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View Full Version : This Week in the ACC - 11/25-12/1



pfrduke
11-25-2013, 09:38 AM
Preseason tournament performance has already been better this season than last season for the ACC. Carolina picked up a championship (banner currently being sewn) in the Hall of Fame Tip Off, Clemson was runner up in Charleston, FSU finished 3rd of 8 in Puerto Rico (and really should have been playing for the title - they really blew that Michigan game), and Maryland goes for a title tonight in St. Thomas. All seven of the remaining conference tourneys will wrap this week. I hate to use the ESPN monikers for weeks of the college basketball season, but it really is a feast of hoops over the next several days.

As a reminder, the rankings cited in this summary are from Pomeroy. You'll notice an odd looking number next to Duke in that it starts with a 2 and is double digits, which is the lowest that Duke has sat in the Pomeroy rankings at least since 2007 and possibly in its entire existence. To the best of my recollection, there's been a lot more early season variance in the numbers than in years past - Clemson, for example, jumped from 48 to 27 after its win over Davidson, FSU from 66 to 33 after its win over VCU; on the other side of the ledger, Notre Dame fell from 28 to 58 after losing to Indiana State, and Georgia Tech dropped from 46 to 72 after just a 10-point loss to Dayton. So I suspect we're just one good game from material improvement in our overall ranking. That will have to come on the defensive end, though, where we currently sit at #176.

Monday has all tourney action. Syracuse has an early game in Maui against the Minnesota Golden Gophers - Andre Hollins, the Gophers' lead guard, is extremely good, and a key to the game will be whether he figures out the Syracuse zone. Pittsburgh hits the hardwood at the Barclays Center against Texas Tech, which continues its post-Knight hoops irrelevance (I had forgotten, until looking just now, that Tubby Smith is at the helm this season). And, as mentioned, Maryland goes for a title tonight against Providence - Terps, may this be the last time I have to root for you on behalf of the ACC.

[27]Syracuse vs. [15]Minnesota in Maui
[8]Pittsburgh vs. [123]Texas Tech in Brooklyn
[48]Maryland vs. [38]Providence in St. Thomas

Tuesday has seven ACC squads in action, including second-round action in Maui and (knock on wood) Pitt hopefully playing for another preseason title for the ACC. Virginia and Georgia Tech have host games in their respective tournaments, while BC, NC State, and Virginia Tech get what hopefully will be some easy pre-Thanksgiving appetizers.

[27]Syracuse vs. [33]California/[70]Arkansas in Maui
[74]Boston College hosts [246]Sacred Heart
[124]NC State hosts [167]Florida-Gulf Coast
[137]Virginia Tech hosts [316]Furman
[15]Virginia hosts [207]Hampton
[80]Georgia Tech hosts [349]Mississippi Valley
[8]Pittsburgh vs. [39]Stanford/[165]Houston

Wednesday has final round action in Maui and the semifinal round in MSG.

[27]Syracuse vs. [11]Gonzaga/[34]Baylor/[64]Dayton/[NR]Chaminade in Maui
[28]Duke vs. [45]Alabama in Manhattan

Thursday is Turkey Day - and the start of two more preseason tourneys. Wake has a very difficult draw in the Bahamas, pulling Kansas in the first round, while Miami takes on GW in what used to be the 76 Classic but is now the Wooden Legacy (I'd say going from a gasoline brand to a coaching legend is an upgrade on the naming front).

[94]Wake Forest vs. [3]Kansas in Atlantis
[112]Miami vs. [59]George Washington in Anaheim

Friday has 9 ACC matchups to help you kick your turkey hangover, including (knocking very firmly on wood, crossing fingers, etc.) Duke hopefully playing for its 7th straight preseason title. Interestingly enough, we haven't beaten a Pac-12 team for any of those titles and have played just one anywhere in the preseason tournament route (Arizona State, also in MSG, in 2009 - the infamous "alarmingly unathletic" game). Elsewhere around the conference, Georgia Tech is in Brooklyn for the Barclays Center Classic (possibly the only preseason tournament named after its stadium? Someone needs to put them in touch with the people running the Wooden Legacy for tips on improving naming), Virginia tips off the Corpus Christi challenge (where it should be a huge favorite), and second-round action is underway in the Bahamas and Anaheim. Among the non-tourney games, FSU's trip to Florida really stands out. The Gators follow up their matchup with the Noles with games against UConn and Kansas - would be nice for FSU to be the start of a 3-game losing streak.

[137]Virginia Tech hosts [241]Radford
[80]Georgia Tech vs. [71]Mississippi in Brooklyn
[48]Maryland hosts [279]Morgan State
[28]Duke vs. [9]Arizona/[55]Drexel in Manhattan
[94]Wake Forest vs. [22]Kansas/[128]USC in Atlantis
[112]Miami vs. [72]Marquette/[219]Cal St. Fullerton in Anaheim
[30]Clemson hosts [208]Coastal Carolina
[44]Florida State at [7]Florida
[15]Virginia vs. [60]Southern Methodist in Corpus Christi

Saturday has finals in Atlantis, Brooklyn, and Corpus Christi, a cross-town rivalry in Pittsburgh (one that has been very one-sided of late), and what could be a close matchup for NC State at home.

[8]Pittsburgh vs. [200]Duquesne in Pittsburgh
[15]Virginia vs. [104]Texas A&M/[130]Missouri State in Corpus Christi
[80]Georgia Tech vs. [58]St. John's/[79]Penn State in Brooklyn
[94]Wake Forest vs. [13]Iowa/[32]Xavier/[43]Tennessee/[106]UTEP in Atlantis
[124]NC State hosts [140]Eastern Kentucky

Sunday crowns the final preseason champion (at least in ACC-related events) in Anaheim and gives Notre Dame and UNC their only turkey week action, one at home, one on the road.

[10]North Carolina at [111]UAB
[54]Notre Dame hosts [325]Cornell
[112]Miami vs. [18]Creighton/[36]Arizona State/[67]San Diego State/[218]Charleston in Anaheim

ACC Non-Conference Record: 57-20
ACC Record vs. BCS: 7-10
America East: 1-0
American Athletic: 3-4
Atlantic Sun: 4-1
Atlantic Ten: 3-4
Big 12: 1-1
Big East: 0-2
Big South: 7-0
Big Ten: 0-2
Colonial: 2-0
CUSA: 3-0
Horizon: 1-0
Ivy: 1-0
MAAC: 1-0
MAC: 1-1
MEAC: 5-1
Missouri Valley: 1-1
Mountain West: 1-0
Northeast: 1-1
Ohio Valley: 1-1
Pac-12: 1-1
Patriot: 6-0
SEC: 2-0
Southern: 8-0
Southland: 1-0
SWAC: 1-0
West Coast: 1-0

pfrduke
11-26-2013, 09:03 AM
To the best of my recollection, there's been a lot more early season variance in the [Pomeroy] numbers than in years past

Further (although still anecdotal) evidence of this trend - Syracuse beats Minnesota by 8, jumps from 27 to 13 in the rankings, while Minnesota falls from 15 to 27. It would seem to me like one 8-point game should not cause that significant of a shift in the rankings.

In other news, the ACC has already matched its preseason tourney title performance from a year ago with Maryland's win over Providence, and Pittsburgh will get a chance to make it 3 in the Legends Classic title game against Stanford tonight (I suspect many here will be rooting for the Cardinal and Dawkins, which is understandable, but I'm siding with conference pride). Syracuse's road to the title in Maui likely got easier with Baylor getting housed by Chaminade (FGCU transfer Christophe Varidel, last seen scoring in double digits against Georgetown and Florida during March Madness, hung 42 on the Bears, shooting 10-16 from 3) and Gonzaga dropping to Dayton. Winner of Cuse/Cal gets the winner of Chaminade/Dayton for the title Wednesday.

tbyers11
11-26-2013, 07:06 PM
Further (although still anecdotal) evidence of this trend - Syracuse beats Minnesota by 8, jumps from 27 to 13 in the rankings, while Minnesota falls from 15 to 27. It would seem to me like one 8-point game should not cause that significant of a shift in the rankings.

In other news, the ACC has already matched its preseason tourney title performance from a year ago with Maryland's win over Providence, and Pittsburgh will get a chance to make it 3 in the Legends Classic title game against Stanford tonight (I suspect many here will be rooting for the Cardinal and Dawkins, which is understandable, but I'm siding with conference pride). Syracuse's road to the title in Maui likely got easier with Baylor getting housed by Chaminade (FGCU transfer Christophe Varidel, last seen scoring in double digits against Georgetown and Florida during March Madness, hung 42 on the Bears, shooting 10-16 from 3) and Gonzaga dropping to Dayton. Winner of Cuse/Cal gets the winner of Chaminade/Dayton for the title Wednesday.

First off pfrduke, thanks for writing this weekly post again. One thing though, despite Varidel's 42, Baylor beat Chaminade 93-77. I watched some of the first half and was amazed by not only Varidel's performance but by Jay Bilas gushing over it. I also will be rooting for Johnny and Stanford. I don't feel any allegiance towards Pitt yet.

pfrduke
11-26-2013, 11:26 PM
First off pfrduke, thanks for writing this weekly post again. One thing though, despite Varidel's 42, Baylor beat Chaminade 93-77. I watched some of the first half and was amazed by not only Varidel's performance but by Jay Bilas gushing over it. I also will be rooting for Johnny and Stanford. I don't feel any allegiance towards Pitt yet.

Man, I was convinced all last night that Chaminade won. Even watching the scoreboard on espn.com last night as the game was happening, I thought Chaminade was winning throughout. I don't know how I transposed that result.

matt1
11-27-2013, 09:34 AM
Man, I was convinced all last night that Chaminade won. Even watching the scoreboard on espn.com last night as the game was happening, I thought Chaminade was winning throughout. I don't know how I transposed that result.

The ESPN scoreboard had it backwards.