Daily Briefing — Feb. 14, 2022: ACC — Atlantic Chaos Conference

Oh, and Michigan took its second-straight loss to a mid-tier conference opponent, opening the Big Ten title race back up to Ohio State and the winner of the forthcoming Iowa-Indiana series, Oregon lost the Civil War, and Arizona nearly got swept by Arizona State.

Chaos!

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W Roundup

Free agency

• Nada

Visit our offseason trackers page to see all the free agent moves that didn’t happen yesterday, how they affect team’s caps, and more — in neat, colorful fashion!

Note: TDB is compiled before the weekly AP Poll. All rankings herein are as of Jan. 16.

(All times in Eastern)

Watch List, Monday, Feb. 14

Must-watch

#15 Maryland @ #25 Iowa, 9 p.m., ESPN2

Good games

#7 Indiana @ RV* Nebraska, 7 p.m., BTN

Also watchable

None

Sickos games

None

Pac-12 or Big 10 on national television (or national streaming)

#21 Ohio State @ Illinois, 9 p.m., BTN

Sunday, Feb. 13 recap

#1 South Carolina, #17 Georgia: The Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs, 72-54. South Carolina won the first half 51-25, and then didn’t score for over eight consecutive minutes in the second half — during which center Aliyah Boston shot 0-for-5 and off-ball guard Bree Hall went 0-for-3. The Gamecocks shot 47.5% while allowing 37.1% to Georgia; the Bulldogs committed 19 turnovers. Boston led South Carolina with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double — her 17th-straight double-double — on 7-for-14 shooting (0-1 3pt.), plus two steals, two blocks, and three turnovers; point guard Destanni Henderson scored 15 points on 6-for-10 from the field (2-3 3pt.) with three rebounds and no turnovers; wing Zia Cooke had 10 points on 4-for-9 FG (2-4 3pt.), five assists, and no turnovers.

Georgia was led by center Jenna Staiti’s 15-point, 10-rebound double-double on 5-for-13 from the field (0-1 3pt.) with three offensive boards and three blocks against three turnovers; point guard Que Morrison had 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting (0-1 3pt.), three rebounds, two assists, and two steals against two turnovers.

#2 Stanford: 63-46 win over Colorado. Trailed as late as the early third quarter, before winning the last 17 minutes 32-13. Shot 42.4% from the field while holding the Buffs to 25.9%; notched 12 steals, part of 21 forced turnovers. Center Cameron Brink notched a double-double with 11 points on 4-for-10 FG and 11 rebounds (five offensive) against two turnovers and four fouls in 28 minutes; wing Lexie Hull scored a game-high 14 points on 5-for-12 from the field and 3-for-7 from three with four rebounds (three offensive), and a season-high-tying six steals against two turnovers; combo guard Anna Wilson had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting (0-1 3pt.), five rebounds, five assists, and three steals without a turnover; point wing Haley Jones tallied 10 points on 5-for-13 FG (0-1 3pt.), five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks against two turnovers.

TDB Cameron Brink Foul Watch: Four fouls in 28 minutes today; 5.0 fouls per 40 minutes (14th percentile, per Her Hoop Stats), 6.2% foul percentage (13th percentile) for the season.

#3 Louisville, #18 Notre Dame: The Cardinals beat the Irish, 73-47. The game was tied as late as the mid-second quarter, with Louisville winning the final 26 minutes 56-30. The Cardinals out-shot Notre Dame by 12.7% from the field and 26.2% from three; were a +18 in rebounding margin; the Irish committed 17 fouls. Louisville wing Kianna Smith led with 17 points on 6-for-13 form the field and 3-for-7 from three, three rebounds, and two turnovers; big wing Emily Engstler notched nine points on 4-for-9 FG (0-1 3pt.), 12 rebounds, five assists, five steals, and two blocks against two turnovers; combo guard Hailey Van Lith scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting (0-1 3pt.) against four turnovers; combo guard Chelsie Hall had 13 points on 5-for-7 FG (1-1 3pt.), five rebounds, and three assists without a turnover.

Wing Sonia Citron led Notre Dame with 13 points on 6-for-17 shooting (1-4 3pt.), six rebounds, and two steals against three turnovers; point guard Olivia Miles had 11 points on 4-for-13 from the field and 1-for-6 from three, three rebonds, two assists, and three turnovers; big wing Maddy Westbeld notched 10 points on 5-for-13 FG (0-4 3pt.), eight rebounds (four offensive), and two turnovers.

TDB Louisville Backcourt⁺ Minutes Hierarchy Watch: Van Lith (36), Hall (23), Mykasa Robinson (17), Payton Verhulst (12), Ahlana Smith (11) last night (Norika Konno injured); Hailey Van Lith (674), Chelsie Hall (530), Mykasa Robinson (453), Ahlana Smith (326), Payton Verhulst (260), Norika Konno (185, out since Jan. 16) this season. 

#4 Michigan: 71-69 double-overtime loss to Northwestern. The teams combined to shoot 35.3% from the field and 28.9% from three; the Wolverines assisted on 18 of their 23 buckets; the Wildcats notched 10 steals, part of 19 Michigan turnovers; the teams combined for 42 fouls. Big Naz Hillmon led with a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double on 5-for-10 FG (6-6 FT) with seven offensive boards, plus two steals against four turnovers; center Emily Kiser had 13 points on 3-for-7 from the field and 7-for-10 from the line, five rebounds, six assists, and three blocks; combo guard Danielle Rauch ontched 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting (3-7 3pt.), three rebounds, two assists, and two steals against five turnovers. Northwestern point guard Veronica Burton just missed a triple-double in spite of poor shooting, finishing with 13 points on 2-for-13 from the field (1-5 3pt.) and 8-for-10 from the line, eight rebounds, and 13 assists, plus two steals.

#5 N.C. State, RV Duke: The Wolfpack beat the Blue Devils 77-62. Duke trailed by only one as late as the mid-fourth quarter, before N.C. State closed on a 25-11 run. The Wolfpack shot 57.4% from the field and 54.5% from three; out-rebounded the Blue Devils by 11. N.C. State was led by wing Jakia Brown-Turner’s 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting, three rebounds, and three blocks; center Elissa Cunane had 15 points on 6-for-8 FG, four rebounds, and two assists against three turnovers; combo forward Kayla Jones notched a double-double on 10 points (3-4 FG, 1-2 3pt.) and 11 rebounds, plus three assists; point guard Raina Perez tallied 12 points on 5-for-11 from the field (2-3 3pt.), three rebounds, four assists, and two steals against two turnovers; combo guard Kai Crutchfield played all 40, finishing with 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting (1-2 3pt.), three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two turnovers.

Duke was led by combo forward Lexi Gordon’s 13 points on 4-for-11 from the field and 3-for-8 from three without a turnover; point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson had 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting (0-4 3pt.), two rebounds, three assists, and three steals against two turnovers; center Onome Akinbode-James committed four fouls in 16 minutes, finishing with eight points on 4-for-5 FG.

#6 Arizona: 62-58 win over Arizona State, nearly handing a mediocre Sun Devils team its first season sweep of the rivalry since Wildcat coach Adia Barnes’ second season. Shot 58.1% from the field, but allowed 47.7% shooting; the teams combined for 41 turnovers and 42 fouls. Big Cate Reese led with 17 points on 7-for-12 from the field (0-2 3pt.) and 3-for-6 from the line, five rebounds, and two assists against three turnovers; backup combo guard Madison Conner had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting (2-4 3pt.), three assists, and three turnovers; big Koi Love notched 11 points on 5-for-7 FG, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals against three turnovers and four fouls in 28 bench minutes.

#7 UConn: 72-58 win over Marquette. Trailed to start the fourth quarter, then won the period 27-11. Shot 46.8% from the field and 50.0% from three, but allowed 46.2% shooting; were out-rebounded; forced 15 turnovers. Azzi Fudd once again led the Huskies in scoring, this time with 24 points on 9-for-15 from the field and 4-for-6 from three, plus five rebounds and two assists — scoring in double figures for the sixth time in her past nine games and at least 24 for the third time in the past four; big Dorka Juhász had 21 points on 8-for-15 from the field (3-5 3pt.), four rebounds, and four assists against two turnovers; bench wing Evina Westbrook notched 15 points on 7-for-10 FG (1-2 3pt.), three assists, and two steals without a turnover.

#11 Georgia Tech: 92-84 overtime win over Clemson. This is weird for a bunch of reasons — for starters, Clemson has played eight games against ranked teams (0-8 record), with an average margin of -7.5 points in two games against the Yellow Jackets and a -24.0 average margin in the other six. The Tigers also own two of the four highest-scoring totals against the vaunted Georgia Tech defense, despite owning a 40th-percentile offensive rating outside those two games. The Yellow Jackets have also posted their two highest single-game point totals against a Power 5 team against Clemson, even discounting their overtime points yesterday. Anyway…

Georgia Tech peaked in regulation at a 98.7% win expectancy with a 17-point lead in the late second quarter, then allowed a 30-point frame to the Tigers out of halftime. Shot 55.4% from the field but allowed 46.8% shooting and 42.9% from deep; were a +10 in rebounding margin; the teams combined for 39 fouls. The Yellow Jacket bench did not score a point or even attempt a shot. Combo guard Eylia Love led Georgia Tech with 26 points on 10-for-16 from the field (1-2 3pt.) and 5-for-8 from the line — career-highs in all but free-throw makes — five rebounds, and three assists against two turnovers and four fouls in 38 minutes; big Lorela Cubaj had 22 points on 7-for-10 from the field (0-2 3pt.) and 8-for-10 from the line, four rebounds, and a career-high-tying seven assists against four fouls in 33 minutes; center Nerea Hermosa scored 19 points on 9-for-12 FG with nine rebounds (five offensive) while playing the whole game; off-ball guard Sarah Bates tallied 17 points on 5-for-12 from three (1-2 from two) — all career-highs — a season-high five rebounds, and two assists without a turnover without sitting; point guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen came close to Georgia Tech’s first triple-double in 20 years, finishing with eight points on 4-for-13 shooting (0-5 3pt.), a season-high eight rebounds, and a season-high 12 assists, plus two steals against seven turnovers and four fouls while playing all 45; Love, Hermosa, Bates, and Lahtinen played career-highs in minutes. Combo forward Digna Strautmane missed her second-straight game for undisclosed reasons.

Clemson point guard Delicia Washington led all scorers Sunday with a career-high 40 points on 16-for-23 from the field (3-5 3pt.) and 5-for-6 from the line, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 44 minutes.

#13 Tennessee: 66-52 win over Vanderbilt, the same margin over the Commodores as Mizzou and worse than Texas A&M on Thursday. Make of that what you will. Trailed as late as the late second quarter. Outshot Vandy by 12.1% from the field, but went only 5-for-19 from three; were a +19 in rebounding margin; assisted on 19 of its 23 buckets; committed 19 turnovers; drew 19 fouls. Point wing Jordan Horston led with arguably the best game of her career, a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double on 5-for-9 shooting (3-4 3pt.) with seven assists and two blocks against four turnovers; wing Rae Burrell, banished back to the bench for spacing problems in the starting lineup, scored 15 points on 5-for-13 from the field (1-5 3pt.) with four rebounds.

#14 LSU: 74-58 win over Texas A&M. Tailed in the late third, then won the final 13.5 minutes 33-16. The teams combined to shoot 41.2% from the field, with the Tigers adding 5-for-9 from three and the Aggies 6-for-15 from deep; LSU out-rebounded Texas A&M by 18; drew 23 fouls. Combo guard Alexis Morris led with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting (3-5 3pt.), seven rebounds, and three assists without sitting; point guard Khayla Pointer matched those 25 points on 7-for-14 from the field (2-4 3pt.) and 9-for-10, three assists, and two steals against two turnovers; combo forward Autumn Newby had seven points on 2-for-6 FG, 13 rebounds (six offensive), and two assists against two turnovers.

#23 North Carolina, RV Virginia Tech: The Hokies beat the Tar Heels, 66-61. North Carolina led as late as the mid-third quarter, but Virginia Tech led by 12 points less than 10 minutes later. The Hokies shot 39.3% from deep while holding the Heels to 32.8% from the field and 26.3% from three; North Carolina won the rebounding battle by seven; the teams combined for 23 turnovers. Virginia Tech was led by point guard Georgia Amoore’s 17 points on 5-for-11 from three (1-3 from two), four rebounds, three assists, and two steals; center Elizabeth Kitley had 15 points on 6-for-9 FG, eight rebounds (three offensive), two steals, and five blocks; combo guard Aisha Sheppard notched 14 points on 5-for-12 from the field and 4-for-8 from three, four rebounds, and three assists against six turnovers.

The Tar Heels were led by big wing Alyssa Ustby’s 12-point, 12-rebound double-double on 5-for-17 shooting (1-6 3pt.) with seven offensive boards, two assists, and two steals against three turnovers; combo guard Deja Kelly scored 17 points on 7-for-18 from the field and 2-for-6 from three with four rebounds; backup combo guard Eva Hodgson notched 10 points on 3-for-8 FG (1-3 3pt.), four rebounds, two assists, and two steals against three turnovers.

#24 Oregon: 68-62 loss to Oregon State, the Beavers tying up the Civil War — just the third time in the past decade that the season series has been split. The game was tied in the mid-third quarter at just 36 apiece. The Ducks were out-shot by 8.9% from the field while going 4-for-21 from three and allowing 6-for-9 from deep; were out-rebounded by 15; notched 12 steals, part of 19 turnovers; committed 22 fouls, putting Oregon State at the line 38 times. Point guard Te-Hina Paopao led the Ducks with 17 points on 7-for-18 from the field and 1-for-8 from three, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals; point guard Endyia Rogers had 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting (0-5 3pt.), four rebounds, four assists, and four steals without a turnover; big Nyara Sabally came off the bench for the second-straight game after missing one with injury, and finished with 13 points on 4-for-11 from the field, and 5-for-9 from the line, three rebounds, and two assists in 27 minutes.

Beaver point guard Talia von Oelhoffen scored a game-high 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting (3-3 3pt., 6-6 FT) with 12 rebounds for a double-double, plus two assists and two steals against four turnovers.

RV DePaul: 105-104 double-overtime win over Georgetown. Shot 46.8% from the field and 45.5% from three while allowing 51.2% shooting; were out-rebounded by seven; forced 17 turnovers; the teams combined for 38 fouls. Big Aneesah Morrow led with her 19th-straight double-double with 28 points on 9-for-20 FG (2-3 3pt., 8-8 FT) and 18 rebounds (six offensive), plus four assists and four steals against two turnovers and four fouls in 40 minutes; wing Darrione Rogers had 17 points on 5-for-8 from the field (2-2 3pt.) and 5-for-6 from the line, three rebounds, and three assists against four fouls in four fouls in 34 minutes; off-ball guard Deja Church tallied 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting (1-3 3pt.), five rebounds, three assists, and two turnovers in 48 minutes.

Blown leads

RV Dayton: 60-58 loss to VCU. The Flyers jumped out to a 17-4 lead, giving them a 96.0% win expectancy, before losing the second half 41-31. This loss doesn’t technically put Dayton in the passenger’s seat for the A-10 regular-season championship, but it does mean that they have no cushion should they lose to now-first-place Rhode Island next week.

Cancellations

• None

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*Receiving Votes

+As a pure wing, Kianna Smith is not included here