was very, very nice of him."

Lowe also received calls from Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt and Charlotte Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff, among others. Doctor orders kept Lowe at home Friday while his team traveled to Florida State, but he made the trip Saturday morning in time for the Wolfpack's 78–52 loss to the Seminoles.

The experience was a difficult one for Lowe, but it's one he believes will benefit him in the long run.

"It really put things in perspective and made me take a look at things," Lowe said. "Certainly, I'm going to have to make some changes in the way I'm doing it right now. It doesn't mean I'm not going to continue to work as hard as I'm working, but I'm going to take a little break in there."

Rising team: Maryland
The Terrapins kept right on rolling, knocking off Florida State before beating UNC for their fifth consecutive victory. Maryland has a pair of freshman point guards, less than ideal for the rigors of March Madness, but the team is coming together at the right time.

Falling team: Clemson
The Tigers have become somewhat of a fixture in this spot — that's what losing nine of 11 games after a 17–0 start will do for you. Clemson (19–9, 5–9 ACC) has played itself out of the NCAA Tournament at this point — "We need a win in the worst way," Coach Oliver Purnell said — but the team could regenerate some hope if it closes the regular season with victories over Miami and Virginia Tech.

Purnell is trying everything he can think of to snap his team out of its funk, even bringing post player James Mays off the bench after starting the game with a small lineup, but nothing is working. Mays had just one point and two rebounds in 15 minutes against Boston College on Saturday.

Player of the week: D.J. Strawberry, G, Maryland
Strawberry was the best player on the floor during Maryland's victory over the Tar Heels, scoring a career-high 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting and handing out four assists without a turnover. He scored in transition, sliced to the basket for layups and converted short jumpers while cutting off screens in Maryland's flex offense.

Strawberry played with an energy that UNC coach Roy Williams acknowledged his team didn't match. In that way, Strawberry is the perfect example of a senior who is trying to make the most of his final days as a college player. He has averaged 16.0 points in Maryland's last seven games, scoring in double figures in each of those contests.

"D.J. Strawberry has done, I guess, what you want your senior leaders to do, which is really step up when things weren't going particularly well for us," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "The one thing this year with D.J. is that I've never had to get him to work harder or show up for practice better or anything like that. He's made the commitment to try to take this team and be the leader of the team."

Freshman of the week: Jon Scheyer, G, Duke
After making national news by losing four consecutive games, Duke quietly has won four games in a row. The 6-foot-5 Scheyer played a large role in two road wins last week by the Blue Devils, shooting 8-for-11 from the field while averaging 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game against Clemson and St. John's.

Stats of the week
*Duke outscored Clemson and St. John's by a combined score of 76–31 in the first half. The Tigers and Red Storm shot a combined 9-for-44 (20.5 percent) from the floor in the first half against the Blue Devils.

*UNC outrebounded N.C. State 24–6 in the second half, grabbing twice as many offensive rebounds (12) after halftime as the Wolfpack totaled on both ends of the floor.

They said it
"I think it's sick. People are talking RPI in November. I mean, let the bowl games finish at least. I think it's nuts. But it's the culture, it's the society that we live in. Everyone wants more information, everyone wants to have an opinion, everyone wants to be the first to say that this guy is in, this guy is out." — Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, on the existence of mock NCAA Tournament brackets early in the season.

Key upcoming games
*Maryland at Duke, Wednesday, 9 p.m.: Both teams have made turnarounds after shaky stretches during ACC play. The teams have split their last 12 meetings since they squared off in the 2001 Final Four.

*Virginia Tech at Virginia, Thursday, 7 p.m.: It doesn't get much better than this: in-state rivals playing for first place during the last week of the regular season. "It's two teams that no one thought would be playing for something this important the last week of the season," Greenberg said. "It's a testament to our kids, and it's a testament to the kids at Virginia."

*Duke at North Carolina, Sunday, 4 p.m.: Depending on what happens earlier in the week, the Tar Heels could have a chance at the ACC regular-season title entering this game. The Blue Devils remember how UNC sent out J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams on senior day a year ago, and they'd love to do the same for UNC's Reyshawn Terry and Wes Miller.