Before the season, the take on the ACC was Duke, Carolina and everybody else. Many people still believe this. Let's take a look at the ACC standings. Each team has played 2 conference games and only two teams are 2-0. Here's a hint, I mentioned them earlier. Only two teams lost both conference games, leaving eight teams at 1-1. Did it only take two games for UNC and Duke to separate themselves from the rest of the pack? Let's take a look through the rest of the ACC teams and see if we can figure out this mess.
Boston College was picked to finish last in the ACC. All five of their starters are freshmen and their team has nine total. A finish 11th or higher would certainly be a big surprise. Remember folks, this team has lost to teams such as Holy Cross, UMass, Boston U, Saint Louis, and URI. Everyone expected them to lose badly to UNC, but to beat Clemson on national TV is a shocker. Clemson isn't regarded as one of the ACC's top teams, but they had just come off a 20 point win against Florida State. FSU has had a disappointing start to the season, but they were the clear-cut #3 team in the ACC at the beginning the year. They are a strong defensive and rebouding team, but they have struggled to put points up on the board. Their record is 10-6, but those losses are to good teams like Florida, Michigan State, UCONN, and Harvard (yes, they're good now).
NC State is another team that has the potential to finish right behind Duke and Carolina, but they are very inconsistent. They have a balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging between 12 and 14 points per game. State beat Texas and a good Maryland team, but lost to 8-8 Georgia Tech at home. Georgia Tech is also very inconsistent. Some of their bad losses include Mercer, Fordham, and Tulane. Then, they almost beat Duke and win at NC State. Georgia Tech is led by first-year coach Brian Gregory. The Yellow Jackets play in Philips Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, because they are currently constructing a brand new arena.
The Hurricanes of Miami are 0-2 in ACC play, but that's because their first two games were at UVA and at UNC. Miami was picked to finish 5th in the ACC. They are 9-6, but 5 of those 6 losses were true road games and they played a tough non-conference schedule. A plus for Miami is that Reggie Johnson is finally healthy and he gives them the big, strong post player they need to compete. Virginia Tech is the other 0-2 team in the ACC. They came into conference play 11-3, winning the games they should have won and losing the games they should have lost. Tech gave Syracuse a good game at Madison Square Garden and was within 5 points with five minutes to go in the game. The Hokies are led by Erick Green who averages 16 points per game and shoots almost 50% from the field. They have struggled to find a second consistent scorer. Only one other player on the team averages double digit points. With losses to Wake Forest and Florida State, Tech appears to be heading towards a finish in the bottom half of the ACC.
Wake Forest has already matched last year's ACC wins total. After a 1-15 year, the Demon Deacons are much improved. Travis McKie and CJ Harris both average over 17 points per game and combine for over half of the team's scoring. Don't expect a huge turnaround in ACC play. They are on their way to another finish in the bottom half of the league, but with the ACC's parity, who knows? Wake Forest's ACC loss was against Maryland. Maryland's 11-4 record looks good, but they have only played one ranked team, Alabama, who is no longer ranked. The Terps are led by sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin. He averages over 20 points per game and will likely be an ACC first team player. Maryland also has a talented 7 foot 1 freshman center from Ukraine named Alex Len. He averages around 12 points and 8 rebounds per game, plus averages 2.4 blocks per game. Len missed the first nine games of the season and the Terps are 5-1 with him in the lineup. Maryland looks to be heading in a good direction, but with 2 games against UVA, UNC, and Duke it is tough to tell where they finish in the conference.
So, I have talked about every team in the ACC, except for one. There's a reason why I waited until the end to mention the Cavaliers of Virginia. This is because I believe they are the definite third best team in the ACC. We should not be talking about who is going to finish third in the ACC, we should be talking about who is going to finish fourth. The team is off to its best start since the Ralph Sampson era. The reason for their great start is defense. UVA is one of the country's top teams in scoring defense. Virginia played Duke right down to the wire at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the toughest place to play in college basketball. Though they lost be three, they proved that they can compete with the top teams in the league. The score was 61-58. Duke averages over 80 points per game and UVA held them to their lowest point total of the season. By scoring 61 points, Duke became only the second team all year to score more than 60 points on Tony Bennett's stingy defense. UVA's best player Mike Scott is one of the country's most underrated players and a lot of UVA's success relies on him. He averages 17 points per game and shoots nearly 60% from the field. UVA is a good free throw shooting and three point shooting team thanks to players such as Sammy Zeglinski, Joe Harris, and Malcolm Brogdon. UVA plays UNC twice, but the rest of their games are very winnable. Third-year coach Tony Bennett should a candidate for coach of the year. Expect UVA to finish in the top three in the ACC and get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007 and only the third time since 1997.
Predictions:
1. North Carolina
2. Duke
3. Virginia
4. Florida State
5. NC State
6. Miami
7. Maryland
8. Virginia Tech
9. Clemson
10. Georgia Tech
11. Wake Forest
12. Boston College
Between teams 4 and 7, and teams 8 to 11, you might as well pick from a hat, that's how much of a mess the league is in. This will likely be the ACC's last year with 12 teams, as Syracuse and Pittsburgh join for the 2012-2013. Then there will be more than 2 elite teams every year. Until then, enjoy the ACC's parity and make sure to watch some basketball this weekend.
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