The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Author Archive

29 Dec 2011
1 Comment

ACC Basketball Rankings: December 29, 2011

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  Here is how we view the ACC basketball schools as of December 29, 2011:

1.  Syracuse (14-0)  Still rolling.  Destroyed a decent Seton Hall team in the conference opener.

2. North Carolina (12-2)  The Tar Heels don’t play a ranked team until February 8th against Duke.

3. Duke (10-1)  If Duke wins the next five, including games against Temple and Virginia, they have to move ahead of North Carolina.

4. Virginia (11-1)  The Confidential moved the Cavs ahead of Pittsburgh in the last rankings… and Virginia is now ranked in the polls too.

5. Virginia Tech (10-3)  An upcoming game against Oklahoma State is a rare in-season rematch against an OOC foe.

6. Florida State (8-4)  Loss to Florida was disappointing.  But Florida is really, really good this year.

7. Pittsburgh (11-3)  No excuse for loss to Wagner.  Even the loss at Notre Dame is a head shaker.

8.  North Carolina State (8-4) 2-0 since losing to Syracuse.  All winnable games for a few more weeks.  Need to keep the momentum going.

9. Maryland (8-3) Maryland rises another spot–the Terps have won FIVE in a row now.

10. Wake Forest (8-4)  A few wins in a row now against middling competition.

11. Miami (7-4) Played some tough opponents, but Miami needs to start stringing together wins.

12. Georgia Tech (7-5) Lost to Mercer was unacceptable.

13. Clemson (7-6)  Just not winning enough.  Got to win early in the season to have a chance.

14. Boston College (5-7)  Three in a row going into game against ranked Harvard.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
28 Dec 2011

Conference Scheduling Arrangements–Not Likely for the ACC

Today’s news in college sports is that the Big 10 and Pac-12 have reached an agreement to have conference foes matchup in football every year beginning in 2017.  The arrangement in football will actually lag well behind the other sports, as the conferences hope to have basketball schools play each other next year.  The question, of course, is whether the ACC try to find a similar arrangement.  The Confidential is skeptical that the ACC will try to reach a similar cooperative plan with any other conference.

Unlike the Big 10 and Pac-12, the ACC does not have a conference that is a natural partner/rival.  If the ACC was to try to drum up a similar plan, the Confidential believes that the SEC could work.  While not too meaningful from a geographic expansion standpoint, the closeness of the locations of the schools would perhaps make it even more contentious. In fact, there are already several games featuring rivals from the two conferences.  And there are often games between schools from the two conferences.  So, perhaps the ACC and SEC could consider a scheduling arrangement that builds off of the natural rivalries already being played.

As an example, the ACC and SEC could plan to have games like this in a typical season:

  • Florida State: Florida
  • Georgia Tech: Georgia
  • Clemson: South Carolina
  • Duke: Vanderbilt
  • North Carolina: Tennessee
  • Wake Forest: Mississippi
  • North Carolina State: Texas A&M
  • Virginia: Arkansas
  • Virginia Tech: LSU
  • Boston College: Missouri
  • Syracuse: Kentucky
  • Maryland: Mississippi State
  • Miami: Alabama
  • Pittsburgh: Auburn

Those would be pretty competitive games.  It would also help ensure that the ACC trio of Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Clemson are not at a competitive disadvantage simply because their rivalries force them to play SEC schools.  While not everyone in the ACC can play an elite SEC school, a game against Kentucky or Mississippi State is more challenging than a Sun Belt or MAC opponent.

The detriment, of course, is that such agreements erode scheduling flexibility.  If you are Boston College, 8 or 9 conference games, plus the annual Notre Dame game and a mandatory SEC game would leave only 1 or 2 openings.

But there is an even greater reason for the ACC to eschew a scheduling arrangement like the Big 10 and Pac-12 have reached.  Money.  Both the Big 10 and Pac-12 have network agreements that give tangible incentives to expand the geographic scope of the network.  For the Big 10, it can expand into a new region–say New Jersey to take Rutgers–and reap the benefits of one new market.  Instead, it just gave everyone on the West Coast a reason to want the Big 10 Network.  If that’s the only way to see the big USC-Ohio State game, people will add the channel.

In contrast, the ACC and SEC have deals with ESPN that do not confer a direct benefit for expanding the footprint.  So, in the end, it is difficult to see the ACC trying to duplicate what the Big 10 and Pac-12 have done.  There is just not enough of an incentive to do it.  At least right now.  Time will tell.

What do you think?  Should the ACC try to set-up a scheduling arrangement?  If so, with what conference?

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only and tagged , , ,
28 Dec 2011

North Carolina State Takes Home the Belk

North Carolina State finished the 2011 season with an 8-5 record, after defeating Louisville in the Belk Bowl by a 31-24 score.   Junior quarterback Mike Glennon led the way for the Wolfpack, passing for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

The good game for Glennon was all the more necessary as Louisville was able to shutdown North Carolina State’s ground game.  James Washington was held to 45 yards on 16 carries.  But the passing attack allowed North Carolina State to jump out to a 21-10 lead at halftime.  TJ Graham was the other offensive star, converting 7 receptions into 116 yards and two touchdowns.  Of course, the defense did its part too, scoring on a 65-yard interception return in the third quarter to improve the score to 31-10.

Give credit to Louisville and its coach Charlie Strong.  The Cardinals rallied in the second half to narrow the score after relying on trick plays, such as a fake punt and onside kick.  And freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made it interesting with his 274 yards passing and three touchdowns of his own.  But the damage was done in the first three quarters as North Carolina State got the big lead and held on to the victory.

For the Wolfpack, the season ends on a high note.  After being upset by Boston College, North Carolina State defeated Clemson, Maryland, and Louisville to finish with an 8-5 record.  That’s two bowl wins in a row, following last year’s defeat of West Virginia in the Champs Bowl.

 

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Game Review and tagged , , , , ,
27 Dec 2011

Holiday Break: December 27, 2011

Basketball resumes as a few ACC teams take the hardcourt today!

Virginia hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Pittsburgh travels to Notre Dame.

And then the Belk Bowl kicks off tonight!

 

Posted by acaffrey in Uncategorized
26 Dec 2011

Holiday Break: December 26, 2011

No ACC hoops games for today.   No bowl games either.  Enjoy the time off.

Posted by acaffrey in Uncategorized
25 Dec 2011

Holiday Break: December 25, 2011

No ACC hoops games for today.   No bowl games either.  Enjoy the time off.

Posted by acaffrey in Uncategorized
24 Dec 2011

Holiday Break: December 24, 2011

No ACC hoops games for today.   No bowl games either.  Enjoy the time off.

Posted by acaffrey in Uncategorized
23 Dec 2011

Holiday Break: December 23, 2011

There are only two ACC games scheduled for today.

Maryland hosts Radford.

Pittsburgh hosts Wagner.

No reason for a loss today.

Posted by acaffrey in Uncategorized
22 Dec 2011

Holiday Break: December 22, 2011

There are plenty of ACC games on tap for today.

#1 Syracuse hosts Tulane.

Clemson hosts UTEP in an early game.

Florida State travels to Florida in a big game.

Georgia Tech hosts Mercer.

North Carolina State hosts Northwestern in a pretty big game.

Virginia Tech hosts Eastern Michigan.

Miami travels to Charlotte.

7 games on the slate… how about 7 wins???

Posted by acaffrey in Uncategorized
21 Dec 2011

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for December 21, 2011

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for December 13, 2011:

  1. Syracuse (12-0).  Survived North Carolina State and held off tourney perennial Bucknell.
  2. Ohio State (11-1).  Cruising along, even without Sullinger.  Conference play is here now though.  Indiana on Saturday.
  3. Kentucky (10-1).  So much talent.  Huge game versus Louisville in two Saturdays.
  4. North Carolina (10-2).  Really not too impressive to start the season.  If they lose to Texas tonight, going to have to drop them down to 10th place or so.  The benefit of the doubt is getting weaker.
  5. Duke (10-1).  A real tough schedule to begin the season, but December finishes without much of a test.  If Louisville beats Georgetown and Kentucky, they will be leapfrogged.
  6. Louisville (11-0).  The win over Memphis was nice, but not enough to jump over UNC or Duke.  Georgetown in 7 days though.  And then Kentucky.
  7. Missouri (11-0).  The Tigers are undefeated and have better wins than Baylor and Florida.
  8. Florida (9-2).  Big game against Florida State on Thursday.  Both teams need that win.
  9. Baylor (10-0).  Baylor needs a signature win to start leapfrogging teams ahead of it in the standings.  Not sure West Virginia is it.
  10. UConn (9-1).  That mystery loss to UCF remains perplexing.  The Big East schedule will sort things out.
  11. Georgetown (9-1).  The Hoyas need to take care of business against disappointing Memphis.
  12. Pittsburgh (11-1).  Conference play starts next week against Notre Dame.
  13. Kansas (7-3).  Brutal schedule and lots of good wins.  But need to beat Davidson to stay in the top 10.
  14. Xavier (8-1).  The suspensions hurt, but scoring 42 points against Oral Roberts?
  15. Marquette (10-1). Win over Wisconsin is nice, but losing to LSU is a red flag.
  16. Wisconsin (10-2).  Losses to UNC and Marquette hurt, but Wisconsin has rebounded with a win over UNLV.  And we now know that UNLV is very tough.
  17. Indiana (11-0).  Wins over Kentucky and Notre Dame now.  This team may be for real.
  18. Michigan State (10-2).  MSU may not be top 5, but they have only lost to the top 5.  10 in a row since then.
  19. UNLV (12-2).  Wins over North Carolina and at Illinois are very good signs.  Might be looking at the #3 or #4 seed in the West.
  20. Murray State (12-0).  May run the table.  Who is going to beat them?
  21. Harvard (9-1).  Like Murray State, hard to see where the next loss comes from.
  22. Illinois (11-1).  Once the Big 10 season kicks off, the real Illinois will reveal itself.  For better or for worse.
  23. Mississippi State (11-1).  The loss to Akron remains the only blip.  Some decent wins.
  24. Virginia (9-1).  Hard to tell on the Cavs, but the ACC schedule starting in January will tell the story.
  25. Michigan (9-2).  No shame in losing to Duke.  Still needs more good wins.
  26. Creighton (9-1).  Big game against Northwestern this week.
  27. Northwestern (10-1).  Big game against Creighton this week.
  28. San Diego State (10-2).  Only losses are to undefeated Baylor and 1-loss Creighton.
  29. Stanford (10-1).  Looking like the best of a down Pac-12.
  30. Minnesota (11-1).  Eleven wins is eleven wins.  We’ll see.

If the season ended today, all of these teams could be in the Big Dance.  Time will tell as to how it plays out though…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →