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Olympic Fan
12-31-2008, 12:17 PM
There's a brief blurb in the ACC roundup on the front page, suggesting that every ACC team except possibly Virginia Tech has reached the Sweet 16 before.

I looked it up -- Virginia Tech actually reached the Elite Eight in 1967 under coach Howard Shannon. The Hokies beat Toledo and Indiana to reach the regional finals before losing to the Dayton team that would go on to beat UNC in the Final Four.

I noticed that four of the 12 ACC teams have won national titles (UNC 4, Duke 3, NC State 2, Maryland 1). All are charter ACC members.

I also noticed that that eight ACC teams have reached the Final Four (UNC 17, Duke 14, NC State 3, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia Tech 2 each, Wake Forest 1 and FSU 1 each). That's eight of the nine teams that were in the league before expansion.

Those eight teams, plus three more, have reached the Elite Eight -- Clemson, Boston College and Virginia Tech are the three that topped out at in the regional finals.

The one ACC school that's never reached the Elite Eight is Miami, which has a total of 4 NCAA wins in its history and one Sweet 16 appearance -- in 2000.

Ranked by NCAA wins, the ACC is: UNC 96, Duke 86, Maryland 36, NC State 32, Wake Forest 27, Virginia and BC 22 each, Georgia Tech 21, FSU 12, Clemson 8, VPI 5 and Miami 4.

Reading that list, it's clear how much the ACC hurt its status with expansion -- the three most recent newcomers have combined for 31 NCAA wins, 4 Elite Eight finishes and no Final Fours. Only BC has ANY basketball credibility long-time and they are without a FF appearance.

gw67
12-31-2008, 12:53 PM
Olympic - Thanks for the research. When reading the roundup, I immediately thought of the football schools (Va Tech, Miami, Clemson and Florida State) when I read that statement re Tech. Upon second thoughts, I figured that Florida State and Clemson had made the Sweet Sixteen a few times when both schools had good teams. For those of us who have been around for a few years, ACC basketball is synonymous with the Big Four, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia Tech. Hopefully, the football schools will continue their recent improvement.

gw67

jimsumner
12-31-2008, 01:33 PM
Speaking of that 1967 VT team.

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020107aac.html

Yes, they beat Duke.