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DEL.ICIO.USACC tourney is wide open
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Tampa — Duke is a seventh seed and playing on Thursday, which immediately tells you that this has not been a typical ACC season and won’t be a typical ACC tournament — and not just because I think we’re closer to Havana than Tobacco Road.
“Teams beaten in games this season where you’d go, ‘Well, I didn’t think they’d win that game,’” Maryland coach Gary Williams said Wednesday. “As long as it stays that way, this will be wide open. I don’t think anybody could have picked the outcome of games in February this year.”
Like it was predictable in January? Clemson was 17-0 in mid-month, then finished 4-9. Duke went from feared to mocked. (Now don’t laugh. Yet.)
This is what college basketball has become. The talent has been spread around. Every team is young, and with youth comes little consistency, or often defense.
The ACC isn’t unusual. It’s just a little ahead of the curve. There are schools in the middle on the tournament bubble. There’s a Georgia Tech team that started 2-6 in the ACC, finished 6-2 and hopes the former was an aberration. There’s a bottom-feeder from Miami that recently dumped Virginia and can let its mind wander.
Most of all, there’s North Carolina State, which tonight might as well be America’s Team. The Wolfpack plays Duke, which closed the season with two losses and a forearm shiver. The Blue Devils have won seven of the last eight ACC titles and 16 overall, more than any other school. But they haven’t been this low of a seed since 1995 (ninth) and tonight they’re reduced to playing a preliminary round game for the first time in seven years. They also will be minus suspended guard Gerald Henderson.
Now, most will look at this and still see: Duke vs. North Carolina State. But given the way this season has unfolded, what do you think is going through Sidney Lowe’s mind?
In 1983, Lowe was the starting point guard for N.C. State under the late coach, Jim Valvano. The Wolfpack was a fourth seed in the ACC tournament at the Omni but opened with a victory over Wake Forest and then stunned North Carolina and Virginia in succession. Lowe was the tournament MVP. (All that did was set the stage for the Wolfpack winning the national championship.)
None of N.C. State’s players were even born yet when Valvano was running on the court in Albuquerque, looking for somebody to hug. But they don’t have to look far to draw on that history. Lowe is their first-year coach.
“This is very similar in that we had to win the tournament in order to get into the NCAA tournament,” Lowe said Wednesday. “While we’re not talking about those things yet, we are talking about doing something special.”
N.C. State has been a microcosm of the ACC’s absurdity. It went only 5-11 in the conference and lost to Miami by 15, but beat North Carolina once, and Virginia Tech and Wake Forest twice each. Tech coach Paul Hewitt laughed when somebody asked about the ACC tournament being wide open because, “I hear that every year.” He has been banging the drum for the conference to get nine teams in the NCAAs because of the balance.
“Unless you have a team with three or four NBA players in the starting lineup, it’s always like that,” Hewitt said.
Every ACC team has shown its flaws. Every team, as Gary Williams said, “has won games this year when it knows it has played well. So everybody is coming here thinking it has a shot.”
Even Wake Forest, which had lost six straight before dumping Tech by 10 and later Virginia to close the season.
Even Florida State, which somehow beat Maryland and Duke but lost to Clemson in consecutive games.
Even Miami, which has beaten Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia. OK. Probably not Miami.
North Carolina won the ACC’s regular season at 11-5. But if it had lost its final game to Duke, it would be in a much worse position than just 10-6.
FSU coach Leonard Hamilton explains: “If the No. 1 team in our league had lost the last day, they would be in fifth [in seeding].”
North Carolina fifth? Duke seventh? N.C. State 10th?
Can we keep moving this tournament south?
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: Final Four, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC
Comments
By ryan
March 7, 2007 11:45 PM | Link to this
Jeff Schultz is reporting in tampa for the tournament?! talk about the worst home town writer ever!
By DawgsNIT
March 8, 2007 3:26 AM | Link to this
It’s our time. GO JACKETS!!
By Bobby Cremins
March 8, 2007 8:48 AM | Link to this
The tournament is wide open, and anyone could take it, including GT. I suspect GT is one of the most dangerous teams out there, with solid wins over Duke and UNC, and a year-end throttling of Boston College.
GT is getting better everyday due to solid talent and coaching. Hewitt exemplifies tremendous coaching skills and leadership, and knows how to recruit.
Regardless of the outcome, I suspect GT will get an invite to the big dance, based on the late season surge and the overall respect of ACC by the committee.
Keep the faith, and take it to them.
By GT is there too!
March 8, 2007 8:53 AM | Link to this
Jeff and Tony sitting in a tree b-a-s-h-i-n-g……the Jackets! Hey, if you guys can’t even mention anything good about your only team from your state at the tournament, stay at home and watch/cover the SEC tournament. You can inflate your opinions on UGA for the single day they will be playing. If you guys are in Tampa, your time would be better spent at the Salvador Dali museum. I think Duke, NC State and UNC get enough coverage in the Tampa and NC papers that they don’t need a rehashing of how Sidney Lowe thinks they have a chance b/c they are in the same situation. Well not really, not too many at large bids back then so you had to win your tournament or be in the top 20…..thus the exodus of USC from the ACC in the early 70’s.
Just throw us a little bone guys if you get a free ticket to the best conference tournament in the nation on the AJC. Just a little love for the Jackets! Our RPI has risen 26 spots in a month and you are talking about the 10 seed NC State? What are you trying to do? Just finding any way to write about the ACC and NOT mention Tech. That’s OK, we’ll see how Mr football’s 10 seed looks on Sunday. About like that preseason football prediciotn that does not even have Tech in the top 40? Are you kiddig me? We don’t even have to hate UGA these days…..just you guys.
Go Jackets!!
By YELLAR JACKET
March 8, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this
GEORGIA TECH IS ON THE RISE!!! GO JACKETS
By MJ
March 8, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this
LET’S GO TARHEELS! LETS GO TARHEELS! THE BUNCH FROM CHAPEL HILL WILL RUN THROUGHT THE TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND
By wood
March 8, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this
Hey Jeff Anything can go. It can be Ga.Tech win or NCState or even Duke. we see. Rememeber Tech beat 3 ranked teams this year. I liked it when the underdog not ranked and we come back up on top. Same way it happen with high school basketball that not even supposed to be going to state.
By Jeff Schultz
March 8, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this
— Ryan: What? — GT: Tony really isn’t my type, but thanks for your interest in my social life. —To more lucid readers: Yes, I really believe Tech has a great shot here. How a team finishes to me is indicative of what we can expect in a tournament. Doesn’t mean they’ll win it, but I think they’ll play well.
By k-mag
March 8, 2007 1:44 PM | Link to this
Jeff, you said two words about our boy’s. We just want respect. Go Jackets!!!
By addicted
March 8, 2007 2:08 PM | Link to this
So do you think NC state is going to win it? If yes, well then I am quite stunned, to be honest. If not, then why do they get more words, than a tech team whose home paper you apparently write for?
By GT Fan Jeff
March 8, 2007 4:22 PM | Link to this
GT has a great chance to win this thing because of the seeding this year. UNC is clearly the best team and Maryland is the hottest team coming in, and both are in the other half of the bracket. GT will only have to beat one of them to win it all, if the Jackets can make it to the finals. GT is the hottest team in their half of the bracket, and is very capable of making a run in the tournament with their improving play and depth. Go Jackets!!!
By GT Fan Jeff
March 8, 2007 4:48 PM | Link to this
Correction. Maryland WAS the hottest team coming into the tournament, but Miami just put them out. UNC’s path to the finals just got a little easier. Go Jackets!!!