How the ACC is shaping up

[Duvall]

Carolina is beaten up BIG TIME right now. Until they get Lawson back, they could lose to anyone. They play VaTech today without Green and Stephenson too.

Good call.

[CDu]

Originally Posted by JasonEvans
"Carolina is beaten up BIG TIME right now. Until they get Lawson back, they could lose to anyone. They play VaTech today without Green and Stephenson too."

Good call.

Zing! Green and Stepheson (and the rest of UNC) look like they're feeling okay today. We'll see if the flu wears down Green in the second half. But I'm guessing they'll be fine.

Aside from UNC's health, Va Tech is not helping their cause today so far.

[Indoor66]

He traveled! He traveled! He traveled! He traveled! He traveled!

[JasonEvans]

Good call.

Or NOT!!!

Carolina is running the table until they get to us. I am calling it right now.

--Jason "Oh, and I am an idiot!" Evans

[Lavabe]

Or NOT!!!

Carolina is running the table until they get to us. I am calling it right now.

--Jason "Oh, and I am an idiot!" Evans

There is always the hope that they lose AT NCSU on the 20th...

[keithg]

I want to go on record to say getting Clemson in the semi-finals of ACC tourney probably means playing the second best team in the ACC. They absolutely should be 10-1 right now. The Miami game, with McClinton's three 3 pter's in the 4 minutes was as big of a choke as the first Carolina game...neither being anywhere near the second Carolina game.

They have an very athletic frontcourt (Booker, Mays), good guard (Rivers, Hammonds, Stitt) and very good perimeter defender (Perry) who doesn't mind doing the dirty work...plus they are deep! 9 guys played 10+ minutes today.

I think they will be higher than a 8 seed in the NCAA, but if they aren't...they will absolutely cause nightmares for UCLA, Kansas or Memphis..

[Olympic Fan]

This is as good a time as any to mention that I'm not as psyched about the Raleigh/Charlotte path as a lot of people, particularly if UNC is also in Raleigh. There will be a lot of fans in both arenas that loathe Duke, and while we won't have to travel very far, it'll be a lot more like 4 road games than 4 neutral court games. I just never consider playing in the state of North Carolina to be a huge advantage come tournament time.

There is some validity to your concern -- at least if Duke and UNC end up in Raleigh together. Their fans will buy as many tickets as possible and many of them will stay to cheer against Duke.

That's a good reason for any Duke fan in the Triangle to buy tickets to the Raleigh Subregional NOW!!! Our problem in Charlotte in 2005 came about because we never expected to go there. Remember, all that season, UNC and Wake were the two top teams in the league -- UNC was always expecting to go to Charlotte and they bought up all the tickets. By the time Duke was assigned to Charlotte, the public tickets were sold out and Duke only got a small allotment.

I'm not sure what the ticket situation is for Raleigh, but I know it's to our benefit to buy those tickets up NOW. It doesn't matter what the general population thinks of the two teams, only what the ticket holders think! Wouldn't it be great if the majority of the crowd were Duke fans -- and it was Carolina that got heckled!

If, by some chance, we don't get sent to Raleigh, you know there will be Carolina fans willing to buy tickets.

If we do get the Raleigh-Charlotte route, I wouldn't worry about Charlotte. Carolina won't be there and that means we'll get a friendly arena -- their fans are not so nuts as they'll buy tickets to boo Duke when their team is playing somebody else. Duke has never had a problem in Charlotte -- other than that fluke 2005 NCAA situation.

[CDu]

I think that State and Va Tech, with their losses today, have effectively eliminated their chances of getting an at-large bid.

Maryland and Clemson, with their wins, are moving closer and closer to "lock" status.

[JasonEvans]

I think that State and Va Tech, with their losses today, have effectively eliminated their chances of getting an at-large bid.

Maryland and Clemson, with their wins, are moving closer and closer to "lock" status.

Yup, I concur. State needed to win 2 of their 3 home games against Duke, UNC, and Clemson and they just blew one of them. I think the odds are long that State will beat Duke and UNC down the stretch.

Va Tech is now done. They got whalloped.

The ACC is almost certainly looking like a 4 bid league at this point. But, the way Maryland and Clemson are playing, they could really make some noise in the NCAA Tourney. If they keep on winning against the drecks of the conference, I could see both of them rising up to be #4 or #5 seeds. Clemson is probably there already and Maryland is getting closer because the Terps are playing so well lately to offset their early-season struggles.

The Maryland-Clemson game on Sunday March 2nd will likely determine who is 3rd and who is 4th in the ACC.

--Jason "I'd rather have 4 teams who make waves in the dance than 6 teams, half of whom flame out in the first round" Evans

[MChambers]

Given how you started this thread, maybe you should take a little break from forecasting!

[CDu]

This weekend may have effectively cleaned out the pretenders for the NCAAs. NC State, Va Tech, Ga Tech, and BC all took losses that cripple their at-large chances. They join FSU and Clemson as teams looking toward the ACC tourney as their only real hope (if you can call it that) for a bid.

Miami kept it's hopes alive with a win today at Ga Tech. They're 4-6 in conference, and need to go at least 4-2 (with an ACC tourney win) to get in. That won't be easy. They have to steal at least one of the games against Duke, Maryland, and @Clemson. If they do (and win their last three against the bottom feeders), that'd get them to at least 21-9, 8-8 in conference with wins over Clemson and one of Duke/Maryland/@Clemson. Their RPI would probably be in the 30s, which would be enough. They have their work cut out for them, but it's very much in their own hands.

Wake is alive, but they have a tougher road. They have to play Duke, @UNC, and Maryland, and need to win one of those and win at Va Tech, at Ga Tech and versus NC State. That's not easy, especially given their road woes this year. They can't get in at 8-8 like Miami could, because they just don't have the nice RPI and OOC record (with a quality win @Miss St).

[jimsumner]

Well, there should be a lot of interest in these parts in the NIT. Seriously, the ACC could get eight. Madison Square Garden never looked so good.

[NW Indiana Dukie]

I know there are still a few weeks left but what are the tie breakers for the ACC Tourney? Example: The Holes win out(I know that means DUKE loses to them) and DUKE wins all but the Holes game, who gets the #1 seed? Both teams are 14-2. The breakdown is as follows:
1. DUKE and the Holes Split
2. DUKE loses to Wake and the Holes beat them
each team plays them once.
3. DUKE beats Maryland twice and the Holes lose their only meeting with
them.

[Duvall]

I know there are still a few weeks left but what are the tie breakers for the ACC Tourney? Example: The Holes win out(I know that means DUKE loses to them) and DUKE wins all but the Holes game, who gets the #1 seed? Both teams are 14-2. The breakdown is as follows:
1. DUKE and the Holes Split
2. DUKE loses to Wake and the Holes beat them
each team plays them once.
3. DUKE beats Maryland twice and the Holes lose their only meeting with
them.

It would depend on which team finished higher, Maryland or Wake Forest. The tiebreaker would be based on winning percentage against the team occupying the highest position in the regular season standings. If Maryland and Wake tie, then Duke would get the tiebreaker because its 2-1 record against Maryland and Wake combined would be better than UNC's 1-1 combined record.

[johnb]

Well, there should be a lot of interest in these parts in the NIT. Seriously, the ACC could get eight. Madison Square Garden never looked so good.

That would make it worth the cab ride over...