Cardinal Couple: DUKE still atop a tight ACC WBB league standings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

DUKE still atop a tight ACC WBB league standings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Blue Devils one game up on Notre Dame, 1-1/2 game up on three others.

Duke used a convincing, 18-point win over Georgia Tech on Sunday to keep their lead in the ACC WBB regular season conference race. Two Blue Devils names we've heard all season long -- Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun -- led them to their 16th season and sixth conference win.

In Duke's six wins, five have come against teams in the lower half of the conference (Virginia, NC ST, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wake Forest) and a win over tied for third place Louisville. They face North Carolina (another team in the lower half of the conference) tomorrow at Chapel Hill and then Syracuse (13-5, 4-3) comes to town Sunday. One could see Duke going to 8-0 by Monday morning.

A game back of Kara Lawson's over-achieving Blue Devils is Notre Dame.at 5-1 in the ACC. It seems like there has been a Mabrey in South Bend since the start of the century, and their only loss as been to (surprise...UNC) in conference play. Westbeld, Citron ang Miles are names who have been around South Bend seemingly forever and they also went out and got 6'4" Lauren Ebo in the portal last year. Niele Ivey hasn't pulled off the theatrics (or successes) that former coach Muffet McGraw did, but she has the talent on campus to do it.

The conference logjam (so far) in the upper part of the bracket occurs with three teams at 5-2. Louisville, FSU and Miami are those three ,and the Cards are probably regretting that two-point loss to Virginia Tech two games back....before beating FSU. Miami entertained Wake Forest Sunday and had no trouble keeping the Demon Deacons with just two conference wins. FSU lost to Boston College the week before and then beat NC State. How many saw that happening?

Virginia Tech and Syracuse are at 4-3 and North Carolina checks in at 3-3. These three are capable of beating anyone in the conference at any time, and also capable of losing shockers (VT to Clemson). And...that is the upper half of the conference.

The teams with work to do...(the lower half of the conference squads) contain a few surprises and a few expected in those ranks.. Another conference tie-up occurs at 3-4 with Virginia, NCST, Boston College and Clemson occupying that record. Seeing NCST there is a shocker, but a pleasant surprise is seeing Clemson (a perpetual cellar-dweller) there.

Wake Forest is at 2-6, with a win over the two teams with zero conference wins...Pittsburgh (0-6) and Georgia Tech (0-7). Seeing Georgia Tech winless is surprising.

The conference has it's share of surprises ahead, be assured of that. I'm seeing Miami stay close, with the dynamic Cavinder twins and Destiny Harden. NCST won't stay down forever and Virginia Tech could start playing up to their talent level with Kitley, Soule, Amoore, King and Owusu.

Louisville, too, is a squad that hasn't hit top gear yet, either and they could end up being very scary with Van Lith, Carr, Jones, Cochran and Dixon. We're looking forward to covering the Cards journey and the rest of the season.

Boston College comes to call Thursday. Jared will get you ready for that one in the Thursday column.

paulie

3 comments:

kstarksr1/18/2023 9:51 AM
It's gonna be a fun month and a half watching ACC games💯
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