ACC Roundup - Competition Is Kicking Into High Gear

What characterizes the ACC as much as anything, and what sets it apart from all other college basketball, is the level and intensity of competition.

We saw a good bit of that on Saturday.

State, winless, challenged undefeated UNC until late. Clemson knocked off its third straight ranked opponent, beating Miami by 11. Notre Dame won in Cameron, which is not easy for anyone. BC tried hard against Pitt. Virginia Tech won in Atlanta by a free throw with three seconds left to break an 18-game losing streak on the road.

And Syracuse, just 1-4 coming in, hammered Wake Forest by 28.

And the thing is, other than BC which is truly at the bottom of a rebuilding cycle, no one is awful or hopeless. Everyone has talent, almost everyone could compete in the NCAA tournament if invited.

Look at the Top 25, start randomly, at say 12. That's Providence.

Boston College lost to PC 66-51. State could compete with the Friars. Wake competed well with Indiana, UCLA, Arkansas, Xavier, LSU and Louisville.

The Yellow Jackets have beaten or at least kept up with Tennessee, Arkansas, VCU, UNC, Pitt and Virginia.

Florida State? Iowa, VCU, Florida

Syracuse? UConn, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Georgetown, Clemson and UNC.

We'll leave the ranked teams out of this, so skip Virginia and Miami. Notre Dame just beat Duke at Duke. They also beat Iowa and competed with Indiana and Virginia.

And the last unranked team as we work up from last to first? Virginia Tech took out Virginia not long ago and despite significant injuries are now 12-6.

Oh wait, Clemson isn't ranked either, but the Tigers are playing as if they are.

Clemson is also 12-6 and have gotten markedly better in conference play. When the Tigers lost at UNC they were just 7-6.

Almost all the ACC teams could compete with the #12 team in the country.

Incidentally, Clemson has two more game in a Palmetto Murderer's Row: #13 Virginia and then #20 Pitt.

So: #16, #9, #8, #13 and #20, just like that.

There is no mercy in this league, no break from competitiveness, and other than BC, no relatively easy win. It's always been like this, but it's become incredibly tough this year.

It's shaping up to be a great race.

That's not to say that every game is great. Wake's loss to Syracuse was just bad. It's hard to understand how the Deacs could be so very bad - and at home. Wake shot just 32.6% and just 2-20 from outside. And even free throws were a major struggle: Wake missed 17 free throws, shooting just 25-42.

It's worth noting that since Jim Boeheim returned, the Orange has been radically improved: Syracuse gave UNC a reasonable game, then blew out BC and Wake Forest.

You have to wonder what folks at Syracuse think about Mike Hopkins now.

Only one game on Sunday as Virginia visits Florida State. Normally that would be a connoisseur's delight between two great defensive teams, but neither one has lived up to recent standards.

Still, the pressure is there. Virginia is just 2-2 in the ACC despite such high expectations while Florida State is just one game out of the cellar. If Virginia loses, they won't fall any further but after FSU are two of the hottest teams in the ACC, Clemson and Syracuse.

Things never really get easier around here.