The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “Syracuse”

03 Nov 2011
3 Comments

ACC Pre-Season Basketball Rankings

As is the case with football, it is a bit difficult to rank Syracuse and Pitt along with the ACC schools.  However, at this stage of the season, a lot of the difficulty is avoided.  After all, nobody has played anyone.  There are no wins or losses to compare/contrast.  So, without further delay, here it goes.

The Confidential’s 2011-2012 Preseason Basketball Rankings:

Tier 1: These fan bases will be disappointed if the dream ends before the Final Four.

#1.  North Carolina.  Maybe it was the risk of an NBA lockout, but when you have three guys of a caliber of Zeller, Barnes, and Henson return, you are going to be #1 in the ACC.  In fact, many have them #1 in the land.

#2.  Syracuse.  All but Rick Jackson return from a team that did quite well last year.  Plus, with Fab Melo down several pounds and much more mobile, there might not be a drop off in the middle.

#3.  Pitt.  More experience returning than Duke, so we’ll give Pitt the edge here.  This may look like a poor selection early on if Nasir Robinson is more seriously injured that it seems.

#4.  Duke.  Too much talent to rank any lower.  Sure, one can worry about the players that left this team, such as Kyrie Irving.  But this team just rotates in elite talent every year.

Tier 2: Big Dance or Bust

#5.  Virginia.  This was a team that won 7 conference games without Mike Scott.  Add him back into the mix and The Confidential sees good things happening.

#6.  Florida St.  Leonard Hamilton has this team on a bit of a roll.  After going 11-5 last year, there is little reason to doubt that the Seminoles will do well this year.

#7.  Virginia Tech.   Poor Virginia Tech.  It seems like every year they are on the bubble.  If they can finish in the top 5 of this year’s ACC, perhaps that will get them over the hump.

#8.  Miami.  I like Jim Larranaga.  After what he did at George Mason, it is hard not to root for him.  I do question how he will do with someone else’s players.

#9.  Georgia Tech.  Glen Rice has been a dominant player for what seems like 25 years now.  What?  That’s his son?

#10.  North Carolina State.  With Lorenzo Brown, North Carolina State may be a bit underrated here.

Tier 3: NIT would be acceptable

#11.  Clemson.  Too much lost talent to be confident that this team will make a run.

#12.  Maryland.  Hopefully, this Maryland coaching transition will go smoother than the football transition.  At #12, this isn’t much smoother.

#13.  Boston College.  No real reason to put them #13.  However, it just feels bad for Boston College to be so down in both football and hoops.

#14.  Wake Forest.  Not persuaded that they are truly #14, but if the debate between #13 and #14 gets the blogosphere riled up…. that would be a strange combination of impressive and pathetic.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
02 Nov 2011
4 Comments

Future Big East vs. Future ACC

The recent addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC is great news for the future.  It is hoped that this move will rejuvenate football, strengthen basketball, add new lucrative markets, solidify the northern core of the conference, and perhaps lead to Notre Dame joining to really add juice to football.  That’s the easy part.

The fact of the matter is that it also weakens the Big East.  While the Big East was likely to lose a team or two anyway, the ACC’s move means that the Big East lost four total teams.  In addition, three of those teams–all but TCU–are great basketball schools too.  The Big East’s loss is the ACC’s gain.  But, forget basketball for a moment, this is all about football.

As of yesterday, the Big East has apparently sent out 6 invitations.  It is expected that these are football only invitations to Boise St., Air Force, and Navy.  It is also expected that these are all-sports invitations to UCF, Houston, and SMU.  While many have characterized this as a move of desperation, how will the future Big East stack up against the future ACC in football moving forward?

Actually, let’s take a step back.  From a prestige standpoint, the new ACC will absolutely crush the Big East.  Even the middle of the pack of the ACC will be name schools, such as Virginia, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, etc.  These are schools that have had football success in the past 15 to 20 years.  BCS appearances.  Bowl games.  National titles even.

Also, this is not about marketing and money.  The new Big East will have new markets, but not domination in markets.  Nobody carries NYC, home of Rutgers.  Louisville splits Kentucky with, well, Kentucky.  Cincy is second chair to Ohio State.  Houston and SMU are behind Texas, Texas A&M, and sometimes Oklahoma in the major Texas markets.  Boise St. is a small market.  Navy and Air Force are national, but nobody is turning in to watch Navy play anyone other than Army or Notre Dame.  USF and UCF still have to get over the big three in Miami, FSU, and Florida.  Needless to say, this is not about $$$ yet.  The ACC wins hands down.

But let’s just look at it from an on-field football performance scenario.  According to the CBS, the new Big East will have the current #5, #14, and #23 teams in the AP poll.  The new ACC will have #11, #12, and #22.  That’s pretty close.  Perhaps even an edge to the Big East?

To go beyond the top 25, one needs to look at the CBS Rankings.  While The Confidential does not pretend that these have any real merit, it is one (albeit very subjective and debatable) measuring stick.

The new Big East has #4 (Boise St.), #8 (Houston), #26 (Cincy), #42 (SMU), #47 (Rutgers), #53 (USF),  #67 (Louisville), #78 (Air Force), #81 (UCF), #92 (UConn), and #93 (Navy)

The new ACC has #10 (Clemson), #12 (Virginia Tech), #24 (Georgia Tech), #32 (UNC), #41 (FSU), #45 (Miami), #46 (Wake Forest), #51 (Syracuse), #58 (Virginia), #75 (NC State), #77 (Pitt), #87 (Duke), #101 (Maryland), and #104 (BC).

Top 25: ACC 3, Big East 2 (could easily be 3)

Top 50: ACC 7 (could be 8 with Syracuse), Big East 5.

Edge for the ACC.  Although it should be noted that the ACC does have more teams.  And the Big East does not have teams in the bottom 25.

The bigger question, of course, is whether Boise St., Houston, and SMU can sustain their current rankings.  The ACC knows that it will have 2 or 3 ranked teams every year.  By moving to 12 teams, the Big East makes it far more likely that they will avoid the embarrassment of finishing a season shut out of the top 25.

Finally, let’s not ignore schedule here.  If all teams played a schedule at the same level, there is little doubt that these rankings would get shaken up considerably.  Boise St. has played Georgia.  Cincinnati lost to NC State, despite the 50 placement gap in these CBS rankings.  Cincy destroyed NC State, but lost to struggling Tennessee.  FSU lost to Oklahoma.  Miami lost to Kansas State.  UNC beat Rutgers.  However, given that the Big East teams will not have the elite opponents on the schedule, they are going to benefit by having a better, but emptier, record.  This is something that the ACC will just have to overcome. But, all-in-all, it sure looks like the Big East is not going to fall off the map here.

What do you think?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
01 Nov 2011

West Virginia Sues Big East

Apparently, West Virginia is serious about leaving the Big East in time for 2012.  West Virginia has now filed a lawsuit against the Big East seeking to confirm that it may do so.  The import of this lawsuit is that it may lead to negotiations with West Virginia that ultimately pave the way for Pitt and Syracuse to join the ACC sooner.

The Confidential is not impressed with the merits of the West Virginia lawsuit.  It reads as little more than an air of “gripes” against the Big East, which–while perhaps legitimate–do not have anything to do with the negotiated 27-month period before exiting.  The 27-month period recognizes that schools can become dissatisfied and leave.  Unlike an at-will employee, West Virginia just has to provide 27-months notice.  As a practical matter, the waiting period gives the Big East ample time to find a suitable replacement and readjust schedules.  The waiting period is certainly logical.

However, the Confidential is also not persuaded that this is a lawsuit that West Virginia expects to win.  Instead, West Virginia expects the Big East to countersue for the damages caused by West Virginia not abiding to the 27-month waiting period.  This is where things get much more beneficial for West Virginia.

As a primer, it is a misconception that one cannot breach a contract.  A person is free to breach any contract he or she wants.  Among the purposes of a contract are to give the other party the right to sue for damages if there is a breach of contract.  In the absence of a contract, West Virginia could do what it wants.  With a contract, West Virginia may be sued for damages.

The mere fact that West Virginia intends to breach a contract is not proof of the Big East’s damages.  Think about it logically.  You hire a landscaper to mow your own once a week for $25 for the summer.  The landscaper calls you up and says I cannot do it anymore.  You hire another landscaper, who charges $45 a week because his slate is full.  Your damages are $20/week because of the breach of contract.  You could sue for that (but wouldn’t due to the low amount, obviously).  However, what if you hired a neighborhood teen to mow the lawn for $25 a week and this teen does just as good a job as the landscaper?  In that instance, you would not incur damages from the breach.  So the landscaper is off the hook, even though he breached the contract.

With respect to West Virginia’s situation, the Big East would have to prove damages caused by West Virginia not fulfilling its 27-month waiting period.  If West Virginia agrees to stay for 10 months, rather than 27 months, the Big East would have to prove the damages caused by West Virginia’s refusal to stay that extra 17 months.

But with good lawyering and a competent judge, West Virginia should be able to show that these damages do not include the damages caused by West Virginia leaving the conference generally.  The contract allows West Virginia to leave.  The only issue is leaving early.  If so, West Virginia should not be responsible for a reduction in television contract revenue or change in bowl structure.

If West Virginia cannot be replaced by 2012, this would leave a vacancy for the Big East.  In that circumstance, the schools might have to hire replacement opponents for football.  The costs there might be an element of damages, but no more than a few million dollars.  Basketball is unlikely to present this problem.  West Virginia would gladly agree to pay an extra few million to leave the conference.

Perhaps the schools could seek differences in attendance.  But that would be awfully hard to prove.  If 35,000 people show up to watch Rutgers host replacement Florida International, how does Rutgers prove that West Virginia would have drawn more?  Attendance is driven by the rankings on the schools.  If Rutgers was having a poor season, the quality of the opponent would not matter as much.  If West Virginia is having a down season, they are less of a draw for the home team.  And one can only guess as to the records when the schedules are revised.  Plus, who is to say what week each game would be.  It all gets very speculative and difficult to prove with much certainty.  It does not make it impossible, but it would give the Big East reason to negotiate.  In the end, it can be expected that this lawsuit will lead to a quicker resolution of the departure period and additional cost of doing so than would have been otherwise reached.

Returning to the ACC, the quicker that West Virginia and the Big East sort this out, the quicker that a “precedent” can be set for Syracuse and Pitt to depart.  If, for example, West Virginia settles with the Big East for $4 million extra, Pitt and Syracuse can approach the Big East with the same offer.  In essence, the ACC, Pitt, and Syracuse get to allow West Virginia and the Big XII do their dirty work for them.  The West Virginia lawsuit may lead to earlier realignment for the ACC.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment and tagged , , ,
31 Oct 2011

ACC Football Rankings

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 football schools as of October 31, 2011:

1.  Clemson–The Confidential is sticking with Clemson here.  Losing to Georgia Tech was disappointing, but not disastrous.

2. Virginia Tech–hard to move the Hokies after they only barely beat Duke.

3. Georgia Tech–the win over Clemson gets things back on track.

4. Florida State–dominant win over North Carolina State suggests that better times are ahead.

5. Miami–the loss to Virginia is a step backward.

6. North Carolina– Almost moved the Tarheels ahead of Miami.  Impressive win over Wake Forest.

7.  Syracuse– Hugely disappointing loss to Louisville.  They get the edge with the win over Wake Forest.

8.  Wake Forest–Needed that North Carolina win to get to the next level.

9.  Virginia– With wins over Miami and Georgia Tech, this is the one team that may be significantly underrated at this point.  The Confidential is feeling a bit guilty here.

10. Pittsburgh— A win over UConn without their best player gets them the nod here, but it may be a short-lived stay this high.

11.  Duke—Playing the Hokies close is better than getting shellacked by the Seminoles.  We still expect NC State and Duke to flip.

12. North Carolina State–hard to not penalize a team that did not score.  I am sure the Wolfpack will rise up a few slots soon enough.

13. Boston College– the head-to-head matters, but the fact that Maryland just seems to have quit on Edsall carries the day.

14. Maryland- Beating Boston College to go to 3-5 was imperative.  This team is reeling.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
28 Oct 2011

Tarheels Top Preseason AP Poll

The Preseason AP poll has been released and the North Carolina Tarheels were ranked #1.

The Complete Poll is as follows:

1. N. Carolina (62), 1,620
2. Kentucky, 1,501
3. Ohio St. (1), 1,482
4. UConn (2), 1,433
5. Syracuse, 1,338
6. Duke, 1,301
7. Vanderbilt, 1,120
8. Florida, 1,086
9. Louisville, 1,055
10. Pittsburgh, 1,027
11. Memphis, 997
12. Baylor, 892
13. Kansas, 755
14. Xavier, 747
15. Wisconsin, 720
16. Arizona, 616
17. UCLA, 404
18. Michigan, 401
19. Alabama, 395
20. Texas A&M, 357
21. Cincinnati, 353
22. Marquette, 335
23. Gonzaga, 283
24. California, 230
25. Missouri, 139
Others receiving votes: Florida St. 131, Michigan St. 128, Temple 69, Washington 44, New Mexico 33, Butler 25, Texas 21, Villanova 14, Creighton 12, Purdue 10, Belmont 8, Drexel 8, UNLV 7, Saint Mary’s (Cal) 6, George Mason 5, West Virginia 4, Long Beach St. 3, Miami 3, Harvard 2, Illinois 2, Marshall 1, Minnesota 1, San Diego St. 1.

The future version of the ACC has 4 of the top 10 teams, but nobody else in the top 25.  And of the four teams ranked in the top 10, Syracuse and Pitt are so ranked as current members of the Big East.  That makes the conference both top-heavy and weak heading into the season.  A few teams are going to need to have surprising seasons for the conference to generate respect.  Interestingly, perennial football powers Florida St. and Miami were among the others receiving votes.

It is notable that, even removing Big East defectors Syracuse, Pitt, and (now) West Virginia, the Big East still has the #4 team (UConn), the #9 team (Louisville), the #21 team (Cincinnati), the #22 team (Marquette), and Villanova also receiving votes.  The addition of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC will undoubtedly even the gap in future seasons.

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

Expansion Sooner?

The Big XII’s decision to accept West Virginia to get to 10 schools seemingly does not involve the ACC.  To be sure, The Confidential was a bit more supportive than others of the ACC taking a look at pairing West Virginia with Notre Dame someday.  But most prognosticators believed Rutgers or UConn to be the extra-point to any future addition of Notre Dame.

Where this DOES impact the ACC is that West Virginia is reportedly confident that it can leave the Big East in time to join the Big XII for 2012.   That is news.  There is talk that this is an issue that can be resolved by sheer money, with Pitt being offered the chance to leave earlier for $21 million.  It is difficult to envision a scenario where $21 million is a sensible amount to pay to leave 17 months early.  However, this does suggest that Pitt and Syracuse may be able to extract themselves from the Big East sooner than expected.  If so, the ACC will be “whole” in time for 2012.

There is little doubt that the ACC has contingency plans in place for a 2012 start to a 14-team ACC.  It may actually happen.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment and tagged , , ,
27 Oct 2011

Big Tests This Saturday

There are a number of interesting games this Saturday.

College football is about having elite teams.  Having a 9-3 conference champion may show that your league has parity, but the nation only cares about the undefeated teams.  Clemson has a chance of reaching that elite status this year, which would be huge for the ACC.  This week, Clemson will be tested by Georgia Tech.  While the Yellow Jackets are reeling right now, they are a formidable foe.  The league would benefit from having Clemson win this game.  And win out until the conference championship game.

In the 1990’s, Florida State could be counted on for 10 and 11 win seasons.  Now?  Not so much.  A game against North Carolina State is the type of game that the old Florida State would handle. The ACC needs Florida State to return to elite status.  Losing a game like this is another step in the wrong direction.

Wake Forest has been a surprise team this year.  After narrowly losing to Syracuse in the opener, Wake Forest has acquitted itself well this year.  North Carolina did well out-of-conference, but has struggled within the conference.  This should be a great matchup.

Boston College v Maryland is not a good game because of the prowess of the two schools.  But it may represent Boston College’s best chance of winning a conference game this year.  Recall that Maryland lost to Temple.  And it was not even close.

Virginia Tech gets Duke.  Duke is improved this year, so Virginia Tech has to be careful.  The Hokies’ can occasionally be vulnerable in games that the rest of the country considers “easy wins.”

After losing to Maryland in the opener, Miami has done reasonably well this year.  The ACC needs Miami to step up and win the winnable games.  While Virginia is on the upswing, the ACC needs its elite programs to return to prominence.

For the new members, Syracuse heads to Louisville this week.  For ACC fans, the rooting interest is easy.  A return to national respectability for Syracuse will help the conference.

And congrats to Pitt for beating UConn in a rare Wednesday night game.  I am sure Pitt will not miss having to play midweek games.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
26 Oct 2011
3 Comments

The Notre Dame Elephant

The proverbial elephant in the conference realignment room remains: Notre Dame.  If Notre Dame says it is ready to join a conference, you can expect the Big 10 and the ACC to start recruiting.  Notre Dame to the conferences is like Lebron James times Sid Crosby to the power of Peyton Manning.  The reasons why the Big 10 and the ACC would want Notre Dame do not need to be listed.

But why would Notre Dame consider the ACC?

Well, we all know that Notre Dame is not on the Atlantic Coast.  Or near it.  Or near ANY coast for that matter.  So there is a poor geographic fit, compared to the Big 10.

Also, Notre Dame has a history of playing the nearby Big 10 schools, especially Michigan, Michigan St. and Purdue.  And the ACC cannot match the Big 10 and its lucrative Big 10 network dollar-for-dollar.

However, contrary to the opinions of your garden-variety Internet troll, Notre Dame is not all about the money.  Notre Dame is all about its football independence.  Notre Dame’s NBC contract allows it to remain independent.  They would get a a raise jumping to the Big 10.  But that would compromise football independence.

Why does Notre Dame care about football independence?  Because it sees itself as a national school.  They want to be seen in the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West.  Their main rival is USC–a home and home between California and South Bend.  They are going to play Navy every year.  A game that gives them some visibility in the mid-Atlantic.  They want games in New York City, as evidenced by agreements to play Army and Syracuse in that market.  They will gladly play against Boston College, Stanford, Texas, Georgia Tech,  and Miami.  When you are not confined to a conference schedule, you have the freedom to play a unique schedule every year.  This is HUGE.  It is huge for the alumni.  It is huge for recruiting.  It is Notre Dame.

This is also a strength of the ACC.  The ACC stretches from Boston to Miami.  Notre Dame’s home games cover the Midwest.  It’s away games could include, in any season, trips to Boston, New York City (Syracuse or UConn or Rutgers), the DC area, the Carolinas, Atlanta, and Florida.  That is quite a stretch of real estate.  Throw in a game against USC in California and you’ve got the West coast.  Perhaps when home against USC, Notre Dame could schedule the Navy game for San Diego or play Stanford or Washington.   They already have Texas on the OOC slate.

In the Big 10, Notre Dame would get its 6 or 7 home games, with perhaps only Penn State representing an opportunity to get East Coast viewership.  The addition of Rutgers with Notre Dame would help.  But that is still 9 or 10 games with a Midwest focus.  I have to give the edge to the ACC.

Academically, both the Big 10 and ACC are excellent.  The Big 10 is primarily state schools that focus on research.  The Notre Dame philosophy is closer to Syracuse in that regard than Northwestern (who does several times more research than Notre Dame or Syracuse).  Plus, an ACC with Notre Dame would have several private schools.  The fit is there for Notre Dame.

Nobody knows if or when Notre Dame will join any conference, much less the ACC.  But the ACC has a very real chance of landing Notre Dame someday…

Posted by acaffrey in Conference Realignment and tagged , , , , , ,
26 Oct 2011
1 Comment

As Lee Corso would say… “NOT SO FAST” West Virginia…

Apparently, West Virginia to the Big XII has hit a snag.  According to ESPN:

West Virginia has been notified by the Big 12 Conference that its expansion process is on hold, a school source told ESPN’s Joe Schad on Wednesday.

The Big 12 is waiting on Missouri formally to withdraw from the conference and that there has been some late “hard lobbying” by Louisville for Big 12 inclusion, the source told Schad.

Interestingly, it looks like politics is becoming a factor, as Kentucky’s politicians are getting involved.   This conference realignment stuff has always been very heated.

The ACC knows firsthand about this.  Recall the expansion efforts to include Syracuse and Boston College that were derailed (temporarily in both cases) when Virginia politics got involved.

This could get ugly.

Posted by acaffrey in Conference Realignment and tagged , , ,
26 Oct 2011
2 Comments

ACC Football Rankings

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 football schools as of October 26, 2011:

1.  Clemson–hard to argue with 8-0.

2. Virginia Tech—  again, hard to argue with 7-1.

3. Miami–the Kansas St. loss looks more impressive with every week.  The win over Georgia Tech makes this an easy selection for #3.

4.  Georgia Tech— this starts to get more difficult.  The losses to Virginia and, to a lesser extent, Miami cause some concern.  But with games against #1 and #2 coming up, we’ll find out real soon whether this team was a mirage.

5.  Syracuse– Fresh off the win over previously ranked West Virginia, and coupled with an early season win over Wake Forest, I’ll give the Orange the nod here.

6.  Wake Forest– That season opening loss to Syracuse looks better now, but the win over Florida State is key here.

7.  Florida State–  The most impressive wins are Duke and Virginia.  This is not your father’s Florida State team.

8.  North Carolina State– The loss to Cincinnati is looking more justifiable now.  At some point, this team needs an upset though.

9.  North Carolina– With a win over Rutgers and a win over Virginia, we’ll discount the three losses to teams at the top of these standings.

10. Virginia– The win over Georgia Tech may say more about Georgia Tech fizzling, but it is the best win among the remaining teams.

11. Maryland– This gets REALLY tough down here.  Maryland did beat a rattled Miami team Week 1.  They also rallied against West Virginia.  Grasping at straws at this point.

12. Pittsburgh— Pitt has played a tough-ish schedule, so we’ll give them the nod here.  The win over South Florida is now looking less impressive though.

13. Duke— Overcoming a loss to Richmond is progress.  The win over Boston College certainly helps.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Blue Devils though.  Hard to see them leapfrogging anyone.

14. Boston College– The anti-Clemson.  No wins over a FBS school yet.  Ugh.

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

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