Here's something we never expected to say this year:
Virginia is the hottest team in the ACC and might hustle their way into the NCAA
Tournament.
| Duke | 12-2 | 24-3 |
| NC State | 10-4 | 18-7 |
| Wake Forest | 9-6 | 19-7 |
| North Carolina | 8-7 | 19-8 |
| Georgia Tech | 7-7 | 20-8 |
| Florida State | 6-9 | 18-11 |
| Virginia | 6-9 | 16-10 |
| Maryland | 5-9 | 14-11 |
| Clemson | 3-13 | 10-17 |
| Boston College | 19-8 | |
| Miami | 14-15 | |
| Virginia Tech | 12-13 | |
Why not? They've already put on an amazing streak,
knocking off # 16 Tech, Clemson at Clemson, #16 UNC (in a later poll), and,
Tuesday night, #11 Wake Forest.
At this point, you'd have to favor them at
Maryland, too, wouldn't you? If they beat the Terps, and FSU loses at
Tech, which seems fairly certain given their road woes, the Cavs could end up in
sixth place. Not a bad turnaround. And, might we add, they climbed
out of the cellar, which seemed improbable, to say the least.
If the Tournament were held today (we don't have the
tiebreaker rules, so this is not absolutely accurate):
- #8 Maryland/# 9 Clemson winner vs. #1 Duke
- #3 Wake vs. #6 FSU
- #2 State vs. #7 Virginia
- #4 UNC vs. #5 Tech
Just looking at that bracket, if we had to make guesses, we'd
say Duke, Wake, and UNC would be pleased with their draws.
Incidentally, in the final round-robin, it's nice to see the
North Carolina schools ranked 1-4.
UNC kept their last streak alive, beating
Clemson by 13. It was a fairly ugly game, lacking in aesthetic appeal,
but a win is a win. UNC is now 8-7 in the conference. Despite his earlier
problems, Rashad McCants has emerged as a dynamic player and a guy who is always
involved in the final play of a close game - for better or worse. It tends
to work out better for Rashad when UNC has the ball on the last play. But he's
emerged as their best player. They still don't have a definitive
leader, and his personality is not well-suited for it. But the kid is playing
very, very well.
Speaking of UNC, as previously noted, they
may play on an aircraft carrier next year, with Air Force, Army, and
Michigan State. The immediate question is simple: is there a way to
keep it indoors? If not, how do you factor in the wind and the elements?
One supposes the Seabees could rig up a structure, and it's not as if it has to
be huge (or perfect). Interesting challenge.
B.J. Elder has been a favorite of Paul Hewitt's for some time now, so it's
somewhat surprising to see him mildly
scold his star.
In Wednesday's non-Duke ACC game, N.C.
State hosts Maryland. The Terps have been the gang that couldn't shoot
straight lately, but State can sing that song as well. On the other hand,
though, they have Hodge, Evtimov, and Atsur, not to mention Melvin, and that's a
pretty solid base to work from, Scooter or no Scooter.