The ACC Review

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Alex Montgomery, Georgia Tech

Why Alex: The senior posted two double-doubles en route to helping Georgia Tech to a 3-0 week over squads that were a combined 17-2 entering the contests. Tacoma, Wash., native, hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 12.6 seconds left to put Tech up 65-63 over Northwestern, then grabbed a defensive rebound and hit two free throws with 1.0 second left to secure the win for the Jackets. Montgomery tallied a career-best 28 points on only 10 made field goals against Northwestern for an incredibly efficient performance. The reigning ACC Sixth Player of the Year also tied a season-high with 11 rebounds against Northwestern.

Against Middle Tennessee State and in-state rival Georgia, Montgomery registered 16 points on only five made shots and 18 points on six made field goals, respectively. For the week, she led the team with averages of 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and was second on the team with 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She converted 58 percent of her field goal attempts and 57.1 percent of her three-point field goal attempts for the week.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ty Marshall, Georgia Tech

Why Ty (say that five times fast):  The Yellow Jackets rookie was second on the team with a scoring average of 12.3 points per game, and added averages of 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Marshall posted her second-career 20-plus point performance against 21st-ranked Georgia as well as hit her first career three-pointer. Against Northwestern, the Upper Marlboro, Md., native, was second in the game with 13 points and four assists, and versus Middle Tennessee State, the rookie tallied 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting in only 19 minutes. Marshall is earning this award for the third time this season.

TWEET, TWEET

Woke up this morning happy and excited about the future of this team!...also feel like a bus ran over me...lol long stretch! Time for r/r - Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph, a day after the Yellow Jackets' feel-good pounding of ranked rival Georgia.

26B -middle seat for red-eye flight from Portland. Desk lady asks me if i wuld mind taking window exit row instead.. I think i luv her!! - Boston College assistant Geoff Lanier

NEW MEDIA NUGGET

I got you...babe?

Believe it or not, that's Debbie Ryan (left) channeling Sonny Bono during her annual promotion for Toy Lift, a local initiative that provides toys and bikes for thousands of less fortunate children in the Central Virginia area. Pretty interesting, Coach. But while we get the whole vertically challenged thing, we still would have liked to have seen you as Cher.

ON THE MARQUEE

Tonight - Texas A&M at Duke, 7 p.m. (ESPN2). Two gritty, defense-first teams. Let's just say we're not expecting a shootout.

Tuesday - Georgetown at Miami. Can Miami's "Big Three" handle the Hoyas' vaunted pressure?

Sunday - Rutgers at Boston College. Irresistible force (B.C.'s high-powered offense) meets immovable object (Rutgers' traditionally stingy defense).

By the way, not sure how stoked people really get about the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but in case anyone's interested, the ACC won for the fourth straight year with a 6-5 advantage.

OUR PECKING ORDER

1. Duke (8-0) - It hasn't always been pretty, but the Blue Devils have avoided any slip-ups despite a demanding, road-heavy schedule.

2. North Carolina (8-0) - Italee Lucas' 34 points helped the Tar Heels ace their first significant test last week vs. then-No. 18 Iowa.

3. Florida State (7-1) - Turnovers (24, leading to 28 Michigan State points) doomed the Seminoles to their first loss of the season.

4. Boston College (8-0) - The Eagles have scored at least 83 points in every game this season, with a high of 113 in last week's overtime shootout with Penn State.

5. Maryland (7-1): How do you make 8,698 Purdue fans quiet down? Rally from 11 down over the final 5-plus minutes to stun their beloved Boilermakers right in front of them. The Terps have now won six straight.

6. Georgia Tech (7-4) - The Yellow Jackets finally reaps some dividends from their brutal early season schedule with Sunday's win over Georgia. And don't overlook last week's 20-point pasting of a good Middle Tennessee State team, either.

7. Miami (7-1) - Not sure what she did in the offseason, but we love the "new" Morgan Stroman. As for her team, the Hurricanes' six-game winning streak has us eager to see how they'll perform against upper-tier opposition. Guess we'll find out Tuesday when Georgetown visits Coral Gables.

8. Virginia (5-4) - The Cavaliers responded well after getting rolled at Ohio State and beat a good - and tricky to defend - Drexel team less than 48 hours later. Consistent offense remains a concern.

10. Clemson (6-2) - The Tigers notched the program's 350th victory in Littlejohn Coliseum with 61-49 victory over improved Presbyterian. Now let's see how well Clemson's act travels - so far all but one game - a 73-59 loss at South Carolina - has been at home.

10. Virginia Tech (5-3) - The Hokies improved to 5-0 at home with Sunday's 53-48 decision over Winthrop, but we remain a bit concerned over why there isn't more separation between Tech and teams of this caliber.

11. N.C. State (4-5): Props to Bonae Holston (18 points) and Co. for a nice win over Illinois. Still, Sunday's 84-75 home loss to USC was the Wolfpack's fifth setback in their last seven games.

12. Wake Forest (5-3) - Poor shooting doomed the Deacons during a forgettable trip to Michigan - the Wolverines' 66 percent shooting didn't help, either - and again at home against Georgetown.