The ACC tournament, or as the late Jim Valvano called it, "the granddaddy of them all," is here, presenting some interesting pairings and having major implications for teams who desire to continue their respective seasons.
While Duke seems to be the only team that knows its fate (likely a No. 1 seed in the NCAA East Region), some teams, like Maryland and North Carolina, can determine how high a seed they will receive by having a successful tournament. Others, like N.C. State and Wake Forest, will battle for an elusive bid to a postseason tournament. The remaining teams, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Clemson and Virginia, can only hope to run the gauntlet against their ACC opponents in order to gain an NCAA berth.
Two of these teams, Florida State and Clemson, battle in the tournament's opening game tonight at 7 p.m. This game will be the rubber match between the two, as Florida State defeated Clemson, 70-64, in early January but was trounced by the Tigers, 78-45, in Littlejohn on Valentine's Day. The more experienced, deeper Clemson team might be considered the favorite in this game, as the Seminoles do not have the post presence necessary to defend against a host of Tiger big men, including Harold Jamison, Adam Allenspach and Tim Wideman.
Tomorrow's games, though, are expected to be competitive as well, especially with N.C. State playing Wake Forest at noon, with the winner putting itself in prime position for an NCAA bid, the loser likely sealing its fate as an NIT team. While Wake's convincing victory over the Wolfpack on Sunday makes it the frontrunner as the fourth team invited to the Big Dance, a Demon Deacon loss would result in N.C. State winning the season series between the two, which could factor into the NCAA Selection Committee's decision.
In many aspects, these teams are evenly matched, as Wake has a decisively better guard combination, while State's frontcourt has the ability to dominate. In order to win, the Wolfpack needs Justin Gainey to neutralize point guard Robert O'Kelley and for its post players, namely Ron Kelley, Kenny Inge and Damon Thornton, to control the paint.
The Deacons, meanwhile, need strong efforts from forwards Darius Songaila and Rafael Vidaurreta and accurate perimeter shooting from O'Kelley, Broderick Hicks and Craig Dawson.
While N.C. State and Wake Forest are looking to make it to the NCAA tournament, Maryland aims to give itself more credibility heading into the Big Dance, as it hopes to snag a No. 1 seed. Playing the winner of the Florida State-Clemson matchup, the Terps will be the odds-on favorite against either opponent, although they struggled with both during the regular season. Florida State challenged Maryland valiantly last Sunday and Clemson almost defeated the Terrapins in early January before succumbing 81-79 in overtime.
The Tigers could give the Terrapins a run, as the former's tested frontcourt could wreak havoc on Maryland with center Obinna Ekezie out of action. Still, neither Clemson nor the Seminoles has anyone who can contain Maryland's athletic trio of Terence Morris, Steve Francis (both first team All-ACC selections) and Laron Profit, making an upset less likely.
The final game tomorrow evening will match Georgia Tech, whose postseason hopes hang by a thread, against North Carolina, who naturally wants to improve its NCAA seeding. Being one of the only teams who can match Carolina's gigantic frontcourt, Georgia Tech competed well against the favored Tar Heels in both regular season games, even beating UNC 66-64 in early January.
This young Tar Heels team, though, has gained significant experience since this upset and should be motivated by the loss to Duke. Ed Cota could dominate the Yellow Jackets' young guard duo of Tony Akins and Jason Floyd, while improving big men Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang, as well as senior leader Ademola Okulaja, will try to neutralize Tech's Jason Collier and Alvin Jones.
Assuming that heavily favored Duke defeats Virginia tonight, the Blue Devils will face the winner of the N.C. State-Wake Forest game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The Blue Devils defeated the Wolfpack comfortably in both contests this season, though they struggled in the first game against the Deacons before cruising in the second.
The likely UNC-Maryland semifinal matchup following that game cannot be broken down so easily, however. Maryland defeated the Tar Heels both times during the regular season but could face difficulties in this third matchup.
Although Ekezie's replacements, Mike Mardesich and Lonnie Baxter, performed admirably in the Terps' victory at Cole Field House, they must once again be on their "A games" to contain North Carolina's post players.
Duke, assuming it wins today, has a bye tomorrow and wins comfortably on Saturday, will likely be the heavy favorite no matter whom it faces in Sunday's championship game. If the Blue Devils face the Tar Heels, revenge will be on the mind of the North Carolina players, with last Saturday a recent memory. Maryland also has plenty of motivation, as the Blue Devils have kept the Terrapins out of the headlines with their historic conference run.
Let the tournament begin.
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