Again, we will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
We will be using Yahoo:
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Password: acc
Here is the link: http://y.ahoo.it/dHZr68Lp
Go ahead and join today…
The Confidential.
While it is not clear whether the ACC will be able to take pride in 8, 9, or 10 teams in the tournament, the Confidential wants everyone to get excited NOW. We will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
We will be using Yahoo:
Group ID#: 25957
Password: acc
Here is the link: http://y.ahoo.it/dHZr68Lp
Go ahead and join today…
The Confidential.
CBS and Jerry Palm have this cool new feature. Maybe it is not new, but it is new to us, anyway. In any event, you can enter in any college basketball team and see what they need to root for that day to boost their RPI. The link is here: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology/jerry-palm-reader/.
As an example, for Virginia, it lists:
Virginia Tech needs to beat North Carolina State
Game Info: 2:00 PM | TV: ESPNU
Morgan State needs to beat Savannah State
Game Info: 8:00 PM
Florida State needs to beat Clemson
Game Info: 9:00 PM | TV: ESPNU
The out-of-conference games are done. Season 1 complete. The regular season conference games are done. Season 2 is complete. Now the college basketball world heads into Season 3: the Conference tournaments. For the ACC, the tournament kicks off tomorrow with four very good games.
Here is the complete schedule, courtesy of the Bleacher Report:
Tournament Schedule & TV Information
Thursday, March 14 (First Round)
Game 1: No. 8 Boston College vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech, 12 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game 2: No. 5 NC State vs. No. 12 Virginia Tech, 2 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game 3: No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 10 Wake Forest, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game 4: No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 11 Clemson, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Friday, March 15 (Second Round)
Game 5: No. 1 Miami vs. Game 1 Winner, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 4 Virginia vs. Game 2 Winner, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Game 7: No. 2 Duke vs. Game 3 Winner, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Game 8: No. 3 North Carolina vs. Game 4 Winner, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Saturday, March 16 (Semifinals)
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN/ACC Network)
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN/ACC Network)
Sunday, March 17 (Finals)
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN/ACC Network)
The big games to watch on Thursday are the Maryland-Wake Forest and North Carolina State-Virginia Tech games. Maryland is squarely on the bubble. There is no room for a loss against the Demon Deacons. North Carolina State is likely on the right side of the bubble. But one never knows just how at-large spots will be open. The Wolfpack are probably safe, but every year there is a surprise or two. It’s best to remove all doubt when you get the chance to.
More to come later, just wanted to get this out there ASAP.
So we, the Wolfpack nation, were reduced to this: pulling for the Maryland Quitterpins vs the favored Virginia Cavaliers. To make matter worse, the Terps teased us, at times controlling the game before falling short by only four points. So that was that; no first-round bye in the Acc Tournament, instead a meeting with Virginia Tech on Thursday afternoon.
But how did we get to this point? Time for a (not very) nostalgic look back at the 2013 season…
It started with rampant optimism. Many prognosticators had NCSU winning the conference, with at least one preaseason magazine picking the Pack to make the Final Four. The first sign that this might be inacurate came on the sunny isle of Puerto Rico, where State came out flat and lost to Oklahoma State 76-56 in a rout that may not have been as close as the score indicated. While the Cowboys would prove better than expected, the Pack would not meet their lofty expectations at all.
Still, the ship seemed to be righted on January 12th when State dominated then-number-one Duke 84-76. Standing at 14-2 and 3-0 in conference play, the Pack looked like they could handle anybody.
At least until the following Wednesday, when the game that perhaps defined this maddening rollercoaster ride occured: the 51-50 loss at Maryland. That’s when we all had to admit that despite the great recruiting class, despite the preseason predictions, despite last season’s surprise Sweet 16 appearance, this was no Final Four candidate.
There would be other peaks and valleys this year, beating North Carolina in Raleigh, losing to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, but the Pack slid slowly down the ratings from a preseason #6 to the current position of a team unranked but at least certain of an NCAA bid.
If force to give this team a letter grade based solely on the regular season, I would go B-. C+ if not for the split with both Duke and Carolina, B+ if not for the losses to Wake and Maryland, and to FSU when the bye was still ours to lose.
I am a bit disturbed as I check out State message boards around the net. Some are already howling for Mark Gottfried’s head. While much did go wrong this year, I urge patience. We are pretty much guaranteed a second straight trip to the Dance, and as all State fans know, once you get there, who knows? Our lack of depth is all that is holding us back at this point.
As for the upcoming ACC tournament, we open, as mentioned above, on Thursday vs Virginia Tech at 2 pm. We should expect to win that one. Then it will be Virginia on Friday, and I am smelling a Pack victory there as well, although it would be something of an upset. If so, Miami will likely be waiting in the semifinals, and that should be that. But if, and I cannot see it happening, we somehow stun the Canes, either Duke or Carolina will be waiting. I think Carolina; Duke tends to look ahead to the NCAAs and sometimes stumble in the conference tourney.
Anyway, the winner of State/Miami would then face the winner of Duke/UNC. Any matchup of these four teams will be a final for the ages. I think Miami vs UNC, and all bets are off.
So there it is. Another regular season in the books. As we head into the exciting tournament season, here is the final “regular season” weekly Top 12, with 5 precincts reporting:
#1 Duke, 4 first place votes, 59 pts.
#2 Louisville, 1 first place vote, 55 pts.
#3 Miami, 50 pts.
#4 Pittsburgh, 44 pts.
#5 Syracuse, 36 pts.
#6 North Carolina. 35 pts.
#7 Notre Dame, 32 pts.
#8 (tie) North Carolina State & Virginia, 24 pts.
#10 Maryland, 13 pts.
#11 Florida State, 12 pts.
#12 (tie) Georgia Tech & Boston College lemson, 3 pts.
Wake Forest and Clemson got votes in early polls. Only Virginia Tech failed to have ANYONE give them a top 12 vote at any point in the season. Good job firing Seth Greenberg.
How about Syracuse–ranked #4 in one poll and #9 in another. Virginia has a pretty good range too, from 7th to 10th. Notre Dame ranged from 5th to 8th. The remaining teams were not quite as variable.
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your top 12…
While it is not clear whether the ACC will be able to take pride in 8, 9, or 10 teams in the tournament, the Confidential wants everyone to get excited NOW. We will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
We will be using Yahoo:
Group ID#: 25957
Password: acc
Here is the link: http://y.ahoo.it/dHZr68Lp
Go ahead and join today…
The Confidential.
While it is not clear whether the ACC will be able to take pride in 8, 9, or 10 teams in the tournament, the Confidential wants everyone to get excited NOW. We will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
We will be using Yahoo:
Group ID#: 25957
Password: acc
Go ahead and join today…
The Confidential.
This blog entry was contributed by a guest, who chooses to remain anonymous (for now). The Confidential greatly appreciates this guest’s opinion and welcomes others to submit guest entries–whether anonymous or not.
Yes, we have been told that football drives the bus. We get it! ACC football has a lot of questions to answer. But for the purpose of this singular guest blog entry, let us concentrate on what the ACC does historically well … basketball.
For the last 30 years, the ACC and Big East have essentially traded punches in their all-out pursuit of being the dominant college hoops conference in the land. Fittingly, I propose we begin our study with the memorable UNC-Georgetown final in 1982. The conferences clash for the first time. In Dean, MJ, Worthy, Perkins vs. John Thompson, Patrick and Sleepy Floyd. Great theater. And a three-decade long tug of war began with UNC claiming an initial victory.
Including ’82, in 31 seasons, there have been 124 Final Four spots up for grabs. And a team from the ACC or Big East claimed 49 of those berths. That’s a slick 40 percent and that does NOT include FF berths claimed by Louisville or Cincinnati in their pre-Big East days.
Now, the ACC’s immediate future won’t include Big East basketball heavies such as Georgetown, Marquette, UConn or Cincinnati, but it is safe to say when you combined the hoops heritages of (alphabetical order as not to offend anyone) Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NCSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia under one roof, the word “juggernaut” can justifiably be tossed around.
And, one cannot with good conscious sneeze at the histories and accomplishments of schools like Boston College, Wake Forest, Clemson or Florida State. Even Miami looks like a solid #2 seed this year, and Virginia Tech can beat anyone at Cassel Coliseum on a given night.
Oh. Maryland. Never mind. Another topic.
But there is no avoiding the fact that ACC hoops will be King. And it begs the question, what and where is the King’s throne?
My answer is that it should be on ESPN’s Big Monday at 7 p.m.
That’s right. Other than securing a football commitment from the Golden Domers, I think seizing the early slot on ESPN’s Big Monday should be near the top of the ACC’s Honey To Do List.
In the college hoops universe, Tuesday’s are Super, Wednesday’s are wonderful and Thursday’s are weekend-esque, but Monday’s are BIG. They are the proper and fitting platform for Kings.
Think about it.
I also realize there is a reluctance by ACC charter schools to accept anything that might be tainted Big East.
I get it. I graduated from a Big East school. I later worked in an ACC Athletic Department, so I am well aware of and greatly appreciate the ACC’s proud history. I just hope that growth opportunities — such as a unique and almost exclusive platform on Big Monday – are not simply bypassed out of conference spite (a.k.a. anti-Big East bias).
In some limited instances such as Big Monday, what was once terrific for the Big East can render even greater returns for the ACC.
The Confidential 