This Week in the ACC - 12/13-12/19
Last week was quiet, and this coming week will be quieter still (at least until the weekend), as is always the case around finals time. But for two losses by the two worst teams in the conference, it would have been an unblemished non-conference week (at least Georgia Tech's was a close loss to a decent opponent, if frustrating nonetheless). The weekend (incl. Friday) features no fewer than 6 chances for the ACC to get wins over teams in major conferences, the top 50, or both.
Monday and Tuesday are dark
Wednesday features UNC-G taking on yet another ACC opponent, although in name only. Wake is much more similar to UNCG in quality than to the rest of the ACC (although not necessarily according to Pomeroy). Florida State takes on in-state foe Stetson, a 3-5 team with losses to Bethune-Cookman and the non-DI Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, and a win over Wake Forest.
[155]Wake Forest hosts [322]UNC-Greensboro
[35]Florida State hosts [271]Stetson
Thursday puts the Wolfpack in action against Youngstown State, a perennial doormat in the Horizon conference coming off a 30-point loss to Robert Morris.
[71]NC State hosts [270]Youngstown State
Rare ACC Friday action as Clemson and Virginia take the court. Clemson should have an easy go of it against Savannah State, while Virginia has much more of a challenge (albeit still a very winnable one) hosting Oregon.
[47]Clemson hosts [304]Savannah State
[85]Virginia hosts [94]Oregon
Saturday is filled with difficult matchups in one of the last chances for the conference to assert its relative strength. Texas and UNC complete their two-season "neutral" home-and-home, this year in a much less football friendly environment. Miami takes on a still-undefeated and (somewhat) surprisingly strong Central Florida team that already owns an upset win over the Gators. Georgia Tech hosts Richmond, which looks to be one of the top 2-3 teams in the A-10 this year. Wake has to travel to Xavier - they'll be a double digit underdog (or at least they should be). And Virginia Tech is playing Mississippi State in something called the "Battle at Atlantis," which I think is basketball-speak for a free trip to the Bahamas for both teams. Only FSU has an easy matchup, and even they're on the road, stopping to play LMU on their way to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic.
[28]North Carolina in Greensboro vs. [22]Texas
[57]Miami hosts [38]Central Florida
[88]Georgia Tech hosts [32]Richmond
[50]Virginia Tech in the Bahamas vs. [105]Mississippi State
[155]Wake Forest at [65]Xavier
[35]Florida State at [157]Loyola Marymount
Sunday pits UNC-G against their 5th (of 7) ACC opponents as they travel to Clemson to take on the Tigers. Also, NC State gets a chance for a marquee win when Arizona comes to town - if they pull this off, this is a win that may very well look much better in March than it does now (Arizona currently coming in as an unranked, but underappreciated, team).
[37]Boston College hosts [328]Bryant
[47]Clemson hosts [322]UNC-Greensboro
[71]NC State hosts [17]Arizona
ACC Non-Conference Record: 74-32
Record vs. BCS: 18-21
AEC: 3-0
A-10: 2-1
A-Sun: 9-2
Big 10: 6-9
Big 12: 4-1
Big East: 4-5
Big South: 4-1
Big West: 3-0
Colonial: 3-3
CUSA: 2-1
Horizon: 1-0
Ind: 3-0
Ivy: 1-1
MAAC: 2-0
MAC: 1-0
MEAC: 3-0
MVC: 2-1
MWC: 0-1
NEC: 2-0
OVC: 1-0
Pac-10: 2-2
Patriot: 3-0
SEC: 2-4
Southern: 9-0
Southland: 1-0
Sun Belt: 1-0
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke