By Sonny Jones
Great night of college basketball along Tobacco Road on Wednesday. N.C. State routs Duke and North Carolina pulls away late to beat Wake Forest.
The Wolfpack and its embattled coach Kevin Keatts made it look easy against the nationally 16th-ranked Blue Devils in winning 84-60. N.C. State scored the first 15 points as Duke missed its first 12 shots and built a 24-7 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. Duke never threatened in losing inside PNC Arena for the fifth time in the last seven games.
By chance, the 24-point loss is Duke’s largest to an unranked team since also losing by 24 to N.C. State on Jan. 7, 1978.
I say “WOLF”, you say “PACK.”
Later in Chapel Hill, R.J. Davis scored 22 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and the Tar Heels scored 32 points off 15 Wake Forest turnovers in beating the Deacons 88-79.
Wake led 64-63 with 10:17 remaining following a pair of Tyree Appleby free throws, but the Tar Heels scored the next seven points and never trailed the rest of the way.
The “Big Four” teams are off to a rather mediocre start in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Duke, UNC and Wake all are 2-2. N.C. State is 2-3. Did you think it would be Clemson and Pittsburgh, both 4-0, as the last two squads without an ACC loss?
• Can we still refer to the “Big Four” as playing along Tobacco Road? After all, tobacco is not the huge cash crop it was back in the day. Should it now be Soybean Road? Peanut Road? Corn Road? What’s the big cash crop now in central North Carolina?
• Looking at the ACC basketball standings, 15 teams is too many teams in one conference. Ten should be the maximum. Of course, the Big Ten, which, you would think, would have 10 teams, now has 14 teams and is going to get bigger. Sometimes bigger isn’t better unless you’re talking about bank accounts.
BOWLS, BOWLS, BOWLS
Heading into the home stretch attempting to watch every bowl game. A couple of games might be difficult to find a replay. So far, I have watched 37 of 42 bowl games either live or on-demand.
Games played: 42 (through Jan. 2)
Games watched live: 22
Games streamed: 15
Games to watch: 5 (Sun, Arizona, Reliaquest, Citrus, Cotton)
• MUSIC CITY BOWL: Iowa 21, Kentucky 0
(Played Saturday, Dec. 31, watched Tuesday, Jan. 3)
Iowa’s Xavier Nwankpa and Cooper DeJean returned interceptions for touchdowns in a game that seemed more like a NFL preseason game than a college bowl game. Neither team had its starting quarterback from this season and neither played its quarterback that will be starting next season. Next season, Iowa is expected to start Michigan transfer Cade McNamara and Kentucky is expected to start N.C. State transfer Devin Leary.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
• 1997 — The second-year Carolina Panthers, behind John Kasay’s four field goals, beat the Dallas Cowboys 26-17 to advance to the NFC Championship game.
POTATO PICKS TO WATCH TODAY
• HOCKEY: World Juniors – United States vs. Sweden, 2:30 p.m., NHLN
• PGA: Tournament of Champions, 6 p.m., GOLF
• NHL: Nashville at Carolina, 7 p.m., BALLY SOUTH
• NHL: Washington at Columbus, 7 p.m., ESPN
• NBA: Boston at Dallas, 7:30 p.m., TNT
• NBA: L.A. Clippers at Denver, 10 p.m., TNT
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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