So it will be Boston College against Duke for the 53rd ACC Championship.
You've got to admire what Duke has done. This will be their ninth straight ACC final. They, of course, have won six of the last seven tournaments. No school has ever dominated this event like Duke and if they win tomorrow they will pass Carolina for the most ACC basketball titles.
Today, Duke needed the freshman against Wake Forest, and they came through. J.J. Redick bruised his knee. He still had 20 points, but with Shelden Williams sitting out a lot of the first half with fouls, Duke needed Paulus and McRoberts to step up. This is the best that I've seen Paulus play. He took the ball to the basket, he shot with confidence, and dished off five assists. McRoberts had 13 points and eight rebounds. And did you catch the McRoberts behind the back pass to Williams on the fast break?
Now Duke won as they should have against Wake Forest, but again they were hammered on the glass -- 43-26. Duke is just not a good rebounding a team and it could hurt tomorrow against Boston College. Redick said after the game-his knee injury was a bruise and that he will be fine. They will need a big game from him and McRoberts must come to play and play physical against Boston College. Shelden Williams will need a lot of help,
Boston College is a veteran team and they stood up to Carolina's pressure. They were in control most of the second half-one time by as much as 14 points but UNC did make it interesting. But against Carolina's defense, which is so quick, B.C. shot 61 percent.
Sometimes, B.C. is very sloppy with the basketball -- making weak passes and that hurt them against Carolina. Duke is not as quick as Carolina but the Eagles need to take care of the ball. Craig Smith is a handful and so is Jared Dudley and while Boston College is not known as a three-point shooting team, they hit some big ones today.
The two teams met just once during the season with Duke hanging on to win at Chestnut Hills. Boston College is much better than they were then and they also feel all the calls went against them that game.
Duke tomorrow has to hold its own on the boards. Redick has to shoot well and McRoberts and Paulus must play like they did in the semi-finals. The Devils also need a good game from Demarcus Nelson. He's an athlete and he can score and I have a feeling he could be what everybody likes to say is the X-factor.
Boston College needs to take care of the basketball and go inside and get Shelden Williams in foul trouble, which is quite possible for them to do. Duke has to put Williams on Smith and that will be a battle.
The ACC Tournament has belonged to Duke for so long, it's hard to go against them. But despite their 29-3 record, this is not a dominating team. Boston College is tough and they surely won't be afraid.
You know Mike Krzyzewski will have his team ready. The coach has made this HIS tournament. But tomorrow, he'd better have his guys ready for a bruiser, because Boston College is more than capable to make their first ever ACC Tournament a championship.
