ACC doing well in the Polls

[CameronBornAndBred]

There are 3 teams in the top 10 (UNC-1, Duke-5, and Wake-6), Clemson is at 20, and Miami is just outside the top 25. Good to see the top tier crowded with NC neighbors, proving once again the best basketball in the country is all within 2 hours of Durham.

[CameronCrazy'11]

Wake at 6 is a sham. They haven't played anybody yet. I don't think they win more than 10 in the A.C.C.

[shadowfax336]

6 certainly seems high, but I think you have to realize that College Basketball as a whole is a bit down this year, and some of the traditional powers are struggling. Wake is HUGE inside and has solid to excellent guard play with Ish Smith and Jeff Teague. They'll probably come crashing down to earth a bit sometime soon (at the latest I believe they open up ACC play against a certain team wearing an inferior shade of blue), but don't be surprised if they bounce right back up. There may not be a team in the nation that can match their size inside, and Teague seems to be becoming a star

[wolfpackdevil]

The ACC is doing really good. Clemson, Duke, Carolina, and Wake are all doing really well. Florida State, and NC State both are playing good.

And NCSU will be doing pretty well after they beat Marquette tonight

[jv001]

6 certainly seems high, but I think you have to realize that College Basketball as a whole is a bit down this year, and some of the traditional powers are struggling. Wake is HUGE inside and has solid to excellent guard play with Ish Smith and Jeff Teague. They'll probably come crashing down to earth a bit sometime soon (at the latest I believe they open up ACC play against a certain team wearing an inferior shade of blue), but don't be surprised if they bounce right back up. There may not be a team in the nation that can match their size inside, and Teague seems to be becoming a star

Shadowfax you make a good point about Wake. They beat us last year with the same team plus added 3 very good inside recruits. Teague is a star and plays with lot's of confidence. We could not stop him last year. However Ish looks lost out there sometimes. He's recovering from and injury. If he plays to his potential Wake could be very very good. And I hope they beat the unc tarholes when they play. Clemson must be very good as well but I have not seen them play. Go Duke!

[FireOgilvie]

The bottom third to half of the ACC looks weaker than usual.

The SEC looks terrible. The Pac-10 isn't great either.

[gw67]

Overall, I believe that the conference is stronger this year than last. Two teams that may wind up toward the bottom of the conference, N.C.State and Georgia Tech,have good records but their strength of schedules are among the worst in Division 1. Each plays a good team tonight (State vs. Marquette and Tech vs. USC). How well they play against good competition should be a good indicator for the strength of the bottom 1/3 of the conference.

gw67

[quickgtp]

The ACC is doing really good. Clemson, Duke, Carolina, and Wake are all doing really well. Florida State, and NC State both are playing good.

And NCSU will be doing pretty well after they beat Marquette tonight

That's the kind of optimism I like! I will be rooting for the Pack as well.....

[Bob Green]

Wake Forest plays East Carolina tonight so we will be able to compare Wake to State in terms of performance against a common opponent. My expectation is that Wake will win by a much bigger margin than State's nine point victory, however...one never knows! I view Wake as the fourth best team in the ACC after Duke, UNC, and Clemson.

[Bob Green]

Wake blew out ECU in the 2nd half and won by 41 points with a balanced scoring attack. Five players scored in double figures and James Johnson chipped in nine. Inexperience is Wake's potential nemesis but only time will tell.

[Kedsy]

I view Wake as the fourth best team in the ACC after Duke, UNC, and Clemson.

I think Clemson and (to a lesser extent) Miami are very good, but IMO Wake is clearly the third best team in the conference. Before the season began I was hyping Wake as a Top 10 team by the end of the year. I never imagined it would happen so quickly, but considering this as a "down" year overall in the NCAA I believe Wake to be a Final Four contender (I also think Duke and UNC are Final Four contenders). That doesn't mean they'll make it, of course, because there are a lot more than four teams that should be considered "contenders," but by end of the regular season, I think Wake will be in the discussion. A lot will depend on Ish Smith getting over his injury and becoming a Final Four caliber point guard, which I'm not entirely sure is going to happen. But if it does, watch out.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I gotta ask... a couple of posters have made mention here and I've seen it in other threads... what makes 2008-09 a "down" year for college basketball in general? I can't figure that out and it's bugging me to think that the performance of the this year's top teams is somehow diminished by a perceived lower level of play across the entire field of 344 teams. What measure(s) points to a down year?

[DukeUsul]

I'm not sure people are saying that the quality of the overall field is lower. I think people perceive that there is less quality at the top - i.e., only one dominant team - than in recent years. They thus feel that other "lesser" teams (good teams, or very good teams, but not dominant teams) have an opportunity to step up and have a chance to go further in the tournament than they would were there multiple "crazy good" teams at the top.

[Bob Green]

I think Clemson and (to a lesser extent) Miami are very good, but IMO Wake is clearly the third best team in the conference.

I disagree. Clemson has experience and Oliver Purnell on their side and those two advantages will left them up and over Wake during the upcoming long ACC regular season. What is great is that the season will play out and in the end we will all know which team is better. I love college basketball and I love discussing/disagreeing/arguing/agreeing with everyone on DBR. We certainly live in interesting times.

[Kedsy]

I disagree. Clemson has experience and Oliver Purnell on their side and those two advantages will left them up and over Wake during the upcoming long ACC regular season. What is great is that the season will play out and in the end we will all know which team is better. I love college basketball and I love discussing/disagreeing/arguing/agreeing with everyone on DBR. We certainly live in interesting times.

I can't argue with any of that (after, you know, the second sentence). We'll know who is right in just a few months.

I'd love to see four ACC teams in the Elite Eight. Well, three, after UNC gets upset in the second round by Weber State.

[gw67]

Duke, UNC, Wake and Clemson appear to be the top four teams in the conference this year. I think that Wake and Clemson may tie for 3rd with 11 wins each after looking at their schedules. Clemson only plays Duke and UNC one time each but they meet Wake home and away.

The next four teams appear to be Miami, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Maryland. I expect Miami to win 9-10 games and make the NCAAT comfortably. Tech will probably win 8 games but that may not be enough given their poor RPI at this time. If either the Noles or the Terps win 8 conference games, they will be solid bubble teams because of their early season successes (State is currently 14th in RPI while Maryland is 17th).

I don’t expect BC or the Wolfpack to contend for NCAAT bid but they can be spoilers.

gw67