Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - The ACC Goes Through the Heels

Episode Date: March 11, 2024

In this episode, Candace and Kenton discuss the battle of the blues and ND women's basketball winning the ACC tournament. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The UNC wins the ACC regular season title. Notre Dame wins ACC women's tournament. We also have the men's tournament preview to go over. We'll talk about all of these things on today's episode of Locked on ACC. You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. All right, everybody, welcome to today's edition of Locked on ACC. I'm your host, Keanis Cooper, joined by Kenson Gibbs of Locked on Wolf Pack.

each and every day. You find us where we list the podcast. Make sure you download, subscribe to the pod from anywhere. Today's episode is brought to by GameTime. Download the GameTime app. Create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. North Carolina beat Duke in its final regular season game,

beating them 84 to 79, a good victory for the heels as they clinched the regular season title outright. And Kenton, we know we talked about it on Saturday. Nobody likes to share. And North Carolina made sure. that they were not sharing with the Blue Devils, and I feel like it was just a good win for the heels. Yeah, it was a very similar game to the first game, first time around in that we saw very similar themes occur.

And, you know, I got a text from a very good friend during the game saying, you know, Duke is never going to listen to you about slowing it down and making it a half-core game, and they won't. They won't for whatever reason. I don't know why they think they're the masters of goal, but it was very clear that that was what they needed to do. do. They just failed to do so. And also, they did a good job in the game and the stars. I ever, Cormac, right? I mean, brother, what a time, you know, and a lot of people got a problem

with how intentionally he was celebrating afterwards. If you drop 31 in the Battle of the Blue, you drop a 30 piece, extra sauce on them nuggets in the Battle of the Blues. Celebrate as much as you want to. You know what I mean? Long as everybody stayed alive afterwards, you could. 31 points is the most since Hebert Davis, who dropped a 35 piece during the Blue Devils, to our heels match up. And I feel like Cormack, who is almost 30 years old, the jokes of Harrison Ingram saying he dropped as many as how old he is, we love to see it. But I think we talk about, you know, being fueled by negativity. And something that it came in crazy is love to do. They have their cheat sheet. They love to talk junk. I'm going to talk about your mama,

and this, that, and the third. Cormac really was fueled by that. And you could tell every time he would just get hotter and hotter, he would just really look at that crowd and get sort of more intensity going. And I think that just proved, proved lethal for the Blue Devils in the end. And, like, listen, we're used to seeing guys like Cormac on the other side, you know, in their intensity and thrive off the hatred. But it was nice to see that be for my guys personally in the Tar Heels. Well, I'll tell you this much, you know, we talk about the stereotype about the Duke most famous players. They're always going to be a white guy and thinks much too highly of himself. and everybody hates them or things are highly enough of himself because let's be honest

some of them are but yeah about to say but some of them juggers be delivering unfortunately that's all-time breaks in terms of college basketball so it's not like these guys you know christian laytoner and j jrudec and whatnot don't have like a right to feel that way but it's it's one of those things that like you said it's interesting to see you would see have one of those and although he is a a guy who got there via the transfer portal that's a new era of college sports, baby. Okay? Because I don't care who you are. You are liar if you say, my school leg will claim a person who does

dead-da-da-da-da-da. They come here last year. Because if Grace of McCall go win him to ACC Championship, you best believe we're not going to be talking about him. He was a Shanta Clear for four years. He's not ours. It's going to be, that's my boy. That's my God. Grazer McCall.

So, you know, Cormac Ryan, absolutely. He did his thing in this one. And I also want to say this. credit to the coaching adjustments in the second half by UNC as well because I'm going to tell you this

John Shire is looking a little funny in the light is looking a little funny in the light when you look at this game and you say to yourself well you know

the Tar Heels absolutely came out and dominated and you had to fight back and do something I'm going to tell you this much okay every time you felt like oh man

Duke's right there. They're right in the game. They've come back. North Carolina punchback. Every single time you were like, oh, I think the score of this thing is much closer than it actually was. But every time you thought that Duke was about to take control or was fully in it, North Carolina said, it's all right. We got it. We'll take from here. And you know, guys like Jeremy Roach definitely took it on the chin, definitely made it because it's his senior. And I wanted to take ownership of why he didn't play well. So the team ultimately got the L. But I feel as if just like you said, simply the last time we had this conversation, they beat them, beat them twice same way.

You came out, you punched them in the mouth, you catch them off their player. They're always going to come back in the game. That's just the game. Nature of college basketball, it's a game of runs. You never get too high, never get too low. But it was almost just too deep of a hole to come out of. Because I think given 10 more minutes, we might be having a different conversation, a whole different game, especially playing at home.

But it just felt like Duke never gave itself a chance from the gate. They got punch in the mouth that they didn't necessarily know how to respond. on all that to say in transitioning to Kyle Philopowski 23 points certainly had himself a game but in true Duke fashion got himself a little tripped up didn't know how to necessarily speak to his issues and it just feels very unfortunate that he is a part of this group of dirty players in spite of his own and adversity he experienced this season and it just it's hard to root for a guy that sort of does some of those things that we saw, you know, back on film, him and referee Valentine going through.

You know, it's so unfortunate that a man who overcame the adversity that he overcame this season. Come on. Looking at a guy who, you know, there was just, there was so much to be said for his amazing and epic comeback from him being tripped by a fan, for him to trip another player. And then to claim he didn't know that the trip was. there. What's going on in Durham? Do y'all practice the trips? Do you practice the lying? That's the real question. Like he, yeah. It's clear that they don't practice the lie because the lies

are never coherent and good. But the tripping, it seems to be a theme that stretches through the ages, or tell his oldest time, if you will. Because my brother in Christ, you turned your head, you saw him coming and you cocked your leg out. I had never tried to get up off the floor. extending my leg. Have you? I don't know. Have you? That's actually a very specific stretch that, like, people do. You don't get up like that. You know, why would you lift up your leg to, like, get it?

That just doesn't make sense. So, yeah. It's a tough situation for him. And your mic went out. But I do think credit to some of the North Carolina bench, Jalen Withers, Jalen Washington, said Trimble, who came back in this game and really made it sort of shake for the Tar Hill. and Elliot Cadell coming in with some clutch shots,

which we hadn't rarely seen throughout the season. But I think I still want some confidence from those guys. If I were to critique UNC, there was too many times where they would just give up the ball in spite of the fact that the shot was there. And I think sometimes you sort of question yourself, but Seth Trimble, Elliot Cadeau especially, I'm like, if you don't shoot that whole, Jabari, like you can do it.

I believe in you. I mean, here's the thing, right? I think that there is a bit of folks can be too unselfish at times. Folks can be too much of like, oh, we're going to pass up a good shot to get a great shot. And it's like, that works out a lot. It's not a guarantee. You never are guaranteed that great shot if you pass up a good one. And, you know, when you talk about Elliott Cadeau and some of his struggles in terms of scoring this season,

you've got to attribute that to a little bit of that mentality of, hey, whatever happens, everything's going to be all right. If I got to pass up a shot, somebody is going to get a great shot or somebody's going to get a better look at me. And it's like, no, dude, you're on this team too. You are going to be counted on at some point in time to get it done too. But I'll tell you this much, whatever they have decided, and whatever unselfishness there is or is not there,

or whatever the passing decisions are, good enough for them to be ACC regular season champs. I absolutely agree. So there's a lot to be said about regular season. but that is over and done. Hang the banner. Keep it pushing. It is time for some more championship action on the women's side and previewing for the ACC tournament on the men's side. We'll talk about how Notre Dame and coach, you know, Ivy certainly handled business on Sunday. Why am I rolling that one? Only God knows, but here we are, you know, sometimes you just got to do what you got to do.

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If you haven't checked out Fire TV channels, you should trust me on this. To learn more, visit Amazon.com. slash locked on fire TV. Now we all know it's about that time for concert season and you don't want to miss your opportunity to get in on the action. Baseball is upon us if you want some tickets to that or a tournament game. Game time is the only ticketing app that gives you complete peace of mind with your purchase. They're obsessed with finding ways to help you save money on tickets.

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But Notre Dame champions. Khe won at time as a coach, as an assistant coach, as a player, and now as a head coach, Neil Ivey gets the victory after being regular season champs in years prior. Now getting herself a tournament championship and Hidalgo being down with not having all your teammates there to ready, still being able to pull off with a victory, certainly something to hang your hat on despite the loss. NCSA definitely played their hearts out and should be not hang their heads low at all and get in preparation for a really good NCAA tournament. So I'm going to start here.

People don't realize how great of a coach, Coach Ivy is. I think that we are much too stuck on like, hey, if your efforts don't yield a championship, you're not really good at this. You're not really, oh, it's Kenny Brooks time. It's Westmore time. It's Coach Wall's time. I'm going to tell you, Coach Ivy and who she is, is a big. part of what makes the ACC so great. It's a big part of why even when Notre Dame has struggled,

they've still been a team that go out there and sleep if you want to. Go out there and sleep if you want to and you will limp out with a loss to the Golden Domers. And so, you know, credit to them, credit to Annette Doggo, credit to that entire team. It is to overcome the loss of an Olivia Miles. What an amazing story to win an ACC tournament championship in this fashion. And and to squash the doubts about, you know, Olivia Miles going in the portal and being gone next year. I mean, you know, that's going to be a scary back court. A.C. defense a player a year, freshman of the year with a triple double threat

and Olivia Miles, who, I mean, outside of her shooting for beat, there are no holes in her game. And so, you know, you're looking at a very, very good situation for Notre Dame there. And on the NC state side of this thing, nothing to be ashamed of. You're predicted to finish. eight in the conference. And yet, you come out being a team with more top 10 wins than any team in the conference, more ranked wins than anybody in the conference except, I believe, USC.

And you're sitting here on the two line in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. That's for. Sinai River's River Ball with nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to be ashamed of. And it was an excellent tournament overall, excellent final as well. 100% agree. And as we look towards NCAA tournament, you know, I feel like there is a good crop of women who will be in attendance, right, if you just run down the stakes. Beyond NC State, beyond Notre Dame, who are the key players, you know, that I mentioned here.

Syracuse certainly getting in this bad boy, Virginia Tech, Louisville, FSU, Duke, UNC, Miami. I feel like nine. Who are you taking away? I think nine is aggressive. I think nine is aggressive. But the thing is, we could be able to be. And that's the problem. You have to, if you are to say that all nine don't belong in,

you'd have to say, who are you going to put in over? And you really can't come up with a ton of teams. And this is the beauty of the ACC because these women were so good, because there were so many quality teams. Some of these teams have got a random upset on a Tuesday or Wednesday during the season, congratulations. You just punched your ticket with something that, hey, that's a quad one win.

Even wins that were unranked but upsets, you got yourself a quad one win. So, you know, this is a very good women's ACC side night. I would not be surprised if we get seven, eight. I think nine would be a little aggressive. I think nine would be a little aggressive, but I wouldn't be surprised. Who's on the bubble? Miami and UNC?

I mean, no, I think that I think UNC is firmly in because they got an upset of NC State and they got some other rank wins in there. I want to say Miami, although they beat UNC, it's a little tougher for me to say. And the toughest one, I would probably say, is Duke because while they also have a win over NC State, they have some really bad losses. And so, you know, I believe they lost to a Davidson team that had to cancel their season toward the end. So that's, that's like a tough loss to overcome. Right. But again, Davidson was rolling at that time.

They were a very good team that, you know, and you would. hope that that, like, oh, that team had the end of their season bias doesn't creep in because you can't really control the injuries. But all in all, I think Duke is maybe your team that's left on the outside looking in here. A thousand percent agree. I think that Duke, UNC and Miami are definitely on the bubble, especially how UNC performed in the NCAA tournament.

Miami, you know, got to win. You just be a heart on your girls. I'm just being real. They're in. I feel bad because I think that Virginia Tech is going to be a shell of themselves without Kitley. And there might be a first to second round exit. And that's so unfortunate because of how good I feel like Kenny Brooks is as coach. And I felt like Georgia Amor deserves better for her potential last showing as a Virginia Tech Hokie.

So that'll be tough to watch as well. And then as we're just getting through the season, you know, I'm always rude for the ACC teams. And who goes the furthest will definitely be interesting right now. Because do I think Notre Dame could do it? yes, but I've also seen Notre Dame get gobsmacked. So we love parody and this bad boy. That's truly, truly what it's all about around here in this really good conference. All right, let's talk about the men here.

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quality candidates, super easy, in fact, that you have 86% of small businesses to get a qualified candidate within 24 hours. Post your job free at LinkedIn.com slash lost on college. That's LinkedIn.com slash lost on college coach your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Kenton, flying this plane, we've got men's tournament on deck. We've got Wednesday matchups locked and loaded. And I just feel like it's going to Tuesday matchups, locks and loaded. Excuse me. Notre Dame, Georgia Tech kick us off for ACC tournament,

followed by Louisville, NC State, Miami, and Boston College. So of those, we know. NC State is going to be the first W on the board. Everyone else, feeling a little shaky. You got a lot of faith in NC State. You got a lot of faith in Louisville. I don't have a lot of faith in Louisville. I'm just not penciling in a win for NC State.

That's all I'm saying. I know when the team has been, you know, you ever seen the Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard fight, the no-moss fight? You ever seen that? You know when you're watching somebody get no-mossed in real time. You know when you see it. That team has the no-moss energy. They got that, oh, hell.

there. That second half against Duke, I watched NC State Duke. I say, yeah, that team, that's big no-moss energy after going down with stress there. So I'm not saying, I don't have faith in Kenny Payne at all. Let me, don't you, don't put that in the words of Michael Clark Duckett, don't you put that evil on me, Ricky Bobby. But I'm also not going to say that I think Keats and crew are fully loaded and excited to go into this one. If Keats gets upset by Kenny Payne, he's at. out of here. You know, Grayson and I,

Grayson Boone, I'm referring to my co-host on Locked-O Wolfpack. We have a saying no dance, no chance. We started the season saying that, and we thought that that's what the situation was with Keats. There are still multiple balls hanging in the air, but that may not be the case. There may

be no dancing and still a chance. So, you know, it's a very, very nasty work. But of all of these first four games, I just hope all these teams have fun, none of them will matter in the grand scheme of this conference. Well, it's only three games, but no, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, I think that'll be a good one. I think Georgia Tech will pull off the win in that one. I think Georgia Tech is sneakily probably the best, youngest team that we have here in the ACC. I think that Miami and Boston College will just be a game of who wants it more.

Boston College certainly has the coaching, and so does Miami with Coach Laranaga, but it just haven't been the Miami that we've seen in recent years, but Boston College certainly can always find a way to pop you in the mouth. But I think of that group, Georgia Tech feels like the strongest maybe keep advancing. I think that Georgia Tech has the highest upside of that group in terms of when they're good and rolling. Miami, I would want to say would be a one beat, but they've had so many injuries this year. I mean, there were so many games. Like, for example, the game against Syracuse or everybody talks about the game winner, that was a huge game Don't get me wrong.

It was a great shot. Nortad Omer wasn't available. And he was leading in points and rebounds at a time, which I believe he still is for Miami. So, you know, this is a Miami team that's been banged up. They've had, you know, it's been a, what's the word? I believe it's, what is it, Martin's Law or something like that? Murphy's Law.

Everything that can go wrong has going wrong for this thing. I don't know where I got Martin from. But anyway, everything that can't go wrong has going wrong for this team. And yet they're still trudging along. and I think that, you know, most people figure that they would be a little worse without Wong and company. But, you know, it's still kind of jarred to see this team kind of end up here on playing on the first day of the ACC. Absolutely agree. We'll see Florida State and Virginia Tech kick off on Wednesday in Wake Forest, Syracuse and Clemson will get in on the action with the winners of Tuesday's matchup.

And then on Thursday, we will see North Carolina get in on this bad boy. against Duke Pitt and Virginia. So a lot of games to be played a lot of good action in the Washington, D.C. area. So if you are available, highly recommend you come down and see a couple games. But of those teams, you know, if you're giving somebody an upset, tell me you're upset. If you're giving somebody guaranteed, they need to win this thing right out in the sunset, who you got. Okay. So of all the games that we said thus far, I think that Louisville has the best chance at an upset,

because, again, I know that Kenny Payne is like not. I'm telling you. Okay. All right. Be for real. I watched that NC State team go an entire game without making a single three. I am telling you right now, I know that we all want to believe that Louisville is impossibly bad. They kind of are.

But I am telling you, I've seen teams like that that have problem scoring and they're not motivated. Defense is where you get that motivation like shows like, hey, we want to be here. We want to do this. I'm telling you, the folks in Riley need to be ready for things to not go well. I'm not saying that it will. I'm not saying book it Louisville plus five. I'm not saying that. What I am saying is that game likely going to be closer to many people think. And of the teams that I would say watch them because they can pull this thing off. I say Pitt, watch them. Watch Pitt.

Watch Hinson & Company because they snuck their way in. They creeped their way on in. Two or three seed, I believe, or four seed, which means they got two buys. All they got to win, you know, Pitt's thing is consistency. They struggle to string together three, four, five big games in a row. Only got a string together two. Three. They can do it right.

Jeff and Company said, we're good for that one. We go for that. I think Georgia Tech it'd be the team that upsets groups. I think that will they have the stamina to get all the way to the end, having starting on the first day, be tough, not impossible. Tough, not impossible.

Who do I think is probably going to mess around and, you know, seek in there and win more than they should, Virginia, right? Because they're just annoying like that, right? They're going to play sound defense and you only got to play a defense good for three games. Like, they could do that. It's very possible. It's the law to who's whenever you're

expect at least, right? I'm joking. That's a law of the wolf thing, but that's neither here nor there. Virginia is much in that same way. When you're like, oh, yeah, they should win it. They should dominate everything. They're going to lose in the first round. But when you say, I don't believe in them, they suspect, boom, that's, that's how this team works.

And Duke of North Carolina, if all remains true, they will have to face each other in the semi-final game and not championship game. So we could see a round three of that, of course. Whoever, you know, comes out in those different matches. So we'll be sure to give you guys that scoop throughout. the week and we don't want you to miss any of it for kandis cooper and kinsa gibbs we hope you

guys have a great start to your week make sure you check back in as there's plenty to go over here as always on locked on acc until next time