2/20/07

Before I get into this past weekend's ACC hoops action, I wanted to say something quick about San Diego's new coach, Norv Turner. The rest of the NFL should be breathing a deep sigh of relief now that the league's most talented team has thrown away its Super Bowl chances by hiring the new worst head coach in the NFL. The thought process here baffles me. I mean, I understand that this guy knows the offense, and I see that he has experience as an NFL head coach - but it's dreadful, shitty experience. In 9 years at the helm he has only been to the postseason one time. At least Marty could GET to the playoffs. The Chargers are a team that is ready to win now, and they picked the guy out there least likely to take them to the promised land.

But whatever - football season is a long way away, and right now we should be focused on a more current sport. The one I'm most into at the moment - until Antawn Jamison comes back, anyway - is ACC hoops. This past weekend was a big one in the nation's premiere conference. Let's take a look back...

Virginia 73, Florida State 70 - The Seminoles made a valiant effort on the road against a very good opponent (following the win, Virginia is now ranked in both polls), but ultimately the selection comittee remembers wins, not good losses. FSU have their backs against the wall now with a 5-8 conference record and a trip to College Park coming up. As for Virginia, they move to 9-3 in conference play and have almost certainly locked themselves up a spot in the tournament barring a complete collapse to end the season.

North Carolina 77, Boston College 72 - Well, BC had their chance to put the final piece on their tournament resume and take control of the ACC regular season title, but they failed to do either by losing at home, albeit in a close game. However, their 9-4 ACC record is almost certainly good enough, again, barring a complete collapse to close out the season, to secure them a tourney berth. UNC is in, even if they don't win another game between now and Selection Sunday. The only question about the Heels is whether they can play their way back into the top 4 and get themselves a 1 seed. Wrapping up the ACC regular season title and winning the tournament would caertainly accomplish that goal.

Duke 71, Georgia Tech 62 - Duke's win gives them the magic number - 20 - which usually gets ACC teams into the tournament. The 7-6 conference record leaves something to be desired, but they will almost certainly win at least one of their final 3 regular season games, which would guarantee them an 8-8 finish which, again, is usually good enough to secure a berth. Tech is now in trouble. Their conference record slides to 5-7, and while their next game should be a win over Wake Forest at home, their final three opponents are Virginia, North Carolina, and BC. It looks like the Yellow Jackets are headed for the NIT, unless they play some miraculous ball down the stretch.

North Carolina State 81, Virginia Tech 56 - Anyone care to explain what the hell is going on with the Hokies, who swept the Tar Heels but got swept by the Wolfpack (I mistakenly wrote, on the other post, that VaTech won the previous encounter between the two teams, when in fact they were on the losing end of that contest)? Virginia Tech should have all but sealed up an NCAA berth, but instead they have everyone scratching their heads, again. However, they have an 8-4 conference record, and if they can put away two of BC, Miami, Virginia, Clemson, and their first round opponent in the ACC tourney, they'll get to 20 wins on the year, so things still look good for them. They can't keep playing like they played on Sunday, though. As for the Wolfpack, well, they sealed their fate long ago, although sweeping Virginia Tech will probably get them a decent seed in the NIT.

Maryland 82, Clemson 66 - In the game that probably meant the most to both teams playing, Maryland got an impressive road win. It wasn't as lopsided as the final score indicated, but Maryland had the lead through the entire second half. The win gave the Terps 20 on the season, but finishing at 8-8 in conference will be a tough task. Will they get into the tournament based on what they have accomplished thusfar? Probably. Would they do well to look impressive from here on out to be safe? Damn right. As for Clemson, they are now in a bind. Although they have 19 wins, the 19-7 record doesn't look so hot when you realize that at one point they were 17-0. How you play down the stretch matters a lot to the selection comittee, and Clemson has been awful. They need to impress big time against the heavyweights left on their schedule, and a loss to Miami on the 28th would seal their fate.

Ok, now that we've looked behind, let's look ahead to this week's action. All 12 teams will be in action again, 5 games on Wednesday and one on Thursday, and every game features at least one team either trying to play their way into the tournament or trying to improve their seeding. Starting on Wednesday, we have...

2/21, 7:00 - Wake Forest (13-13, 4-9) @ Georgia Tech (17-9, 5-7) - The Yellow Jackets have got to win this game to have any chance of making the NCAA tournament, plain and simple (barring a miracle run in the ACC tourney, of course). Not only is Wake Forest a team that tournament-caliber teams should be beating, especially at home, but the remainder of their schedule is brutal. Not to mention, Wake won the initial match-up at Wake, 85-75, and Tech doesn't want "got swept by the 11th place team in the conference" on its resume.

Boston College (18-8, 9-4) @ Virginia Tech (18-8, 8-4) - These two teams have probably already played themselves into the tournament, but a win here would make it all but official for either team. Neither team is exactly facing murderer's row to finish out the season, either, so a loss here isn't going to be too big of an obstacle for whichever team isn't fortunate enough to come out with a victory. That said, however, the Hokies would do well to do everything in their power to try and make everyone forget about their troubles with the NC State Wolfpack. BC trounced the Hokies in Boston, 80-59.

7:30 - Virginia (18-7, 9-3) @ Miami (10-16, 4-9) - The Cavaliers have pretty much secured their spot in the tournament, unless they collapse at the end of the season. However, a loss to a team like Miami could trigger just that sort of catastrophe. The Hoos should win here, but if they don't, people will take notice. The Cavs win in Virginia, 81-70.

9:00 - Florida State (17-10, 5-8) @ Maryland (20-7, 6-6) - Once again, the Terps are involved in the game which probably has the most at stake for both teams involved. The Seminoles need to win this game if they want to even their conference record by the tournament - which is a definite possibility if they do, as NC State and Miami are the other tow teams on their schedule. 19 wins and a 7-9 conference record has been just good enough to keep Maryland out of the NCAAs the last two seasons, so the Seminoles have to believe that this is a must-win for them. For Maryland, too, the game is very important. Two of their remaining three opponents after this game are North Carolina (home) and Duke (away), so they'll want to get the games they should be winning in order to make finishing at .500 easier. The Seminoles won in Tallahassee, 96-79.

North Carolina State (14-11, 4-8) @ North Carolina (23-4, 9-3) - This game is a big one for the Tar Heels, who need to win this game not only for in-state pride, which can only be partially restored after the Wolfpack won the initial meeting in Raleigh, 83-79, but also because the Tar Heels find themselves ranked #5 in both polls, and they need to win out to secure themselves a #1 seed in the tournament. Now, the Wolfpack are not technically out of the NCAA picture, but they are hanging by a thread. IF they managed to win out, they would finish the season with an 8-8 conference record, and Carolina is certainly the toughest opponent left on their schedule, although trips to Florida State and Maryland won't be picnics, either. If they're going to make a mircale run, though, it needs to go through Chapel Hill. Good luck with that.

2/22, 9:00 - Duke (20-7, 7-6) @ Clemson (19-7, 5-7) - The Tigers find themselves spiraling out of control, and are now 2-7 after starting the season off 17-0. It's not too late for them, however, and they have an excellent opportunity to turn their season around again with the Blue Devils coming into town. Speaking of turning their season around, it wasn't too long ago that the Blue Devils had lost 4 in a row and people were starting to whisper "NIT". Well, it may not have been too long ago, but it seems that way, as back-to-back impressive wins against BC and Georgia Tech have put them back on the map. They can't afford to get too comfortable, though, as their last two opponents of the season are Maryland and UNC, two teams which have beaten them already this season. Duke would so well to win here to secure at least an 8-8 conference record. The Blue Devils won the first match-up between these teams in Durham, 68-66.

Tomorrow, I'll be on my politics blog. Till then...