ACC: Carmelo (22 ppg) Puts Syracuse Atop Rugged ACC

The last thing the four National Champions competing in our greatest ACC teams of the century tournament needed was Carmelo Anthony and his 2003 Syracuse national champions. With every other team splitting their first two games except for 0-2 Georgia Tech (2004), first place came down to a showdown between Jon Scheyer's 2010 Duke Squad and Carmelo Anthony and company.

Duke led until 10:19 to go in the game, when Warrick drew a crucial 5th foul on Singler and hit a free throw to make it 62-61. Despite Miles Plumlee coming off the bench to finish the game, Syracuse's Duany hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 to play to make it 82-79, and it appeared over when Duke had to foul McNamara and the 90% free throw shooters drained them both for the 84-79 lead. However Duke's Zoubek scored at the other end and drew a foul, and then hit the free throw despite being only a 55% free throw shooter (1-11 good, 12-20 miss on the dice). Scheyer then hit a game-tying shot only to have Duany hit a buzzer beater.

Here are the top five in each category we track in the game, which you can play for free here.

Most points per game ACC	Pts	Reb	Steals	Blocks
Anthony, Syracuse 2003	22.0	7.5	1.5	0.0
Smith, Duke 2010	21.5	0.5	0.0	2.0
Williams J, UNC 2005	18.0	9.5	1.0	1.0
Duany, Syracuse 2003	17.0	2.0	0.0	1.0
Scheyer, Duke 2010	16.5	4.5	2.5	0.0
Most rebounds per game ACC	Pts	Reb	Steals	Blocks
May, UNC 2005	10.5	13.5	1.5	1.5
Warrick, Syracuse 2003	16.0	13.0	0.5	0.0
Williams J, UNC 2005	18.0	9.5	1.0	1.0
Blair, Pitt 2009	11.0	10.0	2.0	0.5
Thomas, Duke 2010	3.0	8.0	0.5	0.0
Most steals per game ACC	Pts	Reb	Steals	Blocks
Scheyer, Duke 2010	16.5	4.5	2.5	0.0
Jerome, Virginia 2019	8.5	1.0	2.0	1.5
Blair, Pitt 2009	11.0	10.0	2.0	0.5
Manuel, Maryland 2002	8.5	5.5	2.0	0.5
Felton, UNC 2005	13.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Most Blocks per game ACC	Pts	Reb	Steals	Blocks
McHenry, Georgia Tech 2004	3.0	2.5	0.0	2.0
Smith, Duke 2010	21.5	0.5	0.0	2.0
Jerome, Virginia 2019	8.5	1.0	2.0	1.5
May, UNC 2005	10.5	13.5	1.5	1.5
May, Maryland 2002	9.0	4.5	0.0	1.5
McCants, Maryland 2002	4.5	2.0	0.0	1.5
Key, Virginia 2019	0.5	0.0	0.0	1.5

Every team has shown the ability to explode and score, and because the ACC is so loaded I am giving them four spots in the tournament while the others all get just the 1st and 2nd place team. All six champions get a huge advantage because they start in the Elite 8, while the other teams must win back-to-back playoff games to reach the Elite 8.

Therefore even though that one last shot by Syracuse dropped Duke from 1st to 4th in the ACC, they would still be in the tournament with UNC 2005 and UVa 2019 if it started today.

Below are the first seven box scores. While the columns look a little funny to the right, that is because the information there is intended to show people playing the game the suggested positions as well as which of the 44 posssessions we usually play each player.

G-F	Poss	Pitt 2009	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
	Pitt 2009	70		UNC 2005		64
G-F	Poss	Pitt 2009	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1		Fields	18	4	1	0	Pitt 2009
2		Dixon	1	2	1	0	Pitt 2009
3		Biggs	10	8	0	1	Pitt 2009
4		Young	22	5	1	0	Pitt 2009
5		Blair	6	7	1	0	Pitt 2009
		Bench					Pitt 2009
		Gibbs	0	0	2	2	Pitt 2009
		Robinson	0	0	0	0	Pitt 2009
		Brown	2	4	3	0	Pitt 2009
		McGee	0	1	2	2	Pitt 2009
		Wanamaker	11	1	0	0	Pitt 2009
		Total	70	32	11	5	Pitt 2009
G-F	Poss	UNC 2005	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1		Manuel	3	1	3	1	UNC 2005
2		Felton	17	2	0	0	UNC 2005
3		McCants	16	4	0	0	UNC 2005
4		Williams J	9	8	1	1	UNC 2005
5		May	6	10	3	3	UNC 2005
		Bench					UNC 2005
			10	3	2	0	UNC 2005
		Noel	3	0	0	0	UNC 2005
		Thomas	0	1	0	0	UNC 2005
		Scott	0	3	0	2	UNC 2005
		Williams M	0	1	0	0	UNC 2005
		Total	64	33	9	7	UNC 2005
Virginia 2019		72		Syracuse		92
G-F	Poss	Virginia	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	33-1	Clark	7	3	0	0	Virginia 2019
2	44-34, 32-1	Jerome	17	1	4	3	Virginia 2019
3	all	Guy	26	4	1	1	Virginia 2019
4	44-33,30-1	Hunter	11	2	0	1	Virginia 2019
5	25-1	Diakite	3	3	0	1	Virginia 2019
		Bench					Virginia 2019
			0	0	0	0	Virginia 2019
			0	0	0	0	Virginia 2019
1,2,4	44-31	Key	1	0	0	3	Virginia 2019
5	39-26	Salt	6	2	0	0	Virginia 2019
5	44-40	Huff	1	1	0	2	Virginia 2019
TO	9		72	16	5	11	Virginia 2019
G-F	Poss	Syracuse	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	all	McNamara	7	1	1	0	Syracuse 2003
2	33-1	Duany	15	1	0	1	Syracuse 2003
3	43-1	Warrick	18	15	1	0	Syracuse 2003
4	all	Anthony	31	7	3	0	Syracuse 2003
5	20-1	McNeil	2	3	0	0	Syracuse 2003
		Bench					Syracuse 2003
			0	2	0	0	Syracuse 2003
			0	0	0	0	Syracuse 2003
2	44-34	Pace	3	1	0	0	Syracuse 2003
3/5	44,31-20	Forth	0	1	0	0	Syracuse 2003
1	44-31	Edelin	3	1	0	0	Syracuse 2003
TO	4	Total	79	32	5	1	Syracuse 2003
Duke 2010		67		Georgia Tech 2004		56
G-F	Poss	Duke 2010	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	all	Smith	14	1	0	3	Duke 2010
2	all	Scheyer	19	7	4	0	Duke 2010
3	all	Singler	13	5	1	0	Duke 2010
4	27-1	Thomas	3	10	0	0	Duke 2010
5	27-1	Zoubek	14	8	0	0	Duke 2010
		Bench					Duke 2010
			0	0	0	0	Duke 2010
4,5	44-28	Plumlee, Mi	3	3	0	0	Duke 2010
5	27-21	Kelly	0	1	2	0	Duke 2010
5	39-31	Dawkins	0	1	0	0	Duke 2010
5	44-40	Plumlee, Ma	1	1	0	0	Duke 2010
			67	37	7	3	Duke 2010
G-F	Poss	Georgia Tech 2004	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	40-1	Jack	13	5	1	0	Georgia Tech 2004
2	44-4,28-1	Elder	15	1	1	0	Georgia Tech 2004
3	34-1	Lewis	3	2	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
4	21-1	Muhammad	2	4	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
5	33-1	Schenscher	8	6	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
		Bench					Georgia Tech 2004
1,2	44-29	Bynum	0	0	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
3	44-35	Moore	11	2	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
4	44-26	McHenry	2	5	0	2	Georgia Tech 2004
4	25-22	Brooks	2	2	2	0	Georgia Tech 2004
5	44-40	Tarver	0	2	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
		Total	56	29	4	2	Georgia Tech 2004
	Pitt 2009	55	Maryland 2002			64
G-F	Poss	Pitt 2009	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1		Fields	8	1	1	0	Pitt 2009
2		Dixon	6	5	0	0	Pitt 2009
3		Biggs	10	4	1	1	Pitt 2009
4		Young	10	5	1	1	Pitt 2009
5		Blair	16	13	3	1	Pitt 2009
		Bench					Pitt 2009
		Gibbs	0	0	0	0	Pitt 2009
		Robinson	0	0	0	0	Pitt 2009
		Brown	5	1	0	0	Pitt 2009
		McGee	0	1	0	0	Pitt 2009
		Wanamaker	0	1	3	2	Pitt 2009
		Total	55	31	9	5	Pitt 2009
G-F+114110:113	Poss	Maryland 2002	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	25-1	Manuel	17	10	4	1	Maryland 2002
2	40-1	Felton	7	5	1	0	Maryland 2002
3	27-1	McCants	9	2	0	3	Maryland 2002
4	29-1	Williams J	9	5	0	1	Maryland 2002
5	44-30,18-1	May	18	5	0	3	Maryland 2002
		Bench					Maryland 2002
			0	0	0	0	Maryland 2002
1	44-26	Noel	0	0	0	0	Maryland 2002
2,3	44-41,28	Thomas	0	2	0	0	Maryland 2002
3	44-29	Scott	0	1	0	2	Maryland 2002
4,5	44-30,29-19	Williams M	4	3	2	0	Maryland 2002
		Total	64	33	7	10	Maryland 2002
Virginia 2019		Maryland 2002				0
G-F	Poss	Virginia	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	33-1	Clark	0	0	0	0	Virginia 2019
2	44-34, 32-1	Jerome	0	1	0	0	Virginia 2019
3	all	Guy	0	1	0	0	Virginia 2019
4	44-33,30-1	Hunter	0	2	0	0	Virginia 2019
5	25-1	Diakite	0	2	0	0	Virginia 2019
		Bench					Virginia 2019
			0	0	0	0	Virginia 2019
			0	0	0	0	Virginia 2019
1,2,4	44-31	Key	0	0	0	0	Virginia 2019
5	39-26	Salt	0	1	0	0	Virginia 2019
5	44-40	Huff	0	1	0	0	Virginia 2019
TO	9		0	8	0	0	Virginia 2019
G-F+114110:113	Poss	Maryland 2002	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1		Manuel	0	1	0	0	Maryland 2002
2		Felton	0	2	0	0	Maryland 2002
3		McCants	0	2	0	0	Maryland 2002
4		Williams J	0	3	0	0	Maryland 2002
5		May	0	4	0	0	Maryland 2002
		Bench					Maryland 2002
			0	0	0	0	Maryland 2002
		Noel	0	0	0	0	Maryland 2002
		Thomas	0	1	0	0	Maryland 2002
		Scott	0	1	0	0	Maryland 2002
		Williams M	0	1	0	0	Maryland 2002
		Total	0	15	0	0	Maryland 2002
Duke 2010		0	Syracuse 2003			0
G-F	Poss	Duke 2010	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	all	Smith	29	0	0	1	Duke 2010
2	all	Scheyer	14	2	1	0	Duke 2010
3	all	Singler	4	1	0	1	Duke 2010
4	27-1	Thomas	3	6	1	0	Duke 2010
5	27-1	Zoubek	5	7	0	0	Duke 2010
		Bench					Duke 2010
			0	0	0	0	Duke 2010
4,5	44-28	Plumlee, Mi	8	6	0	0	Duke 2010
5	27-21	Kelly	9	0	0	0	Duke 2010
5	39-31	Dawkins	8	2	0	0	Duke 2010
5	44-40	Plumlee, Ma	4	1	0	0	Duke 2010
			84	25	2	2	Duke 2010
G-F	Poss	Syracuse 2003	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	all	McNamara	15	2	0	0	Syracuse 2003
2	33-1	Duany	19	3	0	1	Syracuse 2003
3	43-1	Warrick	14	11	0	0	Syracuse 2003
4	all	Anthony	13	8	0	0	Syracuse 2003
5	20-1	McNeil	0	4	0	0	Syracuse 2003
		Bench					Syracuse 2003
			0	0	0	0	Syracuse 2003
			0	0	0	0	Syracuse 2003
2	44-34	Pace	3	1	0	0	Syracuse 2003
3/5	44,31-20	Forth	12	2	0	0	Syracuse 2003
1	44-31	Edelin	10	2	0	0	Syracuse 2003
TO	4	Total	86	33	0	1	Syracuse 2003
Georgia Tech 2004			UNC 2005
G-F	Poss	Georgia Tech 2004	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	40-1	Jack	3	2	1	0	Georgia Tech 2004
2	44-4,28-1	Elder	10	2	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
3	34-1	Lewis	6	1	3	0	Georgia Tech 2004
4	21-1	Muhammad	13	4	1	1	Georgia Tech 2004
5	33-1	Schenscher	7	5	1	1	Georgia Tech 2004
		Bench					Georgia Tech 2004
1,2	44-29	Bynum	3	0	2	0	Georgia Tech 2004
3	44-35	Moore	6	3	0	2	Georgia Tech 2004
4	44-26	McHenry	4	0	0	2	Georgia Tech 2004
4	25-22	Brooks	0	0	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
5	44-40	Tarver	0	1	0	0	Georgia Tech 2004
		Total	52	18	8	6	Georgia Tech 2004
G-F	Poss	UNC 2005	Pts	Reb	Stls	Blks	Team
1	25-1	Manuel	1	1	0	0	UNC 2005
2	40-1	Felton	9	2	4	0	UNC 2005
3	27-1	McCants	9	7	0	0	UNC 2005
4	29-1	Williams J	27	11	1	1	UNC 2005
5	44-30,18-1	May	15	17	0	0	UNC 2005
		Bench					UNC 2005
			0	0	2	2	UNC 2005
1	44-26	Noel	10	0	0	0	UNC 2005
2,3	44-41,28	Thomas	3	1	0	0	UNC 2005
3	44-29	Scott	3	1	0	0	UNC 2005
4,5	44-30,29-19	Williams M	0	1	0	0	UNC 2005
		Total	77	41	7	3	UNC 2005