So Really - Who Out There is Good?

[FerryFor50]

Ok...I'm not sure I'll agree with your argument, but I'd hear it out. The depth in the Big 12 is better than the depth in the ACC? It seems like the ACC has some good teams near the bottom of the conference. What teams make the Big 12 deeper?

And when you talk about the Big 12, don't say anything bad about Ok State. Their football coach is a man! He's 40!

lol

He is a man!

Here's my argument for the other conferences in a nutshell.

Right now, the ACC has 2 locks for the NCAAs, with Maryland/Clemson just needing not to implode before the season ends to get in.

After that, you have a pack of mediocrity - Wake, GT, NCSU, Virginia, BC, Miami... basically the entire conference.

After UNC and Duke, you have an average RPI in the conference of 68.7, which is essentially a conference full of NIT teams. And if you take out Maryland and Clemson (the other near-locks), you have an average RPI of 76.875.

There have been a couple quality wins for ACC teams vs out of conference teams, but I'll concentrate mainly on the head-to-heads between the Big 12 and Pac 10.

Virginia scored an impressive win over Arizona.
BC got destroyed by Kansas.
Georgia Tech played Kansas tough, but lost.
Maryland got beat soundly by UCLA.

That's pretty much it for games between the ACC and Big12/Pac10. The ACC has a 1-3 record, which is a small sample size, so you start to look at the teams themselves.

In my far from expert opinion, here is who I think is well on their way "in" to the NCAAs (barring some freakish meltdown):

Pac-10
Arizona
Arizona St
Stanford
UCLA
Washington St

Big 12
Kansas
Kansas St
Texas
Texas A&M
Baylor
Oklahoma

Now, if we're talking sheer depth, like, can my last place team beat your last place team, then yes, the ACC wins that argument hands down.

But in terms of depth of QUALITY teams, ACC doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.

[ugadevil]

lol
Big 12
Kansas
Kansas St
Texas
Texas A&M
Baylor
Oklahoma

Now, if we're talking sheer depth, like, can my last place team beat your last place team, then yes, the ACC wins that argument hands down.

But in terms of depth of QUALITY teams, ACC doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.

Ok. Fair enough. I think we may have different definitions of depth. For the six Big 12 teams you mentioned, I'd take the top six in the ACC over them. Of course, this is completely hypothetical because we won't see the teams play it out, but I'd take the ACC if the top six from each conference played.

Duke vs. Kansas - push
UNC vs. Texas - UNC
Maryland vs. Kansas State - Maryland?
Texas A&M vs. Clemson - Clemson
Baylor vs. Miami - Baylor?
Wake vs. Oklahoma - depends on where it's played

[FerryFor50]

Ok. Fair enough. I think we may have different definitions of depth. For the six Big 12 teams you mentioned, I'd take the top six in the ACC over them. Of course, this is completely hypothetical because we won't see the teams play it out, but I'd take the ACC if the top six from each conference played.

Duke vs. Kansas - push
UNC vs. Texas - UNC
Maryland vs. Kansas State - Maryland?
Texas A&M vs. Clemson - Clemson
Baylor vs. Miami - Baylor?
Wake vs. Oklahoma - depends on where it's played

I can't see why you'd take Maryland over KSU. I see Michael Beasley taking KSU on a Weber St (Harold Arceneaux), Miami Ohio (Wally Sczerbiak) or Texas (Kevin Durant) type run.

And Texas vs UNC... I think that's a push, too.

[ugadevil]

I can't see why you'd take Maryland over KSU. I see Michael Beasley taking KSU on a Weber St (Harold Arceneaux), Miami Ohio (Wally Sczerbiak) or Texas (Kevin Durant) type run.

And Texas vs UNC... I think that's a push, too.

For KSU and MD, I think they match up well with each other. MD has Gist & Osby down low while KSU has Walker & Beasley. I know Walker & Beasley are more talented, but Gist & Osby outwork a lot of opponents. For both teams, it's a question of consistency. MD has shown that they have the potential to play with anyone, as has K. State. I'd give Maryland the edge with the point guard play.

As for Texas and UNC, it all depends on which UNC team shows up. When UNC wants to, they are as good as anyone in the country. When they play defense and get the ball inside, they're great. It's just a question of committment to those things.

[Duvall]

I can't see why you'd take Maryland over KSU. I see Michael Beasley taking KSU on a Weber St (Harold Arceneaux), Miami Ohio (Wally Sczerbiak) or Texas (Kevin Durant) type run.

I imagine KSU is hoping for more than that. Neither Weber State nor Texas made it out of the second round.

And Texas vs UNC... I think that's a push, too.

At a neutral site, I doubt it's close. Rick Barnes has beaten Carolina exactly once, and I don't expect there to be a second time.