Can Tigers, Hurricanes Storm the ACC?

If you wanted to play a parlay on Miami and Clemson road-grading Duke and Wake Forest the kind of clubbings usually reserved for the Knicks or Andy Kennedy's cab rides, you probably would've had to look far, far down your betting slip.

Think somewhere in the area of Alex Rodriguez autographing a copy of Joe Torre's new book and Alex Rodriguez shacking up with a woman whose age is less than his homer totals.

And then keep looking down.
Back-to-back, the Hurricanes' and Tigers' 27-point wins over the Deacons and Blue Devils were about as shocking as anything on ACC-area hardwood since the seams came off the ball.

Miami had lost three straight games, including two to teams that probably spent the second half wondering just what this collegeinsider.com tournament is all about. Clemson hadn't beaten Duke in the regular season in 22 straight regular-season contests. Twenty-two.

Let's put it another way. The last time the Tigers beat Duke in the regular season, they probably celebrated by doing the Macarena.

But any big win in the ACC is never so much an exclamation point as a well-placed comma. There's always more where the last challenge came from.

And, with the celebrations of Wednesday behind them, only one of these teams is headed up.

Step forward Clemson. And don't stop until you're close enough to Ford Field to need your own bailout package.

Give the Hurricanes credit, though. Following last year's breakthrough season, 2009, thus far, seemed like a sequel so bad it must've been cooked up by George Lucas. Point guard Eddie Rios was arrested and dismissed after apparently trying to steal his way to his own Best Buy franchise in his dorm room. The Hurricanes collapsed against Ohio State after the dubious ejection of Jack McClinton and fell to the bubble-bound Buckeyes. Then they dropped four out of five in conference play in late January. Only a win at Kentucky hinted at the ability of a team ranked 25th to start the season.

So, before Wednesday's win over Wake Forest, their RPI sat at a buffet-bloated 49, squished beneath South Carolina and Temple.

And the worst still isn't over for the Hurricanes.

Credit Miami for disposing of Wake Forest, but since beating North Carolina, the Deacons' offensive philosophy seems to be pass the ball to Jeff Teague, then chat about the value of the Bun & Thigh Roller. While the former No. 1 team is still a defensive force, it's now struggling to get everyone in the same book, let alone the same page, on offense. The Deacons are still fifth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, but have cannon-balled to 67th in offensive efficiency.

Credit the Hurricanes for a great defensive effort. Credit them for timely free throw shooting. Credit them for shooting the lights out.

And then question whether they can consistently do it again

For the season, they're an awful free throw shooting team (67.4 percent) that's terrible at producing turnovers (305th in the nation in defensive turnover percentage) and they're more dependent on the 3-pointer than any team in the ACC.

Against Wake Forest, they hit 45 percent from behind the arc and managed a near season-best 59.1 percent effective field goal percentage (The 'Canes topped 60 percent against lightweight Florida International). For the season, they're shooting just 50.1 percent, seventh in the ACC. They have just two gifted offensive performers, Jack McClinton and Dwayne Collins, and a margin for error thinner than a South Beach sunbather.

And like everyone else, they're searching for consistent play out of their point guard.

All of which may spell trouble on a road to March that couldn't be more dangerous if it took a left turn through Afghanistan. Up next the Hurricanes play at Duke and host North Carolina. Should Miami lose both, the road to .500 in the ACC will require a 4-1 finish. Its win over Wake Forest likely put Miami on the comfortable side of the bubble, and the Hurricanes should be favored to make the Big Dance.

Clemson should be favored to make a big splash.

Like Miami's upset, Clemson's victory was at least in part an indictment of its opponent.

Duke is a team in the midst of an identity crisis. New point guard Nolan Smith has a sub-1.00 assist-to-turnover ratio. Backup point guard Greg Paulus leads the nation in number of times he's been smacked in the face by an opponent's thigh while getting dunked on. Kyle Singler, after making a run at All-America honors earlier in the season, has disappeared (11 points in his last two games), and try as he might, Mike Krzyzewski hasn't yet got this team to respond to him.

But Clemson did to Duke what effectively no team has done since the Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter Tar Heels handled Duke by 20-plus in two games in 1998. No one has won by more points than the 1990 Running Rebels. And that darn sure means something.

And it means something you should've already known: these Tigers can play with anyone.

They proved it earlier in the season, beating Illinois and Temple out of conference and routed Miami on the road. Sure, Oliver Purnell's team lost to Wake Forest and was blown out by North Carolina (and struggled against Virginia Tech on the road), but at 19-2 and 5-2 in the ACC, they've got a clear shot into March with only a return against Wake Forest and games against bubble teams Florida State and Virginia Tech. As far as ACC schedules go, the second half of the year is darn near a two-foot putt.

And unlike Miami, or even Wake Forest, the Deacons rank in the top 25 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, a classic hallmark for national title competition, as each of the last eight Final Four participants have finished in the top 25 in both categories. They've got three reliable offensive weapons in low-post banger Trevor Booker, swingman K.C. Rivers and guard Terrence Oglesby, and can score inside or out.

And as Duke could tell you, the Tiger full court press could put enough pressure on to turn the basketball into a diamond.

But in the ACC, there aren't many free passes. Except, perhaps, Virginia.

Just don't be surprised if Clemson finishes with the league's best regular-season mark and in the mix at season's end.

And from there? Can the Tigers make it to the Final Four? Maybe not. But after Wednesday, that's a bet you at least won't have to search for.