NCAA Basketball Georgia Tech

This will be a transition year for most of the ACC. Pretty much everyone took a hit this offseason, with only four teams really looking like locks for the NCAA tournament. There is little doubt that North Carolina will be the favorite ... but remember that this was the case last year ... and UNC was nearly the #5 seed in the ACC tournament. NC State, Duke and Clemson have the best shot at giving the Heels trouble for the title

1-North Carolina: Sometimes subtraction isn't a bad thing. The Heels lose Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry, but the rotation should be tighter and everyone more understanding of their roles. If UNC is going to make its title run, they better do it now before Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough bolt.

2-NC State: Brandon Costner is my pick for ACC Player of the Year. With JJ Hickson running alongside him in the paint, Costner is free to show his entire game [similar to how Wright helped Hansbrough last year in Chapel Hill]. This team is ready to break out and get back into the ACC's elite. At issue is finding Engin Atsur's replacement ... since he was so key in the success of the Pack last year.

3-Duke: With Kyle Singler and Taylor King coming in, expect Duke to go back to its gun-slinging ways. Last year's team wasn't normal Duke: they struggled to find their offense and were very inconsistent shooting. The big issue this year is ... well, what happens if they keep missing those threes? Josh McRoberts is gone and there really isn't anyone reliable in the paint to score or rebound.

4-Clemson: Can the Tigers get back that team that was scorching the early part of the season? Well, they have four returning starters and has one of the better frontcourts in the conference. They just need to get their minds right. This team has the talent ... they just need to tighten the bolts and clean the sawdust.

5-Virginia: Dave Leitao better thank God that Sean Singletary came back. The ACC player of the year candidate will be asked to do even more with JR Reynolds and Jason Cain gone.

6-Maryland: Gotta love those Terps! The head-scratchers are gone, with their understudies ready to take their place. The team will rely on James Gist and Greivis Vasquez to become leaders on and off the floor. However, this streaky team must find someone who can hit a shot.

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Record: 20-11, 8-8 in conference
RPI: 52
How They Got In: At-Large.
Seed/Bracket: #10/Midwest

Mascot: Yellow Jackets, plus known as the "Rambin' Wreck". The tradition behind the Yellow Jackets aren't from the insect, but from the early supporters who wore, yes, yellow jackets to athletic events. The NFL Hall of Fame must be proud. The Rambin' Wreck derives from an old 1914 Ford driven by a Dean in the early part of the 20th century.

Big Win: Beating Memphis, 92-85, in the Maui Invitational. This was big since Tech is just 3-10 away from Atlanta this season and it was one of just 3 losses for Memphis. The Jackets have also beaten North Carolina and Boston College.

Notable Loss: A 85-75 loss at Wake Forest. That loss not only extended a four-game losing streak, but also cemented in a lot of people's minds that Tech still can't win on the road.

Player You Should Know: Freshman guard Javaris Crittenton has been an All-ACC performer and has become a huge part of how this team performs. They just can't win if he's having an off day. Another frosh, Thaddeus Young, has emerged into a lethal scorer and a very tough matchup.

Outlook: The main thing that follows Ga Tech is their inability to win away from home. Still, how do you explain their win over Memphis in Maui? Ah, playing the half of their life with a 62-39 second half killing. They get UNLV in the first round which could make Tech one of the trendy upset picks in the 1st round. If they can pull that off, they'll get a good Wisconsin team next.

Okay, the ACC tournament is done with UNC's 89-80 win over a very impressive NC State team today. One this we are certain of is that North Carolina will be in the dance. After that, there are teams pretty much in, but who knows how the committee views them or views this conference.

NORTH CAROLINA: IN. [RPI: 3, SOS: 5] They are in by winning the ACC tournament and will be, at worst, a #2 seed and will most likely play in the Winston-Salem pod next weekend. With UCLA losing two in a row [both to unranked teams] and depending on the outcome of the Big Ten tournament [UNC probably needs Ohio State to win that one] the Tar Heels could be looking at a #1 seed.

MARYLAND: IN. [RPI: 16, SOS: 10] The Terps have been very impressive over the 2nd half of the ACC season, and they probably won't get caught up by their loss to Miami on Thursday due to the overall weirdness of the ACC tournament. Right now, they are probably a #5 seed, but hopes to be a #4 that can get to that Winston-Salem pod.

DUKE: IN. [RPI: 15, SOS: 3]. Despite what people may hope, Duke is definitely in. I mean, their computer numbers are outstanding and it isn't like they've been losing to horrid teams. Still, there will be much debate about where Duke should be placed in the NCAA tournament. I feel either the #8 or #9 seed ... which, of course, should peeve off whomever the #1 seed in their bracket is.

BOSTON COLLEGE: IN. [RPI: 33, SOS: 12]. BC has pretty good computer numbers but has really fallen on hard times of late. Is their physical style getting them worn out? This should be around a #7 or #8 seed.

VIRGINIA TECH: IN [RPI: 32, SOS: 22]. Tech's biggest moments have come in their two wins over UNC and a big win at Duke. However, they've lost 3 of 4 and 4 of 6 which should drop them down in the same #7-#8 range that BC is in.

VIRGINIA: IN. [RPI: 54, SOS: 50]. If this team wasn't co-ACC champions, they'd be a marked team on the bubble. They played the weakest ACC schedule, were clipped in their first ACC tournament game and lost a huge game against Wake Forest to end their season. Their record says a #5 seed, but their numbers say a #7-#9 seed.

Entering the 54th ACC Tournament, there were some around the league and various bracketology sites that felt the ACC had a shot at getting 8 teams in. Quite the remarkable feat since only once has a conference gotten that many teams in, and that was last season's 16-team Big East.

There are three teams squarely on the bubble: Georgia Tech, Florida State and Clemson. Right now, there are plenty of factors working against them:

• Ga Tech and Clemson lost their first round ACC games by folding down the stretch. Not something the selection committee likes.
• Florida State has lost 6 of 9. Clemson has lost 10 of 14. Ga Tech is 3-10 away from home.
• Florida State has the better computer numbers of the bunch ... but Georgia Tech and Clemson swept the Noles in regular season play.
• Now, it looks like only 6 teams get in, and of those six schools, really none are showing us any kind of greatness. Virginia, Maryland and Duke all lost their first games; North Carolina looked patently flippant against FSU; and Boston College needed overtime to beat the 12th seeded Miami Hurricanes. And who really believes in Virginia Tech? All that could kill perception that the ACC is a mesh of pretty good teams and nothing more.
• Right now, it looks like just one ACC school [North Carolina] will be seeded better than 5th.
• Xavier lost in the Atlantic 10 Tournament ... Nevada lost in the WAC Tournament ... Butler lost in the Horizon Tournament. There goes three at large bids out the window. Plus, the SEC tournament will have either Arkansas or Mississippi State in the finals with Florida facing Ole Miss in the other bracket. Every bubble team needs Florida to win the SEC title.
• What's also killing them is bubble teams like Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Purdue and Illinois moving along in their conference tournaments.

If push came to shove, I think Ga Tech may be the final team in, Florida State just misses out and Clemson not in the final conversation. Amazing since Ga Tech is such a deep and talented team, FSU has one of the nation's best players and Clemson was once 17-0. However, the Yellow Jackets will be the biggest Memphis and Florida fans this weekend.

Wow. What a day in the Tampa Bay area today. The ACC sent it's beloved tournament down to the Sunshine State for some good ol' fashioned fun. And, boy, was there some fun.

Four games. Four upsets.

• Game one wasn't that big of an upset as the #9 Florida State Seminoles beat the #8 Clemson Tigers, 67-66. Probably the most talked about moment was from this game, as an iffy foul call with 1.5 seconds remaining gave Al Thornton a free throw to win the game for the Noles ... and most likely send Clemson packing for the NIT. Also, where else but college sports could you see the most dominant player in a game being interviewed, smile, and all you see are braces?
• Next, the biggest of all the upsets. Miami, the last place team in the ACC, beat Maryland, 67-62, who entered the game as the hottest team in the nation. The Terps can beat Duke and UNC, but not Miami?
• On to the Duke-NC State game, where the 10th seeded Wolfpack beat the Blue Devils, meaning this will be the first ACC finals in a decade that won't have Duke in it.
• Finally, #11 Wake Forest beats Georgia Tech in double overtime, 114-112. Wake's Harvey Hale scored 1 point in regulation then 21 points in the two overtimes. This game also set ACC tournament records for most points scored by a team and most points scored in a game.

So we had Maryland, Duke, Clemson and Georgia Tech clocking out and going home today. All those teams have been ranked at some point and all were looking at getting into the NCAA tournament. Now, there could be some doubt about all of those teams. Entering the day, Florida State, NC State, Miami and Wake Forest were on the outside looking in. Really, only FSU has a look at it ... but if any of the others get on a nice roll, they could take the ACC title and an automatic bid. You just don't know this year.

Meanwhile, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College sat in hotel rooms thinking to themselves that the road to an ACC championship just got a lot easier. Or that the first day of action proves that anything can happen.

In my personal ACC awards, I pretty much nailed what would ultimately be what the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association voters named for their awards.

Like me, they named Boston College forward Jared Dudley the Player of the Year. Dudley had a stranglehold of this honor for most of the ACC season. There was some late sentiment for Virginia's Sean Singletary [who had a great season as well] due to the Cavs' run for a share of the ACC title.

Both Dudley and Singletary did end up on the All-ACC team. They are joined by North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, Florida State's Al Thornton [who did end up 2nd in POY voting] and Virginia Tech's Zabian Dowdell. Again, no surprises at all here. In fact, I nailed that one with my mid-season awards I made in January. The 2nd team was made up of Virginia's J.R. Reynolds, Maryland's D.J. Strawberry, Boston College's Tyrese Rice, Duke's Josh McRoberts and North Carolina's Brandan Wright. The 3rd team is Wake Forest's Kyle Visser, Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton, NC State's Brandon Costner, Virginia Tech's Jamon Gordon and Miami's Jack McClinton.

Wright won the rookie of the year award, much to no one's surprise. This is the third straight season a Tar Heel has won this award. In 2005, Marvin Williams won it, while Tyler Hansbrough won it last season. Joining Wright on the All-Freshman team is teammate Ty Lawson, Georgia Tech's Crittenden, NC State's Costner and Duke's Jon Scheyer.

And...ho-hum...Virginia's Dave Leitao ended up as the Coach of the Year. Leitao took a team that many picked in the bottom half of the ACC and made them into co-champions.

Georgia Tech jumped all over Boston College early, and held onto to a 74-60 victory. The win puts Ga Tech at 8-8 in conference play, 20-10 overall, and winners of 7 of their last 9 games. Is it good enough to warrant an at large bid? Maybe. Of the bubble teams around the country, Tech may be playing the best right now.

Tech still doesn't know if they will be the #6 or #7 team in the ACC tournament. If Duke beats UNC, Tech falls to #7. If Duke loses, they are #6.

The loss knocks Boston College from a shot at winning a share of the ACC crown.

The ACC championship race is now between Virginia and North Carolina. If UNC beats Duke, they and UVa tie at 11-5 atop the standings, with UNC's win over Virginia early in the season being the tiebreaker. If UNC loses, Virginia would own the league's best record.

Here is what happens.....

IF UNC BEATS DUKE

1. North Carolina (11-5)
2. Virginia (11-5)
3. Virginia Tech (10-6)
4. Boston College (10-6)
5. Maryland (10-6)

IF DUKE BEATS UNC

1. Virginia (11-5)
2. Virginia Tech (10-6)
3. Boston College (10-6)
4. Maryland (10-6)
5. North Carolina (10-6)

This is it. Come Thursday, the ACC tournament begins which will be the last time we'll see a few of these teams. It also means that there are minimal chances to play your way off the NCAA bubble and a couple of chances to improve/blow your seeding. So here is the lineup:

Saturday

• Florida State at Miami [RSN, noon]: This is a huge game for Florida State. Rumors are that Toney Douglas will be back, and if FSU can show that they can pop off this game, plus a run in the ACC tournament, they may be able to play their way in. The Selection Committee does take into account injuries. Of course, a loss to Miami would just kill off any shot. Pick: Florida State
• Virginia at Wake Forest [Raycom, 1pm]: A win here for the Cavs and they'll be only the 2nd team from outside the state of North Carolina to get a #1 seed in the ACC tournament since 1997 [Maryland was the top seed in their 2002 National title season]....and their first title since 1981. Wake Forest needs a win here and a run in the ACC tournament to reach the postseason [either NIT or NCAA] for the 17th straight season. Pick: Virginia
• NC State at Maryland [ABC, 3:30p]: Maryland has an outside shot at getting a bye in the ACC tournament, if they win and some other things happen around the league. Right now, the Terps are just playing for NCAA tournament seeding, and finishing off a magical run to end the season would be icing on the cake. Pick: Maryland

Sunday

• Clemson at Virginia Tech [Raycom, 1pm]: Clemson needs this win. They are 6-9 in the ACC and it's hard to believe they could make the dance with 10 Ls, especially with the second half of the season they've had. Va Tech is in the tournament, still fighting for a bye in the ACC dance and trying to build up a better seed. Pick: Va Tech
• Boston College at Georgia Tech [Fox Sports Net, 3pm]: Huge game here. Tech is in the middle of a wonderful week, after demolishing North Carolina and trying to build an NCAA tournament resume. They are about as on the fence as you can get. BC is in the tournament, but hard to figure out right now. Pick: Ga Tech
• Duke at North Carolina [CBS, 4pm]: The two bitter rivals meet again to end an ACC season. UNC will know what it can do before this game, but as the weekend began, they could finish in 1st or could fall all the way down to 5th. UNC has been very average lately, going just 4-4 in the last month and pretty much shutting themselves out of a #1 seed [and working on screwing up their #2 seed]. Duke can't get an ACC bye, and could fall as far as 7th in the conference. Upset Pick: Duke