The ACC Review

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Riquna Williams, Miami

Why "Bay-Bay": The ACC's leading scorer (20.5 ppg), Williams dropped a game-high 23 points on then-11th-ranked Georgetown in an 81-72 overtime victory. She also scored a game-high 18 points in the Hurricanes' 94-32 rout of Alcorn State.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Chelsea Gray, Duke

Why Chelsea: In her first three career starts, Gray averaged 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals as Duke defeated then-No. 7 Texas A&M, previously unbeaten Oklahoma State and Albany. The freshman from Stockton, Calif. hit 52.4 percent of her field goals and 71.4 percent of her 3-pointers.

TWEET, TWEET

Busy day today and 1st day of exams. Feel for our players...probably staying up all night and eating m&m's. At least that's what we did=) - Virginia coach Debbie Ryan

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." - Clemson coach Itoro Coleman

You gotta love when your players show this kind of passion for the game.... http://twitpic.com/3dssj6 - Boston College assistant coach Geoff Lanier

NEW MEDIA NUGGETS

Cierra Bravard and three of her Florida State teammates offer up some compelling thoughts and memories from their recent trip to the Bahamas.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

   - Boston College leads Division I in scoring offense (90.5) and field-goal percentage (51.4) and ranks second in assists (21.0).

   - North Carolina tops D-I in blocks per page (7.7) and turnover margin (10.5).

   - BC's Carolyn Swords continues to lead the nation in field-goal percentage (76.7).

   - North Carolina's Cetera DeGraffenreid is tops in D-I in assist-turnover ratio (6.89).

   - Duke (11-0), Boston College (10-0) and North Carolina (10-0) are three of the nation's 10 unbeaten Division I teams.

ON THE MARQUEE

No eye-popping matchups during a relatively light week as many players will be hunkering down over exams. Still, it could be a significant bounce-back week for several ACC teams in need of a jump-start. So over the next few days our focus will be on:

Tuesday - Wake Forest at South Florida - The Deacs have lost 3 of 4 and will be playing for the first time since Dec. 4.

Wednesday - Clemson at UAB - The Tigers will look to rebound from Sunday's 10-point loss at (Fred) Samford.

Thursday - Presbyterian at N.C. State - Injury-riddled Wolfpack have dropped 6 of their last 8.

Saturday - Virginia Tech at William and Mary - A road win would sure feel good after Saturday's humbling home setback to Robert Morris.

OUR PECKING ORDER

1. Duke (11-0) - Jasmine Thomas' big shot delivered a signature victory against Texas A&M. Pretty cool to see the Blue Devils deploy - and succeed with - five freshmen on the floor at once against Albany.

2. North Carolina (10-0) - The Tar Heels' unquestioned off-court leader, Jessica Breland led by on-court example Sunday, pouring in 24 points to boost the Tar Heels past stubborn UNLV.

3. Boston College (10-0) - The Eagles' 84-75 victory over Rutgers marked the first time BC had failed to score at least 90 points since Nov. 27. Then again, 84 points against the defense-first Scarlet Knights is like 104 points against just about anyone else.

4. Florida State (8-1) - If Sunday's clean, efficient 87-39 rout of Jacksonville State is any indication of how the Seminoles did on the exams that preceded it, FSU must have a whole bunch of 'A' students.

5. Miami (9-1) - The Hurricanes' 81-72 overtime victory over Georgetown was everything we expected - close, entertaining and a showcase for some of the nation's best scorers.

6. Maryland (9-1) - Who says it's not the size that counts? Maryland's starting lineup for Sunday's game against UMBC included 6-3 Tianna Hawkins, 6-3 Diandra Tchatchouang, 6-4 Lynetta Kizer and 6-2 Alyssa Thomas.

7. Georgia Tech (7-4) - No games last week for the Yellow Jackets. But they did come up with this pretty cool story on star Alex Montgomery.

8. Virginia (6-4) - Cavs coach Debbie Ryan said point guard China Crosby is doing well in her rehab from a knee injury in the season opener. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

9. N.C. State (4-6) - The struggling Wolfpack fell behind 28-6 Sunday at South Carolina, making a strong second-half push moot in an 84-75 loss.

10. Clemson (6-3) - Sunday's trip to Samford had danger written all over it. The Bulldogs had won 5 straight, were 3-0 at home and 35-8 lifetime in their 4-year-old Hanna Center. Plus the game drew the third-largest crowd in the history of the building. Add it all up and the Tigers' 58-48 loss wasn't really that surprising. Disappointing, but not really surprising.

11. Wake Forest (5-3) - As with Georgia Tech, no games last week so we'll simply pass along this story on point guard Brooke Thomas.

12.Virginia Tech (5-4) - We're about to see how well the Hokies can respond to adversity, because Saturday's 66-52 home loss to Robert Morris - a game in which Tech trailed by 28 in the second half - was about as adverse as it can get.