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Snowflakes: ACC Hoops

* The best rivalry in college hoops takes place Wednesday night when #2 ranked Duke invades Chapel Hill to battle #3 North Carolina. This game is always a barnburner on Tobacco Road, and the winner will have sole possession of first place in the conference. The biggest story entering this particular contest is the health of UNC’s Ty Lawson. The sophomore point guard sprained an ankle in the Tar Heels’ overtime victory at Florida State on Sunday. Lawson is 3rd in the ACC in assists while also scoring over 13 points a game. If he is unable to go against Duke, North Carolina could struggle mightily with the Blue Devils pressure defense. UNC has already lost guard Bobby Frasor for the season so this game may hinge on the Tar Heel reserves being able to contribute in the backcourt. On a side note, Dick Vitale is supposed to return to the microphone for ESPN after he had vocal cord surgery late in 2007.

* After a hot non-conference start, Coach Frank Haith looked like he had the Miami Hurricanes poised for their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2002. The ‘Canes began the season 12-0 and entered ACC play at 13-1. However, things have gone south in league play as Miami has lost 5 of their last 7 games. They must take care of business in the next 3 contests if they want to turn the season around. Miami hosts Florida State on Wednesday night before heading on the road to play at Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Those games will decide the fate of the Hurricanes, who will try to avoid an epic collapse much like Clemson had last season.

* Speaking of Clemson, the Tigers are trying desperately to finish strong in the ACC and get to their first NCAA tournament since 1998. After last season’s meltdown, Clemson is 16-5 on the year (4-3 in conference) and should be able to get that March Madness berth if they can complete the ACC gauntlet with a .500 league record. They travel to struggling Virginia Thursday night, and that will start a stretch of 4 out of 5 road games for the Tigers. Coach Oliver Purnell’s team has battled injuries lately, and how they fare in these 5 games could be the difference in their first Tourney in a decade or having to deal with the cloud of last season hanging over them.

- Patrick Snow

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Tribal Fever,
Urban,
Coastal,
Miami,
South Carolina,
North Carolina,
Florida,
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