ACC Basketball: 5 storylines to watch as 2023-24 league play gets going
ACC basketball already has had it's fair share of upsets as the 2024 portion of the season gets set to take place. Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and NC State are the lone teams on top of the standings still at 1-0 as statements have already been made.
The UVA Cavaliers are already 1-1 following an upset road loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this past Saturday. The Pittsburgh Panthers are off to a 0-2 start in conference action. They're one of five teams that are currently winless in conference play as the bulk of the schedule approaches. Gear up, because this season is going to be as unpredictable as ever as talent continues to spread across the ACC and college basketball landscape.
Damon Stoudamire off to a hot start with the Yellow Jackets
Damon Stoudamire and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets already have the rest of the ACC on notice that playing against them won't be an easy affair. The Yellow Jackets already have a 72-68 win over the Duke Blue Devils under their belt, which occurred back on Dec. 2 as they wrap up their non-conference schedule. Freshman Baye Ndongo had a coming-out party of sorts against the Blue Devils with 21 points, five rebounds, four blocks and two assists in the winning effort.
Ndongo is off to quite the start in his freshman debut, as he's producing 11.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 assists per contest on 62.2 percent shooting from the field. He's made an early case for the All-ACC Freshmen squad while his teammates have filled the void in other areas.
Junior guards Miles Kelly and Kowacie Reeves have played their roles in the backcourt. Kelly leads the way with 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest while Reeves is putting up 11.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on 37.8 percent shooting from deep.
They're not unbeaten on the season at 8-4 but they're already battle tested as they head on the road to face a 6-6 Florida State squad on Wednesday night to begin the bulk of their conference schedule. They'll be one squad to keep an eye on as they look to make noise in a wide-open ACC race.