Tournament play kicks off at noon, and it's high noon for Miami and especially Virginia Tech. If enough dominoes fall, Miami could conceivably get in with 18-12, but that's still unlikely. And Tech? They'll be 17-14 if they lose this one, and nobody's buying that.
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This could be as good a game as there is this year, because both teams really, really need it, and either one is capable of playing very well even though they haven't very often. We'll take Miami.
Georgia Tech lost to Clemson by 14 and by eight at home to the Tigers. To us there are a couple of questions in this game:
1) Oliver Purnell has been publicly jovial about Clemson's "slow starts," but the Tigers have lost three of their last four, and he's probably not been real jovial in private. He's done a great coaching job because this is not as good a team as it was last year. Can they get past the poor late-season play?
2) Can Tech hang on to the ball and play together? They can match Clemson up front, but the backcourt is a major problem. Clemson has been here before and they're experienced. Hard to pick against them. Tech has had a few moments, but not many. Lewis Clinch is still optimistic, though. And he sat in his own gym and watched Georgia do it last year.
Maryland and State should be another good game. There is a lot of bad blood right now between the State and Maryland camps, partly because of the interactions between Greivis Vasquez and State fans, and it could spill over into the game. Oh yes, it could indeed.
Don't be surprised to see Sidney Lowe whip out some Valvano-esque junk defenses. Maryland hasn't handled the zone well at all.
On paper, B.C. should be favored over Virginia, and we're inclined to that point of view. But B.C. is a very young team still. Virginia's had an awful year, but they've shown some potential at times. If they can get Sylven Landesberg and Mamadi Diane going at the same time, things change a bit, as Maryland found out. They still have to hang on to the ball and control Tyrese Rice, not to mention Joe Trapani and Rakim Sanders, but it's not impossible.  Still, B.C. should win. Our gut tells us it might be closer than anyone expects.
If State does knock off Maryland, they get two immediate taunts, although one is self-defeating (chanting NIT at someone when you're heading there yourself is not smart even if it does feel good to wreck their chances). The other? Greivis Vasquez has pretty much decided to test the waters, as they say. What a goofy expression. What, the NBA's poison?
Anyway: if they keep him firmly in check and beat the Terps, well, the taunting will commence quickly we expect.
Speaking of taunting, State baseball coach Elliot Avent had a bit of fun at Roy Williams' expense. Let's just mash it all up: who's on frickin' first?
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