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Regardless of the larger questions, perhaps what we see within the new ACC is that once you’re down for more than a year or two it’s prohibitively difficult to get back up. Especially if you don’t change coaches.
Take Georgia Tech, once an ACC power and two-time visitor to the Final Four. The Yellow Jackets haven’t had more ACC wins than losses since 2004. Or Boston College, a Big East power that soon spiraled to also-ran status, and last had a winning ACC record in 2011.
Or Wake Forest, with a single NCAA appearance (2017) since 2010, the only time this past decade the Demon Deacons were on the positive side of the ACC regular season ledger.
Anyway, here’s the extent of the climb for a half-dozen league laggards as we enter the 2019-20 season.
| THIRSTY FOR DROUGHT RELIEF Longest Shutouts In Posting More Wins Than Losses During ACC Regular Season, Reaching NCAA Tournament (Notre Dame and Pitt Entered ACC in 2014, Louisville 2015) |
||
|---|---|---|
| School | More ACC W/L | Last NCAA, W/L |
| Georgia Tech | 2004, 9-7 | 2010, 1-1 |
| Wake Forest | 2010, 9-7 | 2017, 0-1 |
| Boston College | 2011, 9-7 | 2009, 0-1 |
| Pittsburgh | 2014, 11-7 | 2016, 0-1 |
| Louisville | 2017, 12-6 | 2017, 1-1 |
| Notre Dame | 2017, 12-6 | 2017, 1-1 |