This Week in the ACC: 11/19-11/25

[pfrduke]

The ACC went 1-for-3 in the pre-Feast Week tournaments, with Virginia Tech being the team to break through in a big win over Purdue, while Syracuse laid an egg in MSG (and Wake did Wake things). Many more opportunities for trophies this week.

Monday

[23]Clemson (-12) vs. [149]Akron in Cayman (11:00)
[1]Duke (-13) vs. [57]San Diego State in Lahaina (4:30, ESPN2)
[10]Florida State (-20) hosts [169]Canisius (7:00, ACCNE)
[3]North Carolina (-25) hosts [174]St. Francis (PA) (8:00, ACCNE)
[88]Boston College (-7) vs. [188]Wyoming in Fort Myers (9:00, FS1)

Tuesday

[65]Notre Dame (-10) hosts [156]Duquesne (7:00, ACCNE)
[31]NC State (-19) hosts [223]St. Peter's (7:00, ACCNE)
[1]Duke vs. [9]Auburn/[69]Xavier in Lahaina (TBD)
[23]Clemson vs. [102]Georgia/[114]Illinois State in Cayman (TBD)

Wednesday

[126]Pittsburgh (+4) vs. [73]St. Louis in Brooklyn (12:00, ACCNE)
[55]Louisville (+8) vs. [8]Tennessee in Brooklyn (5:00, ESPN2)
[15]Syracuse (-18) hosts [176]Colgate (7:00, ACCNE)
[82]Georgia Tech (-17) hosts [301]UT Rio Grande Valley (7:30, ACCNE)
[4]Virginia (-18) vs. [164]Middle Tennessee in Atlantis (9:30, ESPN2)
[1]Duke vs. [6]Gonzaga/[27]Iowa State/[61]Arizona/[76]Illinois in Lahaina (TBD)
[23]Clemson vs. [41]Creighton/[103]Georgia State/[128]St. Bonaventure/[139]Boise State in Cayman (TBD)
[88]Boston College vs. [67]Loyola Chicago/[141]Richmond in Fort Myers (TBD)

Thursday

[22]Miami (-15) vs. [194]La Salle in Fullerton (2:30, ESPNU)
[3]North Carolina (-7) vs. [26]Texas in Las Vegas (7:30, FS1)
[10]Florida State (-16) vs. [163]UAB in Orlando (9:00, ESPNU)
[4]Virginia vs. [32]Butler/[99]Dayton in Atlantis (TBD)

Friday

[111]Wake Forest (-15) hosts [298]Houston Baptist (2:00, ACCNE)
[81]Georgia Tech (-15) hosts [277]Prairie View (4:00, ACCNE)
[55]Louisville vs. [2]Kansas/[34]Marquette in Brooklyn (TBD)
[4]Virginia vs. [14]Wisconsin/[28]Florida/[42]Oklahoma/[86]Stanford in Atlantis (TBD)
[3]North Carolina vs. [12]Michigan State/[38]UCLA in Las Vegas (TBD)
[10]Florida State vs. [44]LSU/[107]Charleston in Orlando (TBD)
[22]Miami vs. [46]Northwestern/[110]Fresno State in Fullerton (TBD)


Saturday

[65]Notre Dame (-4) hosts [70]Depaul (12:00, ACCNE)
[16]Virginia Tech (-18) hosts [167]St. Francis (PA) (1:00, ACCNE)
[31]NC State (-18) hosts [212]Mercer (5:30, ACCNE)

Sunday

[10]Florida State vs. [23]Villanova/[63]Oklahoma State/[109]Memphis/[169]Canisius in Orlando (TBD)
[22]Miami vs. [58]Seton Hall/[71]Utah/[133]Grand Canyon/[210]Hawaii in Fullerton (TBD)

ACC Non-Conference: 46-6
ACC vs. Power 5: 4-2

America East: 2-0
American: 2-1
Atlantic-10: 1-1
Atlantic Sun: 1-0
Big Sky: 1-0
Big South: 2-1
Big Ten: 1-0
Big West: 1-0
Colonial: 4-0
Horizon: 3-1
MAC: 2-0
MEAC: 5-0
MVC: 1-0
Northeast: 2-0
Ohio Valley: 2-0
Pac-12: 1-1
Patriot: 2-0
SEC: 2-1
Southern: 3-0
Southland: 5-0
Sun Belt: 1-0
SWAC: 1-0
WAC: 1-0

[OldPhiKap]

As always, thanks for the work that goes into posting these!

[PackMan97]

State will play it's two toughest games to date, Teams ranked 223 and 212! We still won't know much about the Wolfpack, but winter is coming. The only question is the Wolfpack ready?

[JasonEvans]

State will play it's two toughest games to date, Teams ranked 223 and 212! We still won't know much about the Wolfpack, but winter is coming. The only question is the Wolfpack ready?

Much as I crow about how good the ACC is, our collective non-conference slate has been less than impressive thus far. According to Mr. Pomeroy, here is how the ACC teams rank in SOS:

FSU - 62
VaT - 89
Duke - 143
Syr - 150
UNC - 192
Wake - 198
GaT - 227
Mia - 281
ND - 302
Lou - 331
Clem - 335
BC - 337
Pitt - 340
Vir - 345
NCSU - 350

Just so we are clear, there are only 353 teams in D1 basketball. So, the ACC has 6 teams who's schedule strength is among the bottom 10% in the country. This is so far and away the worst of any major conference, it is not even funny. The worst SEC schedule belongs to UGA at #309... which would be right in the middle of the ACC. Depaul (313) is the only Big East team ranked lower than #300. The Big Ten is bad with 4 teams ranked below #300, but not nearly as bad as the ACC.

This is shameful and I really, really hope this week's tourney games help turn this around a bit. Our league is too good to be ducking quality opponents like this. Frankly, playing a team in the 200s isn't all that different from one in the 300s (especially because the game is almost always going to be on the ACC team's home court). ACC teams should schedule smarter and give themselves a little more of a challenge. The NCAA selection committee is smart enough to know that wins over lousy teams don't tell you much of anything about the quality of a power conference team.

-Jason "I don't have a KenPom subscription, but would love to see if he has full conference SOS rankings" Evans

[pfrduke]

Much as I crow about how good the ACC is, our collective non-conference slate has been less than impressive thus far. According to Mr. Pomeroy, here is how the ACC teams rank in SOS:

FSU - 62
VaT - 89
Duke - 143
Syr - 150
UNC - 192
Wake - 198
GaT - 227
Mia - 281
ND - 302
Lou - 331
Clem - 335
BC - 337
Pitt - 340
Vir - 345
NCSU - 350

Just so we are clear, there are only 353 teams in D1 basketball. So, the ACC has 6 teams who's schedule strength is among the bottom 10% in the country. This is so far and away the worst of any major conference, it is not even funny. The worst SEC schedule belongs to UGA at #309... which would be right in the middle of the ACC. Depaul (313) is the only Big East team ranked lower than #300. The Big Ten is bad with 4 teams ranked below #300, but not nearly as bad as the ACC.

This is shameful and I really, really hope this week's tourney games help turn this around a bit. Our league is too good to be ducking quality opponents like this. Frankly, playing a team in the 200s isn't all that different from one in the 300s (especially because the game is almost always going to be on the ACC team's home court). ACC teams should schedule smarter and give themselves a little more of a challenge. The NCAA selection committee is smart enough to know that wins over lousy teams don't tell you much of anything about the quality of a power conference team.

-Jason "I don't have a KenPom subscription, but would love to see if he has full conference SOS rankings" Evans

There is some small sample size going on here - it’s not even two full weeks into the season. Just this week, the conference is scheduled to play as many as 17 games against top 100 teams, which would help SOS.

[wilson]

VA Tech starting to turn some heads, into the top 10 in ESPN's power rankings this week:

Buzz Williams and the Hokies notched an impressive quality win on Sunday night, coming back to beat Purdue and win the Charleston Classic...Virginia Tech slotted up one spot in the power rankings to No. 10 and the Hokies aren't likely leaving the top 10 anytime soon.

[PackMan97]

BC - 337
Pitt - 340
Vir - 345
NCSU - 350

To be fair...BC, Pitt and State have not exactly been powerhouses over the past 3 years or so. Virginia really has no excuse.

State's schedule gets a lot tougher in the next few games:
11/27 - #25 Wisconsin
12/1 - Vanderbilt
12/15 - Penn State
12/19 - #8 Auburn

There are ways to try and "game" the system by scheduling easy games in the high 100's or low 200's (which any ACC team should win) as opposed to the teams in the 300s. So you go from a 99.9% win chance to maybe a 98.3% win chance. State used to have one of these coaches, and I can't say it was much fun riding out the bubble hoping to get an NCAAT invite.

Coach Keatts doesn't feel the same way. His scheduling philosophy seems to be, play whatever cupcakes we need to get the kinks worked out of the team and then win enough big games no one gives a rats rear about your cupcakes. It worked well last year.

Although if anything, State has to worry about our ACC schedule being too easy this season. I'm certain we have one of the weaker ACC schedules in this era of unbalanced schedules.

Home
Clemson
Virginia
VT
Syracuse
GT

Away
Miami
Notre Dame
Louisville
Duke
FSU

Home & Away
Cheaters
Pitt
Wake
BC


Of the four teams we play twice, only one of them isn't in the bottom 1/3rd (11-15) of the ACC. Not to mention our home slate is slightly easier than our road slate. Definitely a favorable schedule.

[jv001]

Ken now has 7 ACC teams in his top 20. They are Duke, Cavs, Cheats, FSU, VT, Cuse and Miami. He still has Duke #1 after the Zags loss. I thought we might have fallen down to 4 or 5. GoDuke!

[subzero02]

A few ACC teams are in action today. UVA just won the battle 4 atlantis by a score of 53 to 46 against Wisconsin(I was hoping that neither team would Crack 50). UNC should have an easy time against UCLA in their consolation game but I'll be rooting for the upset. FSU faces LSU in the semifinals of the advocare invitational. Both are undefeated and ranked in the top 20 of the AP poll, so I'm expecting an entertaining match up.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

A few ACC teams are in action today. UVA just won the battle 4 atlantis by a score of 53 to 46 against Wisconsin(I was hoping that neither team would Crack 50). UNC should have an easy time against UCLA in their consolation game but I'll be rooting for the upset. FSU faces LSU in the semifinals of the advocare invitational. Both are undefeated and ranked in the top 20 of the AP poll, so I'm expecting an entertaining match up.

I'm quite sure that the UVa-Wisconsin game was the ugliest thing in Atlantis.

[PackMan97]

Houston Baptist?

Wake Forest.

[OldPhiKap]

Houston Baptist?

Wake Forest.

How long does Danny Manning have at Wake? This is brutal.

[devildeac]

Houston Baptist?

Wake Forest.

How long does Danny Manning have at Wake? This is brutal.

And I thought "HB" was the moniker for Hayes Barton Baptist Church or Hayes Barton Methodist Church here in Raleigh, both of which have middle school and high school rec league teams.

[MChambers]

And I thought "HB" was the moniker for Hayes Barton Baptist Church or Hayes Barton Methodist Church here in Raleigh, both of which have middle school and high school rec league teams.

The way Wake is going, they might lose to them too.

[PackMan97]

Mercer pushes State, but the pack wins by four. Certainly a dangerous foe for any ACC team looking past them.

Personal trivia...Mrs pm97 is a mercer law alumnus.