Anyone who's gotten sick from indulging in generous portions of a favorite food -- ice cream, say -- is familiar with the phenomenon. Sometimes you can get too much of a good thing.
In the world of college basketball this effect was demonstrated as recently as 2011-12, when Roy Williams engineered a nine-game idle for his North Carolina squad that stretched from Dec. 6 through Jan. 10.
By the end of their Smith Center stay, the Tar Heels boasted a 15-2 record and a No.3 national ranking. They won all nine home outings by an average margin of 28.2 points.
Contented Carolina then went on the road and lost at Florida State. No, lost isn't the right word. The Heels, with four first-round draft picks in their starting rotation, were annihilated at Tallahassee. The 90-57 final score matched the largest margin of defeat ever suffered by a Williams club at either Kansas or UNC.
Keep the danger of such self-indulgence in mind when looking closely at ACC schedules this season.
N.C. State's Mark Gottfried proves greediest at engineering a substantial homestand. His Wolfpack's seven-game sojourn in Raleigh from Nov. 16 through Dec. 14 is the longest stretch of home cooking enjoyed by an ACC team this season.
Next most indulgent: North Carolina and Notre Dame each play six in a row at home, the Irish opening the year without leaving the Joyce Center for almost a month.
Both Pitt and Virginia Tech play 12 of their first 16 games at home.
STREAKY DEAKY Longest Homestands And Hostile Court Ventures For Each ACC Team, 2013-14 (Chart Title In Memory Of Elmore Leonard) |
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---|---|---|---|
School | Consecutive Home | Notable Homework | Most Row, Away |
BC | 2, three times | 3 first 4 in Boston | 2, three times |
C | 4* | first 8 in-state | 3, 5 of 6, all in ACC |
D | 4 | 5 first 6 at home | 2, twice; 4 of 5, all in ACC |
FS | 5* | 7 of 9 in Florida | 2, three times |
GT | 4, all in ACC | 5 first 6 at home | 4, three in ACC |
M | 5 | 7 of 9 around D.C. | 4 of 5 in ACC |
Mi | 3, twice | 4 first 5 at home | 3 in ACC |
NC | 6 | 4 to open | 2, twice |
NS | 7 | 9 of 10, 10 of 12 | 3 in ACC, 5 of 6 |
ND | 6 | 9 of 10 to open | 3 in ACC |
UP | 4, twice | 12 of first 16 | 2 in ACC, twice |
SU | 4, twice | 10 of first 14 | 3 in ACC |
V | 3, three times | 5 first 6 | 2, four times |
VT | 5 | 12 of first 16 | 2, three times |
WF | 5 | 9 of first 12 | 2, four times |
*Â Includes in-state game vs. out-of-state opponent. |