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Tourney Time!

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I can’t believe it has been 30 years since my Duke team won this championship in 1980. What great memories it brings back being here in Greensboro. I had the honor of playing in three straight Finals, winning twice( The other being ‘78 vs. Wake)It is now my honor to get to call seven games, including the finals, for Raycom. I cannot wait for the action to unfold on the court and the 2010 Champion to be crowned on Sunday!

Thursday’s Games-

Noon- Boston College vs. Virginia- The best story line of this game is that it is Tony Bennett’s first trip to the ACC tournament. He did an incredible job with this team, getting them off to a 5-2 start before the wheels fell off. They couldn’t overcome the suspension of Sylvan Landesberg and have lost 9 straight. BC should win and then get the right to wear a blindfold and smoke a cigarette as they face Duke in the quarters.

2:00pm – Wake vs. Miami- Wake got a critical win against Clemson to finish the season after losing 4 straight. I believe to get a win here to solidify their NCAA tournament bid. They split the season series with Miami, and could be in trouble in this game if they don’t shoot the three well and Dwayne Collins shows up big for the Cane’s.Scott and Grant must also play well to help Miami salvage a disappointing season.

7:00pm- Georgia Tech vs. UNC- This is the most intriguing game of the day. Georgia Tech has to make a deep run in the tournament to make their case for a tournament bid. The beat the Heels twice during the regular season, including a 68-51 beat down in Atlanta. Tech’s frontline is formidable and needs to dominate the paint. It will be interesting to see how Carolina comes out for this game. They have had a miserable year and this is their last chance to regain some respect.

9:00pm- Clemson vs NC St.- This is the day one game I will broadcasting and could be interesting. State finished the year winning 3 of 4 and are feeling good about themselves. They arte running more sets and Javi Gonzalez is playing at a high level. Clemson is a tired team, having played FSU, Georgia Tech and Wake in the last week of the season. They must find some energy or they could be looking at an early upset.

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2010 ACC Tournament Predictions – Brandon Rink of On the B.Rink

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

We went over the contenders, sleepers, and those in bubble trouble on Monday–now we pick all the games of the ACC Tournament!

The way I have the tournament going–the ACC should have 7 NCAA bids–and a one seed with the Blue Devils–Selection Sunday should be kind to the ACC.

Day One Matchups

(Picks in bold)
8] Boston College Eagles vs. 9) Virginia Cavaliers, 12 EST

5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. 12) Miami Hurricanes, 2ish

7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. 10) North Carolina Tar Heels, 7

6) Clemson Tigers vs. 11) NC State Wolfpack, 9ish

Analysis: The ‘Hoos kick off the day with the first and only upset of day one–it’s a virtual coin flip game on a neutral court as Virginia has to win some time right? Game two is much easier to pick as the Deacs will cruise over the Canes as they swept the season series and Miami will be without one of their best in Dwayne Collins in the paint. Georgia Tech faces a must win against a team they swept in the Heels–again, I’m ignoring the “hard to beat a team 3 teams” rule–well, because the Jackets are the better team and should win. The Tigers are in the night-cap against a semi-home team in NC State–the ACC Tourney is Trevor Booker time and he will shine in Greensboro to a Tigers’ win.

Matchups

1) Duke Blue Devils vs. 9) Virginia Cavaliers, 12 EST

4) Virginia Tech Hokies vs. 5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 2ish

2) Maryland Terrapins vs. 7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 7

3) Florida State Seminoles vs. 6) Clemson Tigers, 9ish

Analysis: The Blue Devils blitzed the Cavaliers up in Charlottesville not long ago–Blue Devils will roll to a double digit victory. The Hokies/Deacs game is one of my favorites of the day as they battle in Blacksburg to an excellent game where the Hokies won–if the Deacs are on–they ride the basic home advantage to victory, but I like Malcolm Delaney and the Hokies to get to the ACC semis. The Tigers and Noles used to be regular sparring partners in the play-in game of the old 9 team format–both programs have improved a bunch since then and defense is the main emphasis for both teams–expect a low scoring, upset by the Tigers as just enough 3-pointers fall and Trevor Booker shows why he is All-ACC against the many talented bigs of the ‘Noles.

Day Three Matchups

1) Duke Blue Devils vs. 4) Virginia Tech Hokies, 1:30 EST

2) Maryland Terrapins vs. 6) Clemson Tigers, 4

Analysis: The Blue Devils and Terps are the class of the ACC right now and should make the finals barring injuries–they both had the most complete season and finished well. Focus always could be an issue for top teams in a super-conference tournament, but with the senior guards that lead both teams in Vasquez and Scheyer, it’s hard to see them faltering. The Tigers have the best shot after already beating Maryland once this season and playing well on the road at College Park in a loss–but I feel the pace Maryland can get on offensively will be too much for the Tigers once again.

Championship Sunday

1) Duke Blue Devils vs. 2) Maryland Terrapins, 1:00 EST

Analysis: The Blue Devils and Terps have everything to play for on Selection Sunday which will make for a great game–Blue Devils take the rubber match as the Blue Devils play better defense on the Terps shooters and shoot better themselves to notch another ACC Championship.

Who wins the ACC Tournament? Who’s your sleeper/dark horse? Enjoy the ACC Tournament on Raycom and check out my site at OnTheB-Rink.com/blog and Twitter feed @onthebrinklive for constant updates!

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2010 ACC Tournament Musings(Favorites/Sleepers/More…)

Monday, March 8th, 2010

The 2010 ACC Tournament starts on Thursday at 12 and the basketball will have a major impact on next week’s NCAA Tournament!

It’s pressure March basketball time–championships are on the line as most of the NCAA Tourney resume is filled–some look to build on their seeding this weekend–others need one or two marquee wins to be secure–and still others are looking to win them all for their only shot at making the NCAAs…

ACC Tournament Musings

Favorites: Duke, Maryland.

The ACC has two clear contenders with the Terps/Devils as they are playing far better basketball than anyone else in the ACC going into the tournament–it’s no coincidence these two are on top with the clearest path to the finals. I really think Duke got a worse draw of the two for a potential semifinal matchup with either Virginia Tech or Wake Forest.

Sleepers: Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest

The list is long and the ACC is wide open–FSU will look to grind out games defensively, Hokies can grind but would like to get their dynamic duo of guards on the board offensively, the Tigers play that pressure D and are capable of getting hot from the perimeter, and the Deacs have a great guard/forward combo of Ish Smith and Al-Farouq Aminu with a lot more size also.

Dark Horse: NC State

Why not? Clemson will be a tough test, but they played them well in Raleigh earlier this season. The Pack already beat FSU at Tallahassee this season–Maryland awaits and that could be the end of the run, but you get past that–NC State beat Duke already this season–so there you go, the scenario where 17-14 NC State makes the NCAA Tournament.

Teams that NEED Wins for NCAA Tourney(that have reasonable shot on resume): Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest.

Clemson and Wake could slip by without winning a game, but they have to take care of the 11/12 seeds for momentum into the tournament. The Jackets cannot lose a game and be in the NCAA Tournament–the UNC game is a must-win–and need to at least not embarrass themselves against Maryland for security.

We’ll be back with ACC Tournament picks later in the week–check in at my website OnTheB-Rink.com/blog for ACC Tournament live blogs and my Twitter feed @onthebrinklive for short updates throughout the week with my tweets on ACC Quarterfinal Friday live from Greensboro!

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2010 ACC Tournament Projections–Final Edition

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

This year’s ACC Tournament could be as vital as it has been in recent history to NCAA Tourney bids…here’s how I project the seeds right now.

I’ve been crunching numbers, breaking down schedules, looking at tiebreakers, and flipping coins. Here’s how I project the ACC season to finish…

Team ACC Record ACC Seed Proj. Tiebreak
Duke 13-3

1

 1-1; 1-0; 4-0
Maryland 13-3

2

 1-1; 2-0; 1-2
Clemson 10-6

3

 2-0
Florida State 10-6

4

 0-2
Virginia Tech 9-7

5
Georgia Tech 8-8

6

 1-1; 1-1
Wake Forest 8-8

7

 1-1; 0-1
Boston College 6-10

8
Virginia 5-11

9

 2-0
North Carolina 5-11

10

 2-1
NC State 5-11

11

 1-2
Miami 4-12

12

———————-

Projected Matchups

1) Duke vs. 8] Boston College/9) Virginia

2) Maryland vs. 7) Wake Forest/10) North Carolina

3) Clemson vs. 6) Georgia Tech/11) NC State

4) Florida State vs. 5) Virginia Tech/12) Miami

Game Schedule

Day One(March 11)

12:00(EST)–8] BC vs. 9) UVA
2:00–5) Virginia Tech vs. 12) Miami
7:00–7) Wake vs. 10) UNC
9:00–6) GT vs. 11) NC State

Day Two(March 12)

12:00–1) Duke vs. 8] BC/9) UVA
2:00–4) FSU vs. 5) VT/12)Miami
7:00–2) MD vs. 7) Wake/10) UNC
9:00–3) Clemson vs. 6) GT/11)NC State

Day Three(March 13)

1:30–1) Duke vs. 8] BC/9) UVA (vs.) 4) FSU vs. 5) VT/12)Miami
4:00–2) MD vs. 7) Wake/10) UNC (vs.) 3) Clemson vs. 6) GT/11)NC State

Day Four(March 14)

1:00–ACC Championship

Projection Quirks/Commentary

>Duke/Maryland are tied at the top with Duke coming out on top for the one seed. Clemson rides their excellent season-ending streak into a 3 seed. Florida State keeps the bye for the last of the top seeds. Hokies and Deacs fall off into the lower seeds for opening round play. Georgia Tech leap-frogs Wake Forest for the 6 seed. The lower seeds remain the same from our last projections at OTB.

> On the tiebreakers, I was going off from the ACC official site page on them.

> The new tie-breaks for this edition are at the 3rd/4th seed battle as Clemson went 2-0 against Florida State for that seed. And Georgia Tech and Wake Forest split the two game series so their records against Duke are compared–the Jackets winning pct. is higher as they went 1-1 where Wake went 0-1.

> The Blue Devils enter the tie-break section as they lose on Wednesday, but win the tie-break. This one is a bit complicated–since Maryland/Duke split the season series, so their respective records against the next highest team is the determining factor–both were undefeated against 3 seed FSU. The next slot down–we have another tie-break. Maryland and Duke’s record against Clemson, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech is combined and Duke comes out 4-0 with the Terps going 1-2 after losing to Wake Forest and Clemson.

> The last tie-breaker is another three-way with Virginia, North Carolina, and NC State. Virginia swept the Tobacco Road teams, UNC went 2-1, and NC State 0-2.

Tourney Talk

First Round/Quarterfinals

> The Blue Devils have a semi-favorable outlook to make it to the conference finals–though Virginia Tech has the guards/defense to go on a run. The red hot Tigers and Terps should meet in the semis though Wake and Georgia Tech are always dangerous–even with how poorly they have played down the stretch. Of the first round matchups, the UNC/Wake rematch is the most fascinating(sorry UVA-BC) and it should be a dog fight. Georgia Tech/NC State is interesting too as the Jackets need this win for security and would really love one more in the quarters.

Semifinals/Finals

Duke should prevail out of their bracket to the finals though Virginia Tech might present a challenge with their experienced guards. The other bracket is fascinating with the red hot Tigers and Terps meeting in the semis unless the struggling Deacs/Jackets trip them up. I’ll take the Terps to nip the Tigers for a 2nd time. And we get the classic rematch before the NCAAs of Duke/Maryland–Blue Devils own the ACC Tourney and the Terps lately in the state of NC so go with Duke here.

Looking to tweak this after each series of games—your input is encouraged. What team will perform better than projected? Who will be worse? Who do you like in the matchups to win the ACC Tourney right now?

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Raycom ACC Power Poll Ballot–03/02/10

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

The Blue Devils have competition for the top? Yes. Hokies/Deacs NCAA seeds/bids slipping? Yep. Rest of the ACC battling for position in the final week of the ACC regular season? Absolutely.

David Tucker over at the Maryland Raycom Blog has been compiling a poll of the ACC blogs for an ACC Basketball Power Poll, and here’s my ballot with semi-insightful commentary. The ACC Tourney projections will be up Tuesday on my site at On The B.Rink. For your ACC bracketology info, check out fellow Raycom blogger Jeffrey Fann with this post.

1) Duke Blue Devils

Duke dominated the ‘Hoos and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes last week. The Blue Devils have a big week ahead for keeping the ACC’s top seed with a trip to Maryland and back home against the Tar Heels.

2) Maryland Terrapins

The Terps notched two big wins with the taking down of the Tigers and humbling of the Hokies in double OT in Blacksburg. Maryland is in position to gain a share of the ACC lead though Duke owns most tiebreakers–the Terps need to win against the Devils and Duke to lose to UNC again, which isn’t all that likely. They face Duke on Wednesday and go to Charlottesville to finish the regular season at Virginia.

3) Clemson Tigers

Clemson ascends to the top of the middle of the pack with a potentially game-changing ACC road win as they are in position with a sweep to gain a top four seed bye in the ACC Tournament. They face Georgia Tech on Tuesday and Wake Forest on Sunday for a chance at that bye.

4) Florida State Seminoles

The ‘Noles took a step back from their path up the ACC rankings with a loss to Clemson after beating North Carolina in impressive fashion at UNC earlier in the week. The ‘Noles look to finish strong with Wake Forest coming to Tallahassee on Wednesday and travel South to Miami to finish the season.

5) Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies lost both games last week with the trip to BC and a 104-100 loss to Maryland at home as they keep falling towards the NCAA bubble. Hokies will split the week ahead with NC State at home and the road trip to Georgia Tech leaving them at 9-7 in the ACC–if it’s me, I put them in, but in reality, two ACC Tournament wins are needed for security because of a low RPI and strength of schedule.

6) Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Speaking of a team on a skid, the Deacs are struggling again late season in the ACC–the biggest blow to their  tournament resume was a loss to North Carolina at home this week. The road toughens this week with facing a mad FSU team on Wednesday and what should be a loose Tigers team coming in for a ACC Tournament bye–I have the Deacs beating the Tigers, but it won’t be a cakewalk.

7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Jackets beat BC 73-68 to be an ACC team to improve their standing with a couple winnable games this week against Clemson and Virginia Tech–but losable too. Georgia Tech ends up splitting them to get in position for a NCAA bid.

8] Boston College Eagles

The Eagles continued their improved play with a good split with the Techs of Virginia(win)/Georgia(loss). BC can end the season emphatically with a home win against Virginia and on the road at NC State.

9) Virginia Cavaliers

Seven straight losses–this achievement happened with losses to Miami and Duke this week–since the close losses to Wake Forest and Georgia Tech at the beginning of the losing streak–the losses haven’t been close and youth is a primary factor as the ‘Hoos have forgotten how to win inexplicably. The road trip to BC and home game with Maryland are not looking all that promising for ending that streak–could reach double digits in the ACC Tournament.

10) North Carolina State Wolfpack

The Wolfpack are a bright spot among the teams in the back of the pack(pun intended possibly) as they are riding a two game winning streak after beating the Deacs and Canes. They travel to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies before coming home to face the Eagles.

11) North Carolina Tar Heels

The Heels climbed out of last place in my ballot with a win at Wake Forest, but also dropped yet another home game to Florida State. Heels face-off with Miami for last place in Chapel Hill on Tuesday before the season ending rivalry game with Duke in Durham(where it could get ugly).

12) Miami Hurricanes

Canes split home games with Virginia(win) and NC State(loss) with moderately improved play–though I expect them to lose out with games at UNC and home with rival FSU.

Welcome to March–home of intense and great basketball! We have one week left of ACC regular season basketball before next week’s ACC Tournament!

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G-Man Goes To Washington

Friday, February 26th, 2010

I wish I was in the land of cotton! – Well, not on a permanent basis, but I did have a great initial visit to Oxford, Mississippi for the Ole Miss/Florida game. The result was not good for Andy Kennedy and the home team as the loss probably ended their tournament dream. It was great to reconnect with him. I believe Kennedy will get the job done there and he was very proud of their brand new practice facility which should drive recruiting success. Had a great time touring Oxford inTim Brando’s tricked out van. ( It puts the Griswold’s ride to shame- check it out on G Tube!) Had an awesome time after the game. Got the inside tour at William Faulkner’s house named Rowan Oak. Saw the phone where he accepted the call informing him of his Nobel Prize for Literature! Then went to The Library for a libation (Thanks, Dess, for the hospitality!) and then on to Taylor Grocery for the best catfish on the planet. Timmy B tried to eat his body weight in fried catfish!

Then it was on to Durham for the Virginia Tech game.My day started at 5:30am in Oxford, taking a car to Memphis to catch a delayed flight to Durham, arriving at the hotel at 2:00pm, doing the game and finally driving my rental back to Charlotte afterwards and collapsing in bed at 12:30 am!!Long day, long sentence- must be channeling Faulkner! Duke’s offense was on ice for 30 minutes but Singler and Smith came alive in the end to give Duke the win. I must admit that I get spoiled by the atmosphere in Cameron- the crowd understood the importance of the game and were in full throat.

And the Silver medal goes to… I don’t agree with Carolina’s decision to don silver uniforms and shoes for their game against FSU. I completely understand the celebration of 100 years of Carolina basketball but disagree with the celebration of an anniversary of a shoe brand.Why provide more ammo in a season gone sideways? The marketing and celebration of a shoe should have been handled by Nike.

G-man goes to Washington- While I’m not Mr. Smith, I will be calling the Notre Dame/ Georgetown game this Saturday @ Noon on CBS in our nation’s capitol. Mike Brey must absorb the loss of All-American candidate Luke Harangody and his 25 point average. They are coming off a very impressive home win against Pitt on Wednesday. They must be patient in defending Georgetown’s offense and not give up easy baskets. John Thompson III has done a terrific job with the Hoya’s and figures to get them back to the NCAA tournament after missing last year. They are a year older and a much more mature team. They like to feed off their crowd and are not afraid to play uptempo.The offense goes through center Greg Monroe and guards Chris Wright and Austin Freeman are very explosive.This game will have serious tournament implications for both teams.

Sunday Night Hoops- Speaking of serious tournament implications, Clemson @ FSU will be critical to both. Clemson has been shooting the 3 better lately, but have to prove to the selection committee they can win on the road.The Tiger’s are 1-5 in conference away from Littlejohn and desperately need a quality ACC road win.Trevor Booker is having an all league season but the key is the health of Demontez Stitt. Their record with him healthy is dramatically better than when he is sub-par. The Noles solidified a spot in the Big Dance with a win at Carolina on Wednesday. They are now 20-7 overall and 9-5 in the ACC. Barring a total collapse, they should be a part of March Madness. Look for Chris Singleton and Soloman Alibi to vie for Defensive player of the year. The insertion of Michael Snaer into the starting lineup has given them a boost.Should be a very intense game between two defensive-minded teams!

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ACC Tournament Projections–02/26/10

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

This year’s ACC Tournament could be as vital as it has been in recent history to NCAA Tourney bids…here’s how I project the seeds right now. For the next couple weeks, I’ll have the post-weekend edition on OTB and over at Raycom after the mid-week games.

I’ve been crunching numbers, breaking down schedules, looking at tiebreakers, and flipping coins. Here’s how I project the ACC season to finish…

Team ACC Record ACC Seed Proj. Tiebreak
Duke 13-3

1
Maryland 12-4

2
Florida State 11-5

3
Virginia Tech 10-6

4

 1-0(Actual)
Wake Forest 10-6

5

 0-1(Actual)
Georgia Tech 8-8

6

 1-1; 1-1
Clemson 8-8

7

 1-1; 0-2
Virginia 6-10

8

 1-0
Boston College 6-10

9

 0-1
Miami 5-11

10
North Carolina 4-12

11
NC State 3-13

12

———————-

Projected Matchups

1) Duke vs. 8] Virginia/9) Boston College

2) Maryland vs. 7) Clemson/10) Miami

3) Florida State vs. 6) Georgia Tech/11) North Carolina

4) Virginia Tech vs. 5) Wake Forest/12) NC State

Projection Quirks/Commentary

> First off, thanks to a reader of the blog for setting me straight on the tourney pairings–I was looking at the tiebreakers so much I didn’t lock in the pairings at 1 vs. 8/9, 2 vs. 7/10, 3 vs. 6/11, and 4 vs. 5/12.

> On to the changes, FSU moves up into the top seeds all the way to the third seed as they win out now. Maryland went up two wins also to get to the 2nd seed. The Deacs slide out of the top seeds by losing a tiebreaker to VT. Clemson slips back to 8-8 instead of 9-7 from my projections at OTB. And BC moves up to 6-10, but lose out to UVA who maybe–just maybe will rise up and play something close to how they had when they were winning games.

> On the tiebreakers, I was going off from the ACC official site page on them.

> The Georgia Tech/Clemson tie-break came-down to their record against Duke in which the Jackets went 1-1 and Clemson 0-2 as each team’s record against the top team in the standings(Duke) is the rule here when they split the series.

> Virginia Tech and Virginia advance on head-to-head records vs. Wake and BC respectively.

Tourney Talk

> FSU has a mixed draw as they swept the Jackets/Heels, but the potential second round opponent–Maryland–swept them. A Wake/Virginia Tech quarter will be a dog-fight–which helps Duke in the semis. I’ll go with the top seeds advancing right now with the Blue Devils taking it.

Looking to tweak this after each series of games—your input is encouraged. What team will perform better than projected? Who will be worse? Who do you like in the matchups to win the ACC Tourney right now?

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Raycom ACC Power Poll Ballot–02/23/10

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Duke stays atop the ACC while a couple of ACC teams rise from the middle in Clemson and FSU–and UNC in last?!

David Tucker over at the Maryland Raycom Blog has been compiling a poll of the ACC blogs for an ACC Basketball Power Poll, and here’s my ballot with semi-insightful commentary. The ACC Tourney projections will be up Tuesday on my site at On The B.Rink.

1) Duke Blue Devils

The Devils swept the week with a closer than expected duel in Miami and a hotly contested game with the Hokies. They play one non-conference game with Tulsa and at Virginia on Sunday. If Duke can win-out, the ACC Tournament will be playing for a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

2) Maryland Terrapins

Terps escaped with the Cliff Tucker buzzer-beater over Georgia Tech and took-down the Pack in a much less exciting game. Maryland has the toughest week of anybody in the ACC coming up with a hot Clemson team coming to Comcast and the trip to Blacksburg where Virginia Tech has not lost yet.

3) Virginia Tech Hokies

Hokies had a trying week with beating the Deacs and losing a tough one at Duke. Hokies travel to BC before another big one against the Terps to get back in second place.

4) Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The Deacs are free-falling at the moment after a close road loss at Virginia Tech and an inexplicable 68-54 loss at NC State. The road was not kind to Wake’s key freshman contributors C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart who scored a combined 11 points in the games(Harris 7 in VT, 0 in NCSU; Stewart 2 at VT, 2 at NCSU). The Demon Deacons only have one game this week with the struggling Heels coming to Winston-Salem.

5) Florida State Seminoles

The ‘Noles announced their presence as a contender for one of the top four ACC seeds with a 69-50 win to crush UVA’s fleeting chance at an NCAA bid. FSU travels to Chapel Hill to take on the Heels and return to face Clemson on Sunday.

6) Clemson Tigers

The Tigers took what FSU started and continued the ‘Hoo-bashing with a 72-49 blowout win. Clemson got the necessary 3-game home-stretch sweep and look strong going into the rest of their schedule. They take on Maryland in what should be an excellent game on Raycom on Wednesday at 9 and Florida State also on the road on Sunday.

7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

After losing by last second shot to Maryland, Georgia Tech has to take 2 of their final 3 ACC games to stay in the NCAAs talk.  BC kicks off the stretch at home on Saturday before making the trip up I-85 to Clemson in March, and finally a home match with Virginia Tech.

8] Virginia Cavaliers

It was ugly–the entire week–u-g-l-y. The ‘Hoos lost by an average of over 20 points to Maryland, Florida State, and Clemson. The Cavaliers try to end the 5 game losing streak in Miami before coming home to attempt to knock off the Blue Devils.

9) Boston College Eagles

The Eagles defeated the Tar Heels 71-67 giving the Eagles a little separation from the back of the pack in the ACC. The Hokies come to town on Wednesday and travel to Georgia Tech later in the week.

10) Miami Hurricanes

Miami still has the weirdest contrast of overall to ACC records with the 17-9 overall and 3-9 ACC after dropping the Duke contest 81-74. Miami had the lead at the half, but as has been constant this conference season, the Canes could only keep the effort up for one half.

11) NC State Wolfpack

NC State pulled off the big home win over the Demon Deacons on Saturday after a decent effort in the loss against Maryland. The ‘Pack take the mid-week off before the trip to Miami this weekend.

12) North Carolina Tar Heels

Can’t say I saw this coming this season–UNC being last in late February in the ACC. UNC and NC State are 1 and 1a right now for worst so I gave the ‘Pack the nod with the big win over Wake Forest. UNC will most likely finish 15-16 and not even be eligible for the NIT–it’s remarkable with the talent on that team that the Heels sunk this far in a year coming off the NCAA title. FSU comes to the Dean Dome and the Heels make the short trip to Winston-Salem later on in the week.

Duke has a lock on the ACC now, but everything else is up for grabs. Are you feeling 7 bids for the ACC in the NCAAs? 6? 5?

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ACC Tournament Projections: Edition Three

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

This year’s ACC Tournament could be as vital as it has been in recent history to NCAA Tourney bids…here’s how I project the seeds right now…

I’ve been crunching numbers, breaking down schedules, looking at tiebreakers, and flipping coins. Here’s how I project the ACC season to finish…

Team ACC Record ACC Seed Proj. Tiebreak
Duke 13-3

1
Virginia Tech 11-5

2

 2-0
Wake Forest 11-5

3

 1-1
Maryland 11-5

4

 0-2
Florida State 10-6

5
Georgia Tech 8-8

6

 1-1; 1-1
Clemson 8-8

7

 1-1; 0-2
Virginia 7-9

8
Boston College 5-11

9

 2-0
Miami 5-11

10

 0-2
North Carolina 4-12

11
NC State 3-13

12

Projected Matchups

1) Duke vs. 5) Florida State/12) NC State

2) Virginia Tech vs. 6) Georgia Tech/11) North Carolina

3) Wake Forest vs. 7) Clemson/10) Miami

4) Maryland vs. 8] Virginia/9) Boston College

Projection Quirks/Commentary

> After the mid-week games, a  number of shifts with wins/losses occurred among the teams. Virginia Tech and Florida State gained one more projected win(VT to 11-5, FSU to 10-6) while Virginia and North Carolina took steps backward(UVA to 7-9, UNC to 4-12).

> On the tiebreakers, I was going off from the ACC official site page on them. Which say…

> On the 3 team tiebreaker, all of the head-to-head records between the 3 teams are combined for each school to get the best winning percentage. The top seeds are effected this time around with Virginia Tech going 2-0, Wake Forest 1-1, and Maryland 0-2.

> In our first instance of the two team tie with a series split, the Georgia Tech/Clemson tie-break came-down to their record against Duke in which the Jackets went 1-1 and Clemson 0-2 as each team’s record against the top team in the standings(Duke) is the rule here.

> In the exact opposite scenario, BC swept the Canes to get the 9th seed over Miami.

> Virginia Tech emerges as the big winner in this round by catapulting to the 2nd seed and with beating every team in their bracket with the exception of Georgia Tech. Duke’s prospects have not gotten any easier for winning the tournament with their matchups. The strengths of the divisions have evened out and 6-7 teams could win it.

Looking to tweak this after each series of games—your input is encouraged. What team will perform better than projected? Who will be worse? Who do you like in the matchups to win the ACC Tourney right now?

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ACC Tournament Projections–Edition Two

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

This year’s ACC Tournament could be as vital as it has been in recent history to NCAA Tourney bids…here’s how I project the seeds right now…

I’ve been crunching numbers, breaking down schedules, looking at tiebreakers, and flipping coins. Here’s how I project the ACC season to finish…

Team ACC Record ACC Seed Proj. Tiebreak
Duke 13-3

1
Wake Forest 11-5

2

 1-0(Actual)
Maryland 11-5

3

 0-1(Actual)
Virginia Tech 10-6

4
Florida State 9-7

5
Clemson 8-8

6

 2-1
Virginia 8-8

7

 1-1
Georgia Tech 8-8

8

 1-2
North Carolina 5-11

9

 2-0
Boston College 5-11

10

 2-1
Miami 5-11

11

 0-3
NC State 3-13

12

Projected Matchups

1) Duke vs. 5) Florida State/12) NC State

2) Wake Forest vs. 6) Clemson/11) Miami

3) Maryland vs. 7) Virginia/10) Boston College

4) Virginia Tech vs. 8] Georgia Tech/9) North Carolina

Projection Quirks/Commentary

> The big change is Florida State’s move from 8-8 to 9-7. While their win over BC was not overly-impressive, they pull off one of their road games down the stretch now to get the extra win.

> BC falls back in the pack with one more ACC loss also, which lends to more tiebreaker fun below…

> On the tiebreakers, I was going off from the ACC official site page on them. Which say…

> On the 3 team tiebreaker, all of the head-to-head records between the 3 teams are combined for each school to get the best winning percentage. This time around—we have two instances of this. I’m projecting Clemson to go 2-1, Virginia 1-1, and Georgia Tech 1-2, which decides the seeds after Florida State. In the next tiebreaker, I have UNC going 2-0, BC 2-1, and Miami 0-3 for seeds 9-11.

> Wake over Maryland is much simpler–just head-to-head which already happened earlier this season.

> The Wake Forest vs. Clemson/Miami pairing only survived the changes. Duke now has its worst nightmare inside their bracket with a strong Florida State, NC State who broke them down earlier this season, Virginia Tech who have the horses to take them down, Georgia Tech who beat them already this season, and rival UNC wanting another shot—and that’s before the ACC Championship. Wake Forest and Maryland should be in the ACC semis on the other side—winner will face a tested, but possibly tired, opponent.

Looking to tweak this after each series of games—your input is encouraged. What team will perform better than projected? Who will be worse? Who do you like in the matchups to win the ACC Tourney right now?

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