Player of the Week
PJ Hall (Clemson)
Hall has been a machine to start the campaign. The Tigers have got off to a fast start and Hall has been the star of the show so far. The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native has been averaging 21.4 points, 7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game through seven contests. The senior has been a strong veteran presence for his team and has looked flawless to open up the season. In the SEC/ACC challenge the center put on a clinic in a win over Alabama. He filled up the stat sheet on both ends of the floor as he netted 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Hall continued to put in work as in the next game against Pitt he resumed his excellent play. He garnered 22 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals en route to victory.
Who’s Hot
Clemson Tigers
After being on the brink of making March Madness a season ago, the Tigers have been making some noise early on. The orange and white has been rolling in the young stages of the 2023-2024 season. Roaring out of the gates, Clemson sits atop the ACC throne at a perfect 7-0 and is the only unbeaten team in the conference. The squad started its season off with a Asherville Championship victory and haven’t looked back since. In the SEC/ACC challenge the unit was poised with a tough task against No. 23 Alabama. However, the Tide didn’t not roll in favor of the Crimson as the Tigers fended them off with a 85-77 win. After the victory over Alabama, Clemson had its first clash of conference play against Pitt. The team escaped with a 79-70 win on the road as it held off the Panthers.
RJ Davis (North Carolina)
Deciding to return to UNC, Davis has been the difference maker in a successful start to the season. He has led the Tar Heels to a strong 7-1 total in the early phases of the new campaign. The guard has posted a season average of 20.4 points per game while shooting the ball at an efficient clip of 43.5% from the field, 34.5% from 3-point land and 94.6% from the free throw line. The White Plains, New York, native has been on an absolute scoring barrage over his last few outings. With a 30-point performance over Arkansas, Davis carried that performance over to this past week. Starting with the SEC/ACC challenge, the senior torched the Volunteers for 27 points and matched that outing with another 27 against Florida State to start conference play.
Who’s Not
Jared McCain (Duke)
McCain started off the season with a few stellar outings. He dialed up a versatile showing against Arizona, recording 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. The guard then put on display his scoring and rebounding ability against Bucknell accumulating 17 points and 10 rebounds. However, the 5-star and No. 14 ranked freshman in the 2023 class hasn’t lived up to expectations so far. Highly regarded as one of the best pure scorers in the class, McCain has just eclipsed double-digit scoring totals just twice. In his last two games, the 6-foot-3 talent scored 5 points on 1-7 shooting against Arkansas and 6 points on 3-10 shooting against Georgia Tech.
Duke Blue Devils
While Duke posts a winning record boasting a 5-3 tally, the Blue Devils have hopped aboard the struggle bus as of late. After netting just a loss to No. 12 Arizona paired with four other solid victories, the team from Durham was playing like the No. 7 label attached to its name. The squad has now accumulated back-to-back defeats and is looking out of rhythm. The team lost 80-75 to an unranked Arkansas. Despite being unranked for now, Arkansas is a tough team to play against and Fayetteville is no joke of an environment to play in. However, Duke looked out of sorts along with trailing by a comfortable margin for a majority of the game despite the 5-point final outcome. It followed that performance up with a loss to an inferior Georgia Tech to open conference play 72-68.
Top 5 Games of SEC/ACC Challenge
1.No. 12 Kentucky 85, No. 8 Miami 73
In a battle of two of the best teams in the country, it was the Wildcats that steamrolled the Hurricanes. Kentucky had five of its players in double figures including 21 from Reed Sheppard. Miami was headlined by Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar who had 20 and 19 respectively.
2.No. 17 North Carolina 100, No. 10 Tennessee 92
In another top-25 showdown, the Tar Heels emerged victorious against the Volunteers. UNC had a trio of 20-point scorers in Harrison Ingram, Armando Bacot and RJ Davis. Tennessee was led by a strong showing from Dalton Knecht who had 37 points and 6 rebounds.
3.Arkansas 80, No. 7 Duke 75
The Razorbacks were on a skid, but that all changed when they knocked off the Blue Devils and caused a storm of the court in Fayetteville. Trevon Brazile had 19 points and 11 rebounds en route to the win. Kyle Filipowski had 26 points and 10 rebounds but couldn’t get his team to push past Arkansas.
4.Virginia 59, No. 14 Texas A&M 47
With two of the country’s toughest defenses facing off against each other, it was the Cavaliers who ended up on top. Virginia had five players reach double-digits, which totaled all of its teams points. Henry Coleman did his best for the Aggies with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
5.Clemson 85, No. 23 Alabama 77
Clemson wasn’t intimidated by the ranked Tide and when the clock struck zero it emerged with a win. PJ Hall led the charge with 21, but backcourt duo Joseph Girad III and Chase Hunter chipped in 16 and 15 points respectively. Mark Sears did his best for Alabama by pouring in 23 points.