Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Biggest takeaways from opening 2019-20 league games

By Tristan Freeman

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 06: Cole Anthony #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 06: Cole Anthony #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 13: Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers reacts after a play against the NC State Wolfpack during their game in the second round of the 2019 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 13, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 13: Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers reacts after a play against the NC State Wolfpack during their game in the second round of the 2019 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 13, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

It’s going to be a long season for both of these teams

Clemson and Virginia Tech went to battle in what looked like a preview of the bottom of the ACC Basketball basement. The Hokies are basically starting over under first-year head coach Mike Young, while the Tigers are dealing with both injuries (Clyde Trapp) and transfers not getting cleared to play this season (Nick Honor). Neither team is expected to finish outside the bottom-4 this season.

That still doesn’t mean what Landers Nolley accomplished isn’t noteworthy. The redshirt freshmen broke Virginia Tech’s record for a debut with 30 points on 12/23 shooting from the field. His shooting and athletic ability was on display and looked just fine being the No. 1 offensive option. That’s a good thing because the rest of the team combined for 37 points on 10/34 total shooting. If they don’t step up, Nolley will have to go for 20+ just to keep them competitive in the ACC. But his play does create “what ifs” concerning if he was eligible to join last year’s Hokies team.

When it comes to Clemson, the biggest question with them was going to be if they have any quality go-to option on offense. The hope was that Alabama grad transfer Tevin Mack would be that guy but he may ultimately just be a solid role player that can give you double figures any night. Nothing wrong with that but when you have a team with nothing but those kinds of guys, you won’t win many battles.