ACC Roundup

In Saturday's ACC action, Georgia Tech beat Wake 69-62 and Miami took down BC 77-56. If we understand correctly, that guarantees BC last place and Miami at least a stake in fourth place. Virginia and State play Sunday and if they both win, the tiebreaker scenarios kick in. Virginia beat State by one and Miami lost to State twice, so UVa would finish ahead of Miami if the Cavs beat Maryland Sunday.

If State beats Virginia Tech, they also finish at 9-7 and since they beat Miami twice, they'd move ahead of Miami but not ahead of Virginia should UVa beat the Terps. If Tech wins, they get ninth place; if they lose, it's 10th place.

If either State or Virginia loses, or both, they fall down to a tie with Clemson. If Virginia Tech wins, that means the bottom four teams finish 4-12 with BC apparently guaranteed last place.

There are so many variables still - who knows?

Right now Duke would probably play the winner of Clemson-Wake Forest, which would be a more comfortable matchup than either State or Virginia.

Since Tech and Wake split, and Wake won by nine while Tech won by seven, we're assuming Wake gets the #10 spot, depending on the Virginia Tech game.

That's as far as we want to get into it since there are still so many possible outcomes.

However, there is a theme to this tournament and it's hard to ignore: at least half the conference teams have serious issues with depth.

Go down the list: Virginia, State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Carolina - they all have serious problems (UNC's talent is intense, but over three days they may wear down too). BC doesn't, but their chances of getting past the first game, much less UNC in their next one, are very slim.

Duke, Florida State, Miami and Clemson have the best depth, although Clemson, like BC, has had minimal success with theirs.

Not coincidentally, the top four teams (at the moment), with UNC the notable exception, are the deepest and most competitive teams in the conference.

Imagine for a second that you're State: you finish sixth and you end up playing at 9:00 pm and then playing Duke the next day at 7:00. If you're lucky enough to win that, you play Saturday at either 1:00 or 3:00 (we're pretty sure it's 3:00), and if you get past that, then it's Sunday at 1:00.

The breaks between games gets a lot shorter: not a lot of fun in other words. Three victories are certainly possible - if memory serves, State's done that twice, and can it be that both times were in a new coach's first season, Sendek's and Lowe's? Interesting precedent if so.

Wherever Georgia Tech ends up - it looks like #11 according to the Journal-Constitution - the Yellow Jackets are finally playing good basketball. It's taken awhile for Brian Gregory's points to sink in, but they appear to have penetrated his team at last. Next season, with some very solid talent enrolling, things will be very interesting.

Despite the oncourt struggles at Tech, Wake, BC, Virginia Tech and Maryland and to lesser extents State and Clemson, this has been a really fun ACC season. Just think back: Austin River's dagger at UNC. Florida State's huge win over the Tar Heels. Florida State's buzzer beaters. Miami's resurrection and their startling win over FSU. Virginia's perseverance. Virginia Tech's series of agonizing near-misses, then their dramatic win at Georgia Tech. B.C.'s shocking upset of Florida State.

Actually, you could put FSU at the center of a lot: an epic upset of the regular season champs and an epic loss to the last-place team. A buzzer beater at Duke.

Toss in State's improvement, despite their late swoon, Maryland's gradual adoption of Mark Turgeon's system, and a raft of young talent this season and next: it's a dramatic change for the conference and a good one.

We probably got some stuff wrong on the brackets, but no matter: it'll all be clear tomorrow.

DBR Auctions!

New T-Shirts!

DBR Is On Twitter!(DBRTweetz)

DBR Auctions!

New T-Shirts!

DBR Is On Twitter!(DBRTweetz)