Last week, we analyzed the last decade of ACC performances in football and basketball. There were some surprises. For example, Boston College in football and Florida State in basketball. But what does it mean overall? How about a ranking of the performances of all schools in both sports? Here you go.
Tag Archives: Maryland
ACC Football: Decade in Review
Most sports fans are willing to make fun of a school based on its perceived on-field or on-court performance. Sometimes it is accurate; other times it is not. So, what we set out to do was look at the records of ACC schools in football over the past decade. Who do YOU think had the best record in conference games between 2003 and 2012? Worst? Courtesy of stassen.com, we were able to easily make the calculations.
- Virginia Tech had the best record in ACC conference games this past decade, going 64-20.
- Florida State was #2, albeit significantly behind the Hokies in win total, going 54-29.
- Clemson narrowly edged Georgia Tech for the #3 spot, with a 51-31 record.
- Georgia Tech misses out because of that ACC-CG appearance last year to finish #4 at 51-32.
- Miami comes in at #5 with a 44-35 overall record.
- Boston College has to be a surprise at #6, making it 3 out of the top 6 as former Big East schools, with a 41-38 record.
- North Carolina & Virginia tie at 35-45.
- see above.
- Wake Forest went 35-46.
- North Carolina State went 34-46.
- Maryland went 33-47.
- Duke was 12-68.
So, Big 10 fans, you are getting a Maryland team that was 11th in conference wins the past decade. While Maryland has had financial troubles, they were operating under the same system as the rest of its ACC peers. So, good luck with that.
What do you think the rankings would be for hoops? Would it be Duke, North Carolina, or someone else at the top? Who would be at the bottom?
Lacrosse: Syracuse & Duke win, “Traitorpins” Lose
A great day for ACC lacrosse yesterday, as Syracuse and Duke both won… while the traitorous Maryland Terrapins Traitorpins were upset by Cornell. As you can see from the official NCAA bracket, this means that four teams with ACC ties are still alive in the NCAA elite-eight: Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.
It was not easy for Syracuse, who trailed Bryant, 4-0, before rallying to a 12-7 win. Syracuse also had to overcome losing 22 of 23 faceoffs to Bryant’s Kevin Massa. As Syracuse’s official press release noted, “Sophomore attackman Kevin Rice led the Orange with four points (two goals, two assists) and redshirt freshman Dylan Donahue scored a team-high three goals.” Picking up the win in the crease was Dominic Lamolinara. Syracuse will play Yale in Maryland next weekend.
Duke had it even tougher, as the #7 seeded Blue Devils needed two overtimes to dispatch reigning national champion, Loyola Maryland, 12-11. The hero was freshman attackman Case Matheis, who scored with only 1:40 remaining in the second overtime. But there were many heroes:
Brendan Fowler spearheaded the Blue Devil effort by winning 19 of 26 faceoffs and securing nine ground balls. Josh Dionne and Wolf added two goals apiece, while David Lawson chipped in one goal and three assists as the Blue Devils took 61 shots compared to Loyola’s total of 37. Kyle Turri posted 13 saves between the pipes.
Duke will move on to play Notre Dame in Indianapolis next weekend.
And let’s tall take a moment to laugh at the loss suffered by #6 seeded Maryland. The traitors were not only upset by unseeded Cornell, they were thoroughly demolished–16-8. At home. Given Maryland’s inability to manage an athletic department, it is probably a good thing that they do not need to play any more games. It costs a lot to keep the lights on, etc. Oh well. Those Big 10 partial revenue sharing checks will be coming soon enough.
Ranking the ACC-B1G Challenge Games
The ACC-B1G Challenge games were announced a few days ago. After looking to see who your school played, the next thought was probably to check out whether any other games were intriguing. And there are several. So let’s just go ahead and rank them for interest.
Gold Medal Games:
1. North Carolina @ Michigan State. Tom Izzo v Roy Williams. That’s a lot of Final Four appearances. MSU always reloads, and North Carolina never stays quiet for long. This one should be a battle in Breslin.
2. Michigan @ Duke. Both teams had good seasons in 2012-2013, with Michigan exceeding expectations by making a run to the title game. Both have a lot of production to replace. Will be a great game though.
3. Indiana @ Syracuse. A rematch of a March Madness game that went for the Orange. A lot of new faces in 2013-2014, but a lot of star power will be back and new to both campuses.
4. Wisconsin @ Virginia. The first one to 40 wins? Don’t expect a lot of points in this one. But this is still a darn good matchup.
Silver Medal Games:
5. Notre Dame @ Iowa. Any time ANY Fighting Irish team comes to town, it is a big deal. A nice regional battle too.
6. Penn State @ Pittsburgh. A battle for Pennsylvania. This one should be close too–Penn State has experience coming back.
7. Miami @ Nebraska. The Hurricanes invested in their program by hiring a dynamic coach. Nebraska is investing in its facilities. A better game on the gridiron, but one to keep an eye on anyway.
8. Florida State @ Minnesota. Both teams fell short of expectations last year. A lot of new faces.
Bronze Medal Games:
9. Northwestern @ North Carolina State. This game might be underrated at #9. But until the Wildcats make a Big Dance, it is hard to take them seriously on the hardcourt.
10. Illinois @ Georgia Tech. Still waiting for that Georgia Tech team to turn the corner. Illinois fans may feel the same way.
11. Boston College @ Purdue. Not exactly the old Patriots-Colts battles featuring Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. It is what it is.
12. Maryland @ Ohio State. Big 10 fans will be rooting for Ohio State. ACC fans will be rooting for Ohio State. Not much of a “challenge.”
Participation Ribbons:
Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are left out of the challenge. We’ll give them participation ribbons even though they are not, obviously, participating.
ACC-Big 10 Challenge Schedule
Listening to ESPN Radio on the way home from work and heard that the schedule for next season’s ACC-Big 10 Challenge had been released.
Here’s the lineup:
Tuesday, December 3
Florida State at Minnesota
Illinois at Georgia Tech
Indiana at Syracuse
Michigan at Duke
Notre Dame at Iowa
Penn State at Pittsburgh
Wednesday, December 4
Boston College at Purdue
Maryland at Ohio State
Miami, FL at Nebraska
North Carolina at Michigan State
Northwestern at North Carolina State
Wisconsin at Virginia
Admittedly NC State does not have the most attractive draw. This is only right after the debacle of 2012/13; however I do believe the coming year will see a less star-laden but more focused Pack. Meaning, of course, this game is winnable, especially at Raleigh.
However there are some great matchups here. Duke/Michigan and UNC/Michigan State, of course, but also the Battle of Pennsylvania, Pitt/Penn State; Syracuse/Indiana looks huge; and the first Challenge appearance of the Irish, Notre Dame/Iowa.
There is even a game in which I might end up rooting for the B1G team; er, go Buckeyes?
L-ACC-rosse
Current and Future members of the ACC were well-represented at the Sunday selection show for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse tournament, as 5 of the 16 teams in this year’s tourney can lay claims to the ACC.
The #1 Overall seed, Syracuse, will officially join the ACC in just a few short weeks, and will be sure to bring the Big East Championship trophy (the fourth in as many years) with them to the eastern seaboard.
Despite losing to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament Semis, Notre Dame claimed the #2 overall seed and was closely followed by ACC Champion, North Carolina (#5), Big Ten-bound Maryland (#6), and Duke (#7). The tournament match-ups are after the jump. Continue reading
NBA Draft & The ACC
The April 16, 2013, deadline has come and gone, meaning that anyone who decides to go pro between now and April 28, 2013, will make that decision as a point-of-no-return. That will not stop folks from doing so, but the consequences will be a bit sharper. At this point, those eligible for the NBA draft are what they are. There are a number of ACC players that will be among the players drafted. Who are they?
First of all, who are the early entries from ACC schools so far? CBS Sportsline has a nice list going. Here are the players from the ACC schools on the list:
- Steven Adams, Pitt
- Lorenzo Brown, NC State
- Reggie Bullock, North Carolina
- Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse
- Gorgui Dieng, Louisville
- Alex Len, Maryland
- CJ Leslie, NC State
Second, where will these kids go? Well, here is where Chad Ford slots these guys, and other ACC draft-eligibles, in terms of overall NBA talent:
- Len, #8
- Carter-Williams, #10
- Dieng, #17
- Mason Plumlee, Duke, #18
- Adams, #26
- Brown, #42
- Bullock, #45
- Russ Smith, Louisville, #53
- Leslie, #61
- James Southerland, Syracuse, #81
- Richard Howell, NC State, #82
- Ryan Kelly, Duke, #88
- Michael Snaer, Florida State, #92
A few other players to note. These guys are all still undecided: Shane Larkin of Miami is at #30; Rasheed Sulaimon of Duke is at #48; and CJ Fair of Syracuse is at 71. The decision should be tough for Larkin, but fairly easy for Fair. You want to be pretty certain you get a first round contract if you are going to leave.
The Other Final Four Story
Update II: Disregard the below. The CBI is a 3-game format. Good grief.
Update: Congratulations to the Broncos of Santa Clara for winning the CBI.
THE FINAL FOUR is in Atlanta this weekend. But it is not the only final four in March. There are three other tournaments, including the venerable National Invitational Tournament (the “NIT”), still ongoing. The other two tournaments are the CIT and the CBI. There are more champions to be crowned.
For the NIT, Big 10 basketball is coming to your television set tomorrow. Although it is unclear who televises the NIT, the NIT semifinals include a barn-burner between Iowa-Maryland. It is a barn-burner in the sense that, if Iowa loses, they will set their barns on fire. Maryland, cash poor after being incompetently run for a long long time in the ACC for all these years, does not even have barns. Yet. So this is far from a true, double-barn barn-burner. In any event, this matchup promises to be a preview of all the great Maryland-Iowa rivalry games to be seen in the future. Jim Delaney must be so very proud.
If one game has a rather plain Big 10 aftertaste, the other game has some Big XII intrigue. Current Big XII power Baylor takes on a school that most expansion experts like to shift right into a non-existent Big XII vacancy, Brigham Young University. So we are looking at an NIT final–on whatever day the NIT final is–between teams between the Big 10 (kinda) and the Big XII (OK, a stretch). One of these teams will take home the crown of being #69. Commence giggling.
The CIT and CBI are both are past the final four stage. The CIT is down to its final game, featuring a future member of the “Big East Leftovers,” East Carolina, and Weber State. We are not sure what the CIT was thinking, they are holding this game on the same day as the NIT semifinals. A lot of tough remote control decisions across America.
Did you know? There is no state named Weber. Weber State is in Utah.
Meanwhile, the CBI, which may stand for the Cinderella Basketball Invitation, will hold a championship game between George Mason and Santa Clara. Santa Clara made a name for itself by beating #2 seed, Arizona, in the 1993 Big Dance. George Mason made a name for itself a few years ago, with a magical run to the Final Four.
Did you know? The CBI Tournament Championship Game was actually last night. Do you know who won? Seriously, let us know. It’s hard to find the scores on ESPN.com.
While the festivities in Atlanta promise to be memorable this weekend, just remember that there are other tournaments wrapping up. We’ll even let you root for Maryland. It would be cute if they won something, even if they do end up pawning the trophy to buy socks for their lacrosse team.
Because We Still Pretend to Care About Maryland
Did you know that Maryland is still playing in the NIT? Did you care? If yes, chances are you are a Maryland fan. Actually, chances are many Maryland fans do not care. Anyway, as long as the Maryland Terrapins are still nominally in the ACC, let’s find some Maryland NIT highlights on YouTube.
Here is one.
Oh, wait, that’s more of a Syracuse highlight.
This one is about the NIT. Apparently.
Wow… someone did this. OK. It probably says Maryland in that blurry mess.
Here we go. This is some of the high-quality basketball we’ve all come to expect out of Maryland in the post Juan Dixon era.
Ah screw, it. Screw Maryland.
Time for some more DUNK CITY!
Florida Gulf Coast… the most exciting team since Phi Slamma Jamma.
The ACC & The Postseason
While the Confidential continues to invite fans and friends to join its bracket contest, what about the ACC teams themselves? Well, numerous ACC teams are still dancing.
From a mini-dance standpoint, Virginia and Maryland did not make it to the NCAA tournament, but both were eagerly invited to the N.I.T. Last year’s ACC champion, Florida State, stumbled this year. But they still landed a #4 seed in the NIT and will host Louisiana Tech tonight. Maryland was given a #2 seed and hosts Niagara tonight. Virginia earned a #1 seed and will be hosting Norfolk State tonight. You may recall Norfolk State as a mainstay on the Rutgers’ football schedule.
But everyone is interested in the Big Dance. How about Louisville? Set to join in 2014, everyone knows by now that the Cardinals are the #1 overall seed. Many prognosticators are prognosticating that Louisville will win it all. Giant leap of faith there. But it is hard to disagree with that pick. Syracuse, Pitt, and Notre Dame will be playing ACC games in the fall. But all three are dancing, receiving #4, #8, and #7 seeds, respectively. Pitt may have been screwed with its seed, but it can beat Gonzaga. Will they? We’ll see. Syracuse also got sent to San Jose to play West Coast teams. But they are all dancing.
The ACC is further represented by Tobacco Road, which placed Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State as #2, #8, and #8 seeds. Those seeds seem fair. Miami finishes out the ACC teams with a #2 seed in the East. While a #2 seed is argued by some as unfair or disrespectful, it seems within the realm of appropriate. Remember, the Committee can adjust seeds by one or two places to keep the conferences sorted out and prevent rematches.
In any event, there are eleven ACC teams left standing. This time of year, rivalries are set aside and we can all root for our conference mates…at least until they face each other. So good luck to all ACC teams… may your March Madness continue as long as possible…
