A big day in the ACC as FSU and State tangle, Virginia goes south to take Miami's measure, Maryland goes to BC after their big win over Duke and UNC welcomes Georgia Tech.
Currently, Miami, Duke, Virginia and State are 1-4 and would get the first-round byes in the ACC Tournament if it were held today.
If Virginia loses at Miami, they'll fall to a 3-way tie for third (without getting into the tiebreakers; it's easy with State and UNC since State's win over UNC settles it).
Maryland earned some credibility with their win over Duke but could squander it if they lose to BC and that's not hard to imagine happening since the game at College Park was just a five-point win for the Terps.
BC is an intriguing team. When he brought in his huge freshman class last year, Steve Donahue knew he would be waiting for awhile. Realistically, next year is when his patience should pay off, but periodically this year, we're seeing glimpses. They gave State fits early, nearly got Miami and pushed Duke to the limit.
And last year, of course, they upset eventual champs Florida State. Like several other ACC teams, BC is young. Unlike most of the others, they've competed at the highest levels. They haven't won many of them, but they're right there.
And while Florida State's path is narrow it's not impossible: they have to beat State twice, Virginia Tech, Wake, UNC and Virginia, and possibly make some noise in Greensboro. It's unlikely but not impossible. What it does is make the game in Raleigh critical.
Similarly, State has to win to keep pace with Virginia and UNC.
And needless to say, UNC wants to keep up with Virginia and State.
Here's a question: has Miami peaked? Is pressure building? Well, consider: in their last nine games, three wins are by one or two points. FSU and Virginia Tech gave them tougher-than-expected games.
If Clemson had been older, they'd have won that game.
All those are ifs, of course; no one has beaten them in conference play yet. But it's an interesting thought.
We'll be curious about the UNC-Georgia Tech game; the Heels have had trouble in Atlanta in recent years. People have seen their small lineup for two games, so Tech has chances to make some adjustments, and really, they don't match up horribly with it.
Tech brings Mfon Udofia, Marcus Georges-Hunt, Chris Bolden, Kammeon Holsey, Robert Carter, Daniel Miller and the Poole brothers.
It's an interesting matchup. Still not playing: Joel James, out with a concussion.
Finally - and up in Alaska-Mississippi this will be viewed as yet another example of ACC bias - a North Carolina judge told Maryland that a move to dismiss the ACC's lawsuit was denied. Maryland claimed that sovereign immunity should disallow the suit; the ACC's attorney said that in N.C. sovereign immunity doesn't apply to contractual claims.