Florida State's Ryan Reid Decks Wake Forest's Chas McFarland, Gets Ejected originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Last Time originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skip Prosser's Legacy Will Include Great 2008 Recruiting Class originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser Dies at 56 originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Premature Preseason ACC 2007-2008 Hoops Rankings originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

GEORGIA TECH: IN. [RPI: 52, SOS: 47]. To be honest, I don't see how this team is such a lock as people seem to think. They can't win on the road, they really only have three good wins [and two of them were at home when their opponent was drowning] and their numbers really aren't stellar. But, they have put it together at the right time and just the above average nature of the middle of the ACC pushes them in. They should be around a #9 or #10 seed, and could fall to a #11.

FLORIDA STATE: OUT. [RPI: 41, SOS: 18]: The odd thing is that if you just looked at the computer numbers, FSU would be in over Ga Tech and Virginia. However, they had a losing ACC record and just haven't done enough to warrant inclusion. They may have had a shot if teams like Butler, Xavier and Nevada didn't lose their conference tournaments.

CLEMSON: OUT. [RPI: 44, SOS: 54]. Hard to believe that an ACC team can be 17-0 at one point and still miss the tournament. But Clemson went 4-10 the rest of the season, lost to fellow bubble team Florida State in the first round of the ACC tournament and has just become the poster-child for a cupcake non-con season. If coach Oliver Purnell can figure out how to schedule some better teams in the pre-ACC season, they'll have a better shot.

NC STATE: OUT. [RPI: 89, SOS: 49]. Right now, NC State could be one of the best 65 teams in the nation. They beat ranked foes Duke, Virginia and Virgina Tech in three straight days, and nearly upset ranked North Carolina in the ACC Championship. Sidney Lowe has the Wolfpack on the right path and they could do some damage in the NIT. This is just a one year vacation from the dance for the boys in Raleigh.

Final Br-ACC-etology: Can the ACC Get 8 Teams In? originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 11 Mar 2007 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Was This The Greatest Day of ACC Tournament Action Ever? originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

No Surprises With the ACC's Award Season originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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

Last Weekend of ACC Regular Season Hoops Action originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 03 Mar 2007 11:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Normally, I do my Br-ACC-ketology on Monday mornings....but with one game left in the regular season, it's a good time to take a quick look to see who needs what this weekend.

LOCKED IN

• North Carolina. They are in....but are falling out the race for a #1 seed
• Maryland. The hottest team in the ACC beat UNC and Duke in back-to-back games.
• Duke. They are 4-4 at home in conference play and have been unremarkable....but they, somehow, have solid numbers.
• Virginia. You win 11 ACC games: you are in!
• Virginia Tech. Yeah, 10 conference wins should be a lock, too.
• Boston College. See above.

ON THE BUBBLE

• Georgia Tech. Their RPI isn't that good, but they do have big wins over UNC, Memphis and Duke. They need to beat BC and get at least one win in the ACC tournament to make sure of it.
• Clemson. The overtime win over Miami stops the bleeding, but it really didn't instill confidence with the selection committee. They have to beat Virginia Tech this weekend. If not, they'd be 6-10 in the ACC and that just isn't going to work.
• Florida State. FSU is in major trouble here....just on the basis that both Ga Tech and Clemson swept them this year. If they are in a tiebreaker type situation, that would kill them. Plus that signature win over Florida doesn't seem as big of a deal as it once did.

CRAPPED OUT

• NC State, Miami, Wake Forest. At least State can try to get into the NIT.

Br-ACC-ketology: One Game Left originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With just one week before the ACC tournament, there isn't much time to dilly-dally on the NCAA bubble. There are very few opportunities for a team to make a positive statement....but a ton of ways to screw it up. Who's got a good look at it right now?

LOCKED IN

• North Carolina. The Heels aren't playing the best basketball right now on the defensive end. The offense still looks good, but can get lost in a half court game. This team goes as far as the defense allows it. In every game they've lost....it was the defense that passed them bye. So may a #1 seed.
• Duke. A Blue Devil team with 22 wins and a top ten RPI rating has nothing to worry about. Oh, and that #3 rated SOS may go up with games against Maryland and UNC this week.
• Maryland. They won't even get a first round ACC bye, but the Terps have made it in. They have nearly the same resume as Duke...and crushed the Devils. They're fine.

LOOKING GOOD

• Virginia Tech. They'd be advised to win one more game to get them to the 20-win mark. Two wins over UNC and the win at Duke are the tentpoles to their resume. They've also been hovering around the RPI top 25 for the past month or so. They are also 7-3 against the RPI's Top 50.
• Virginia. Everything points to them being in the tournament...except not a great RPI [#38] or SOS [#46]. Still, 10 wins in the ACC won't be ignored.
• Boston College. They are in the same boat as Va Tech. One more win would pretty much clinch it....but they may be in regardless.

LOOKING BAD

• Clemson. Again, it's hard to think an ACC team could go 17-0 and still miss the NCAAs. But it could happen to the Tigers. They are 2-9 since that amazing start and just don't look like they should be in the dance. However, a run this week against Miami and Virginia Tech....not to mention a first round win in the ACC tournament, could reverse these fortunes.
• Georgia Tech. The Jackets are really hard to figure out. They are 6-8 in the ACC which means they need to run the table to get to .500. Their RPI is a dim #51...they do have 6 wins against the top 50, but also have 8 losses. Their RPI ranking is sitting right around teams like USC, Oklahoma State and Syracuse...who all have better credentials to get in. Beating UNC on Thursday is a must.

NEEDS A MIRACLE

• Florida State. The one thing going for FSU is their RPI isn't horrific [#48] and they could have an easy win against Miami this week. Really, they need to make a deep run in the ACC tournament to have any shot.

Br-ACC-ketology: Maryland Gets Their Ticket originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 26 Feb 2007 01:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here are the ACC Power Rankings with two weeks left before the ACC tournament:

1. North Carolina. Sure they lost to Virginia Tech....but winning at Boston College put them back in the ACC lead [with Virginia, who they have beaten].
2. Virginia. I'm telling you: this team could be the #1 seed in the ACC tournament.
3. Duke. Big win at Boston College which they followed with [finally] a win at home over Ga Tech. Suddenly, they are near locks for the NCAAs.
4. Boston College. Really bad week. Two losses at home to Duke and UNC. A win in either would probably impressed the selection committee enough to give them a good seed.
5. Virginia Tech. Wiped out a big win at Carolina with a crushing defeat at NC State.
6. Maryland. Looks like Gary Williams is getting this team off the NIT scheid. Almost makes a Terps fan nervous that they'll find a way to blow it, eh?
7. Georgia Tech. They still can't win a road game [okay, one game in two years] but they are still playing well enough that they could get in the tournament.
8. Clemson. This team is falling apart completely. Just 2-7 after their 17-0 start.
9. Florida State. Will the selection committee factor in Toney Douglas' injury? Probably won't matter anyways.
10. NC State. They beat Virginia Tech and UNC a few weeks ago. They beat Va Tech again on Sunday. Guess who's up next?
11. Wake Forest. Don't look now, but they've won 3 of their last 4 games.
12. Miami. At least it will be a short ride home after they are blown out of the ACC tournament.

ACC Power Rankings: UNC Takes Back the Top Spot originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 19 Feb 2007 01:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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