Despite the significant propaganda coup of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, the
conference may actually not be that strong once you get past the upper tier.
State has shown no signs of improvement, losing
at home to UMass and shooting just like they have shot for the last several
years. Stinking it up, in a nutshell. Caulton Tudor picks
up the schedule argument.
UNC's situation is well known, but in a new twist, Kris Lang insists the
season has not yet started. Maybe it's the beard. Doherty is in a
tough spot, but his
attitude is still, uh, strong. The pitch now is that the ACC season marks
a new beginning.
Uva
was lucky to beat Virginia Tech, though that's
a rivalry game, and you never know what to expect out of those, and Ricky
Stokes is a guy who will do well in coaching. Tech is mediocre so far, FSU
is also, and Clemson has shown signs but they're not there yet.
Maryland
has the eternal nightmare opponent, Princeton, today. And while it
seems a mismatch, it often does with Princeton. With Blake and Dixon,
Maryland's backcourt is really superb, but historically, they prefer to run and
press and Princeton
may not cooperate. Meanwhile, future Terp Travis Garrison is
looking better
and better.
Today, UNC
kicks off the ACC season with Tech, and Duke starts with Clemson. Both
games are on Fox Sports Net, and will be the premier games on TV nationwide, but
the broadcast arrangements are clearly not inspired:locally, Time-Warner will pre-empt CNNSI to put the game on.