3/6/07

March Madness is just now starting to pick up some momentum. We'll get to that, but first we'll recap the last regular season games in the ACC.

Florida State 98, Miami 90 (OT) - Well, like Clemson, FSU really wanted to win this game in a more convincing fashion than it did. That being said, a win here sure beat a loss, which would have put the Seminoles out without any chance for redress. Going into the ACC tourney with a 7-9 record puts them into a position to get into the dance, although they will need to win probably two games in the tournament to do that.

Wake Forest 78, Virginia 72 - This is a nice win for Wake, but obviously it doesn't do too much for them. The loss does have implications for UVA, however, which slips to the 2 seed in the ACC tourney. A strong showing in that tournament, however, could make the Selection comittee forget about this loss when it comes to seeding the Cavaliers.

Maryland 79, North Carolina State 59 - The Terps just keep rolling right along. Their 7 game winnning stretch has brought them from 3-6 in conference to 10-6 and the 5 seed in the tournament. They fell just short of a bye in round one, but have to be confident all the same with the way they are playing.

Clemson 75, Virginia Tech 74 - Well, Clemson made the statement they were looking to make, and avoided dropping to 6-10 in conference and out of the NCAA picture entirely. They now enter the ACC tournament with a chance to play their way into the NCAAs, provided they do some damage first - they probably need to win two games. As for the Hokies, this was another in a long line of puzzlers this season. Right now, the Selection comittee has to believe VaTech is too inconsistent to deserve a higher seed. They'll need to do some damage in the ACC tourney themselves, if they are to prove that not to be the case.

Georgia Tech 74, Boston College 60 - The Yellow Jackets have all but played their way into the tournament now, although they would probably need to win their ACC tourney opener to feel completely secure. BC has been in for a while, but their stock has been plummeting recently. Where they are seeded will depend very much on their performance in the ACC tourney.

North Carolina 86, Duke 72 - Undoubtedly everyone has seen what happened to Tyler Hansbrough by now, so there isn't too much reason to go into it, other than that I have no doubt that Gerald Henderson wanted to hit Hansbrough, and hit him hard. Did he mean to break his nose with a WWE-style flying elbow? Maybe, maybe not. But the intent was certainly there to hurt him, if not injure him. Anyway, besides that, UNC reaffirmed in this game - after a couple of tough road losses - that they are the team to beat in the ACC and, indeed, snagged the 1 seed with the victory. If they manage to win the ACC tourney, they can probably still get a 1 seed in the NCAAs. Duke, on the other hand, fell all the way to 7th, and will need a strong showing just to get a 6 seed or so.

The ACC Tournament starts on Thursday - here are the opening round games:

12:00 - Clemson (21-9, 7-9) vs. Florida State (19-11, 7-9) - This is pretty much a knockout game for these two teams. Each comes into this match-up with a 7-9 conference record and probably in need of a couple of wins in the tourney to play themselves into the NCAAs. That being the case, the loser here is almost definately out, while the winner would probably still have to upset 1 seed UNC in round 2. Clemson won both regular season match-ups.

2:00 - Maryland (24-7, 10-6) vs. Miami (4-12, 11-19) - The Terrapins are the hottest team in the conference right now, which is bad news for 12th seeded Miami. Maryland has already played their way into the NCAAs, but the sky seems to be the limit for the Terps, who could earn a 3 or even a 2 seed if they play well enough in this tournament. This is also a revenge opportunity for Maryland, who fell at Miami in the teams' lone regular season match-up. The winner of this game plays 4 seed Boston College in the quarterfinals.

7:00 - Duke (22-9, 8-8) vs. North Carolina State (15-14, 5-11) - The Blue Devils come into this one reeling and suffering from an image problem thanks to the UNC debacle. Having lost 2 in a row and 6 of their last 10, the Devils need a strong showing in the ACC tournament if they want to get a higher seed in the NCAAs. Duke rolled at NC State in the two teams' only meeting during the season. The winner of this game plays 2nd seeded Virginia in the quarters.

9:00 - Georgia Tech (20-10, 8-8) vs. Wake Forest (14-15, 5-11) - The Yellow Jackets might not need this game to get into the NCAAs, but there isn't much sense leaving it up to chance - a win here would certainly secure them an at-large bid. Wake could play themselves into qualifying for the NIT with a couple wins, but the odds against that are long - although with the way the Virginia Tech Hokies, who await the winner of this match-up in round 2, have been playing, it is far from impossible. The teams split their two regular season match-ups, with each holding home court against the other.

Ok, like I said earlier, March Madness is picking up steam now that the regular season has ended for everyone (except for the Ivy League, which has no tournament but has already crowned a champion). 15 of the 30 conference tournaments have already kicked off, with the rest starting sometime this week. 9 teams have already won automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. They are:

Pennsylvania, which secured the Ivy League Championship with a win over Yale last Friday.
Winthrop, who won the Big South Conference Championship over VMI on Saturday.
Eastern Kentucky, who beat Austin Peay for the Ohio Valley Conference Championship on Saturday.
Davidson, who won the Southern Conference Championship by knocking off College of Charleston on Saturday.
Belmont, winners of the Atlantic Sun Championship over East Tennessee State on Saturday.
Creighton, who upset Southern Illinois to win the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Sunday.
Virginia Commonwealth, Champions of the Colonial Athletic Association by way of their win over last year's suprise Final Four team, George Mason, on Monday.
Niagara, who topped Sienna on Monday to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship.
Gonzaga, who won their 8th West Coast Conference Championship in the last 9 years by knocking off Santa Clara Monday night.

7 other conferences have already started their tournaments:

The Horizon League Final is tonight, between Butler and Wright State.
The Patriot League Final, between Holy Cross and Bucknell, will take place on Friday.
The Sun Belt Championship will be decided tonight between North Texas and Arkansas State.
The Northeast Conference Final is tomorrow night between Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart.
The America East Final will take place next on March 10th between Vermont and Albany.
The Big Sky is down to Montana, Northern Arizona, Portland State, and Weber State; the Semifinals are tonight, while the Final is tomorrow night.
The Mid-Continent Final is tonight between Oral Roberts and Oakland.

Finally, the other 15 conference tournaments will start between now and Thursday:

The Mountain West Conference Tournament and the Western Athletic Conference Tournament start tonight, take tomorrow off, then resume on Thursday and run through the 10th.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament starts tonight and runs uninterrupted through the 10th.
The Atlantic 10, Big East, Big West, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Pacific 10, and SWAC Tournaments start tomorrow and run through the 10th.
The Southland Conference Tournament rounds 1 and 2 are on Thursday and Friday, and the Final takes place on the 11th.
The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC Tournaments start Thursday and run uninterrupted through the 11th.

Updates on all of these tournaments Friday. Politics tomorrow. Till then...