When we looked at this weekend's raft of games, the one that
jumps out at us as being really critical is the
UNC-Maryland game. UNC has to win their home games or
they are in real bubble trouble. We really expect them to win, but Maryland
is coming together nicely now, moving up in
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| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||
| Duke | 10-0 | 21-1 | ||||||||||||||
| NC State | 8-2 | 15-5 | ||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 5-4 | 18-5 | ||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 5-5 | 14-6 | ||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 4-5 | 13-7 | ||||||||||||||
| Florida State | 4-6 | 16-8 | ||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 4-6 | 14-7 | ||||||||||||||
| Virginia | 2-8 | 12-9 | ||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 2-8 | 9-12 | ||||||||||||||
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the standings, and they are
ready to do some damage. They are deep, though young, and that could cause
UNC some problems. On the other hand, no one has been able to defend
Rashad McCants lately, so who knows. A most interesting game, to say the least.
We were sorry to learn that tragedy had touched Tech's B.J. Elder, who lost
his grandfather. He sounds like he was a prince of a man, and it's sad to
see the kid has suffered so much.
Virginia's season now comes down to this: can they avoid the play-in game or
not? With UNC two games above them, and likely to win more, it's not easy
to see.
FSU may be
on the bubble as well, but they score well in the RPI rankings, so then
again, maybe not - and if they win a few, they don't have to worry at all.
And up in Virginia, the media
is now starting to call for Pete Gillen's head. At least Doug Doughty
makes a logical argument.
Another name to keep in mind: Jerry Wainwright, the former Wake assistant now
at Richmond. He was also at UNC-W, and did a bang-up job there as well. You will
remember the dramatic near-upset of Maryland in the tournament, and probably
noticed Richmond's upset of Kansas this year as well. He's legit.