It's lonely at the top

[Olympic Fan]

Duke remains a unanimous No. 1 in the latest rankings:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

And for the seventh straight week, Duke is the only ACC team to crack either the AP or the USA Today top 25.

North Carolina is moving up -- they come in at No. 35 in the writers' poll and No. 39 with the coaches.

[dukelifer]

Duke remains a unanimous No. 1 in the latest rankings:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

And for the seventh straight week, Duke is the only ACC team to crack either the AP or the USA Today top 25.

North Carolina is moving up -- they come in at No. 35 in the writers' poll and No. 39 with the coaches.

This could be a problem for NCAA bids and the financial bottom line. The only way for ACC teams to start getting into the upper seeds is to get on a streak and also beat Duke.

[devildeac]

This could be a problem for NCAA bids and the financial bottom line. The only way for ACC teams to start getting into the upper seeds is to get on a streak and also beat Duke.

Ssshhh, don't give them any ideas.:o

[JasonEvans]

The best thing that can happen for the league is for three or four teams to separate themselves from the pack and really put up strong conference records at the expense of the bottom of the league.

If we can keep also-rans GaTech, Wake, and Virginia from winning any games against the top half of the league then we can get 5 teams with 9-7 or 10-6 records and get a meaningful number of NCAA bids.

-Jason "no one beats Duke though, got it?" Evans

[loran16]

The best thing that can happen for the league is for three or four teams to separate themselves from the pack and really put up strong conference records at the expense of the bottom of the league.

If we can keep also-rans GaTech, Wake, and Virginia from winning any games against the top half of the league then we can get 5 teams with 9-7 or 10-6 records and get a meaningful number of NCAA bids.

-Jason "no one beats Duke though, got it?" Evans

Lets be fair Jason......Virginia doesn't deserve to be considered in the same ilk as WF and GTech. They're not good....they're not terrible or an embarrassment to the ACC either.

[Olympic Fan]

The best thing that can happen for the league is for three or four teams to separate themselves from the pack and really put up strong conference records at the expense of the bottom of the league.

If we can keep also-rans GaTech, Wake, and Virginia from winning any games against the top half of the league then we can get 5 teams with 9-7 or 10-6 records and get a meaningful number of NCAA bids.

-Jason "no one beats Duke though, got it?" Evans

Too early to start talking about the NCAA bubble for individual teams, but I would have to guess that the ACC is -- at the moment -- looking at four bids this season.

That's based on the various computer poll rankings. It's interesting that both Pomeroy and RPI have four ACC teams in the range where the automatic bids usually come ... but they have a different four teams.

According to Pomeroy (which I respect more), the ACC should get Duke (1), Maryland (13), UNC (21) and Virginia Tech (26). He has Clemson (50), FSU (52) and BC (55) just outside the normal selection range.

But the RPI (which seems to carry more weight with the selection committee ... and is a better predictor of their action) has Duke (10), UNC (24), Miami (27) and Boston College (36) ... with Va Tech (64) close but not in. Maryland isn't close.

Sagarin is a little less clear -- Duke (1) and UNC (24) are clearly in, while Maryland (45), BC (46), Va Tech (47), Miami (53) are right on the edge with Clemson (60) close, but not in.

Still -- I think four is the consensus at the moment. That's what Lunardi has in this week's bracketology -- Duke a No. 1 seed, UNC and BC as No. 9 seeds and Va Tech as a No. 11 seed. But it's fluid in that he has Va Tech as one of the last four in with Maryland and FSU among the first four out ... and Miami among the next four out.

As Jason suggests, it would really help if the ACC could differentiate itself into a top 5-6 and a clear bottom 6-7. If the ACC broke perfectly, we might get six ... but four is more likely and if the league is too balanced, we might only get two or three.

I agree that sweeping Wake, Georgia Tech and Virginia are the key. I understand loran's objection to lumping the Cavs wit the other two dogs, because they have been MUCH better than Wake or GaTech ... but with Mike Scott now out for the season, I don't see how they can win enough to get into the NCAA mix, so it's better for the league if they keep losing.

The wild card in the equation is NC State. So far, they have done nothing to warrent inclusion as a possible NCAA team (except that they don't really have a bad loss). But they played the great part of their non-conference schedule without Tracy Smith and now that he's back, they seem to be better. If they can prove that by beating -- and finishing ahead of -- some of the ACCs other NCAA teams, their Smith-less losses will to some degree be discounted.

But with Duke the only ranked ACC team -- and clearly the highest in the computer polls -- beating the Devils is about the only way left for the other ACC teams to pick up a quality win. NC State probably needs one more than anybody else -- it would be the best way to prove they are NCAA worthy WITH Smith.

I'm perfectly willing to see the rest of the ACC beat up on Wake, GT and Virginia for the sake of the league's NCAA chances, but I don't want to see Duke helping anybody else out.

[Bob Green]

The wild card in the equation is NC State. So far, they have done nothing to warrent inclusion as a possible NCAA team (except that they don't really have a bad loss).

NC State lost at Boston College tonight 75-66 so their resume stands pat as described above. This isn't a bad loss but it is a game which would've helped the Wolfpack if they could have pulled out a victory. It will be tough to win conference games on the road for most ACC teams this season. The game was tied at 60 before Boston College pulled away with a 15-6 run.

[Namtilal]

NC State lost at Boston College tonight 75-66 so their resume stands pat as described above. This isn't a bad loss but it is a game which would've helped the Wolfpack if they could have pulled out a victory. It will be tough to win conference games on the road for most ACC teams this season. The game was tied at 60 before Boston College pulled away with a 15-6 run.

State will get special consideration due to many games without their best player. They might be able to get a 6 or 7 seed if they finish top 3 or 4. You are quite right, though -- this was one of a few games they needed to start to separate themselves.

[OldPhiKap]

As a proud ACC homer, I can never recall such a wreched and sorry collection as we have this year.

And yet, somehow, VT will get left out and Seth will be mad.

And yet, somehow, UNC will get in and even have a decent seed.

And yet, somehow, Paul Hewill will still be coaching at Tech next year.

Blech.

The good news is: Wake and UVa made recent coaching improvements, and I hope that those will pan out over the next few years when they get their players in. Too early to tell about BC and Clemson.

[Chitowndevil]

The good news is: Wake and UVa made recent coaching improvements, and I hope that those will pan out over the next few years when they get their players in. Too early to tell about BC and Clemson.

Jeff Bzdelik for Dino Gaudio is an improvement?

I do agree that Tony Bennett will end up being an excellent hire for Virginia.

I'm not so sure about Steve Donahue at BC. They are surprising folks this year but I really don't like how they're playing defense- 200th in the country in defensive efficiency (and that's not even last in the ACC; *sigh* Wake).

Final random nugget: The ACC currently has four out of the top 10 teams in the country in defensive efficiency (3- MD, 5- Duke, 7- FSU, 10-... we won't talk about that). VT is also holding strong at #16.

[jimsumner]

State will get special consideration due to many games without their best player. They might be able to get a 6 or 7 seed if they finish top 3 or 4. You are quite right, though -- this was one of a few games they needed to start to separate themselves.

That special consideration only comes into play if State is a bubble team. Right now they aren't. They need to beat some top-50 teams and last night was a golden opportunity. They will have a lot more chances. But the ACC's conference RPI is so weak this season that any ACC team that hopes to make the NCAAs has to separate itself from the pack (ha!ha!). 8-8 won't do it, 9-7 may not do it.

[OldPhiKap]

Jeff Bzdelik for Dino Gaudio is an improvement?



Fair question/comment. Time will tell. It was pretty clear that Dino had lost his team, though, and that a change was not necessarily a bad thing. I seem to recall that Bz helped turn the Denver Nuggets around (for a bit, at least) and his pro contacts probably help his recruiting.

But I'm not saying they traded in a Gremlin for a Corvette. Maybe a Pinto for a Fiesta.