The Confidential

The Pundits Chime in on the ACC Sweet Sixteen Teams

The Sweet Sixteen is the major sporting event taking place right now.  Especially now that Peyton Manning has decided to try to replace Jesus Tim Tebow in Denver.  The pundits have much to say about the ACC teams’ chances at getting to the Elite Eight and beyond.

For some reason, the opinion-makers have decided to rank the 16 teams still alive.  ESPN’s Jason King has this to say about each team and its ranking:

4. North Carolina: Even with point guard Kendall Marshall less than 100 percent — or perhaps out altogether — it’d be foolish to ignore North Carolina’s size, experience and, most of all, talent. Post players Tyler Zeller, John Henson and James Michael McAdoo are all projected as lottery picks in the NBA draft. So, too, is small forward Harrison Barnes, who creates matchup problems for almost every opponent. North Carolina will have a hard time winning it all without Marshall at his best. But a Final Four certainly isn’t out of the question.

8. Syracuse: Thursday’s near-loss to No. 16 seed UNC Asheville created some serious concerns about the Orange’s ability to reach the Final Four without suspended center Fab Melo. Even though Syracuse bounced back with a convincing win over K-State — which was without Jamar Samuels — Syracuse doesn’t have the look of a Final Four team. Jim Boeheim’s squad hasn’t advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2003. I think it will break that trend this season and get to the Elite Eight.

14. North Carolina State: The team a lot of people think didn’t deserve to be in the tournament advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating two higher seeds (San Diego State and Georgetown). Lorenzo Brown averaged 7.5 assists in the two wins, while C.J. Leslie contributed 14.5 points. This is a talented team with loads of length and athleticism. The Wolfpack could give Kansas trouble.

Matt Nortander of CBS as a different set of rankings:

4. Syracuse.  I have bailed a little bit but not that much. I had Syracuse in the Elite Eight before the Melo news and didn’t remove the Orange even after the sophomore center was deemed ineligible. Let us not forget how this is Jim Boeheim’s deepest team. And that Kris Joseph is now pretty incredibly underrated.

5. North Carolina.  Can’t put UNC in the top four if I don’t know if Kendall Marshall is playing. Marshall is motor oil for that offense. Stillman White is about to become the most well-known backup since Curtis Painter. Carolina has all that talent, but its offense is completely different without Marshall’s NBA-level court vision and passing ability. I don’t think the Tar Heels can win the tournament if he’s out for the rest of it. Fortunately, UNC gets a break with Ohio in its regional semi.

14. North Carolina State.  I love the upsets no one calls. The ones that aren’t even incredibly shocking but still camouflaged in the bracket like a lioness in dying beige African vegetation. N.C. State in the Sweet 16 was not one of those upsets. Many people had the Wolfpack getting past San Diego State, and a large subset of those people went a step further and put Mark Gottfried’s team into the regional semifinals. State fans have waited a long time for this. And now they’ll demand it every year, lest they fire another coach who can’t make it happen. Unreasonable expectations! Yes!

Apparently, the consensus is that North Carolina State has little chance of making the Final Four.   George Mason, Butler, and Virginia Commonwealth should provide North Carolina State all the encouragement it needs when it takes on Kansas in its Sweet Sixteen game.