Moved to 18 games for the 2012-13 season, the ACC basketball regular-season schedule may eventually expand to 20 games.
The matter was discussed by coaches at the conference’s spring meetings this week. Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski said that “maybe 20 is the right number” for the 15-team league.
The ACC moved from 16 to 18 games in anticipation of the league’s growth to 15 teams, but there have been concerns about scheduling inequality. In the present format, each team plays a home-and-home with two permanent partners — Tech’s are Clemson and Notre Dame — and two other opponents on a rotating basis. Teams play one game each against the remaining 10 teams, five at home and five away.
Having an additional two games would enable each team to play six home-and-home sets, which could provide more balance. For example, Tech’s four home-and-home partners this season — Clemson, Notre Dame, Louisville and Pittsburgh — all finished with a league record of .500 or better. It was a difficult draw for a team that might have made the NCAA tournament with perhaps two more wins.
“I think that’s going to continue to be talked about as we move forward,” Bobinski said. “No motion has been made — that’s not on the table for immediate implementation — but I don’t think it’s a dead issue.”
Another rationale for expanding is that it could help the conference place more teams in the NCAA tournament by increasing strength of schedule. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said that other scheduling matters — including permanent partners and non-conference scheduling —also were discussed with the tournament in mind. The conference sent seven of its 15 teams to the NCAA tournament, and Louisville would have gone had it not banned itself from the postseason for recruiting improprieties. Six made the Sweet 16, a record for a conference, and two made the Final Four.
“I think there’s always a movement, how do we get more teams in (the NCAA tournament),” Brey said. “We always felt this was the best league and the deepest league. Now that you’ve got half your league in (the tournament), you’re starting to see what this basketball league has become.”
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