March Madness Predictions: ACC Breakdown
By: Craig Trapp
The ACC has had a ton of upsets this year and there are two schools of thought about the strength of the ACC this year. Either you think this conference is so good that anyone can win on any given day or its a conference that is overrated and not near as strong as the rankings. Lets predict who is in the big dance as of right now and predict how they will perform.
North Carolina has been the favorite in all future books to win it all since the end of last season. If its possible for a team to be a little disappointing with only 3 losses this would be the case. Only one of there losses is to another top ranked team. Consistent defensive lock down play has been the problem in all of there losses this year. Each loss has had one player go off for 25 plus and dominate them almost by themselves. Definite #1 seed and will get to play pretty close to home first four games. Don't think they have enough depth in the back court to win 6 in a row. Final four for this team but no further.
Duke has had a very nice year and even though they still lack the inside presence they only have 5 losses and if they win out would split the conference title with UNC. Coach K has this team trying to avenge early losses the last two years in the NCAA tournament. This team looks like a #3 seed for this years big dance. Another 2nd round loss is a high probability. 2nd round games verse a #6 seed from a power conference like the Big East Syracuse or Pac 10 team like Stanford would give this team fits. No sweet 16 for Duke for third year in a row.
Wake Forest has been a welcome surprise for the ACC this year. Teague has been unbelievable and will be up for conference player of the year. This team is extremely hard to play against with there length and athleticism at all positions. This team is going to finish strong and end up with #2 seed come March Madness time. Love there chances to win it all will need Teague to keep up his scoring and play making. Definitely think they could beat any team out there and will be a force to at least the Final Four.
Clemson has played strong all year and for once kept playing the second half of the season. Scoring never is a problem for this team but consistent defensive intensity can be a problem the Tigers at times. Predict that they will get a #4 seed and could be a danger to a #1 seed that does not have great guard play. UCONN is most likely a #1 seed and with there injuries at guard Clemson could really give them trouble. Like Clemson into the Sweet 16 and will give there #1 seed a great game.
Florida State is led by senior Tony Douglas and will be the ACC player of the year most likely. FSU will get in the NCAA tournament a year earlier than most thought with a ton of young freshmen and sophomores that play a ton of minutes. Seeding for this team could range greatly on how they finish the regular season and ACC tournament. Most likely though will be #4 or #5 seed. Great scoring guards can carry a team come tournament time remember Curry last year. Guarantee no #3 seed wants to play them as a second round game. If they get a #5 seed put them in the Sweet 16.
Boston College has beat both Duke and UNC this year but have also lost to Harvard. Very inconsistent team that can struggle to score when PG Rice is not hot from the field. Will get in due to there huge wins against the top two teams in the league but not a fan of a team that plays in spurts. Most likely will be a #9 seed that gets pounded first game.
Only 6 teams are for sure in for Craig but have three teams on the bubble with a chance to earn there berth: Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Miami Fl. Don't think any of these teams have played consistent enough for the entire season and would rather take the ninth and tenth best team from the Big East than any of these three. Craig really only likes Wake Forest as National Championship contender and in general thinks the ACC is overrated as a conference.